2 sided heeling

[B3]

Anybody use it? Trained with a 2 sided dog and it seemed pretty useful. Any real tricks to teaching it? Do you teach one side and then just add in the other?

[dukdawgn]

personally, i wouldn't bother. but, yes, teach to heel-up with some sorta que.... like left hand down to heel up coming in on left.

[Glenn]

I have been heeling dogs on the left for nearly 17 yrs. This group of dogs I've got now, I am teaching to heel on both sides. I start them heeling on left and then move on the right side. I have been putting the dog on my left side and teaching him to come to the right side. Not actually having the dogs deliver on the right. Once I get thur ff then I'll try and work on the delivery to both sides.

Heeling dogs on the right adds to your obedience. There is alot of advantages of having a two sided heeling dog.

Glenn

[Cole]

Two sided heeling really helps me in Hunt tests. Whatever side the go-bird (last bird down) is thrown to, is the side that I have the dog heel on. This helps keep him from switching.

[goosebruce]

Just my opinion... 2 sided heeling is used as crutch the majority of the time, instead of any kind of aid. Read coles anser above... Two sided heeling really helps me in Hunt tests. Whatever side the go-bird (last bird down) is thrown to, is the side that I have the dog heel on. This helps keep him from switching.... Where a doog heels keeps him from switching??? Hell no, he's not to switch because hes trained not too, just like he shouldnt have to be heeled on the right to keep him from a breaking bird, cause he should be trained to be steady, and he ought to be able to take the angle entry from the left or the right... If you use 2 sided heeling to help a dog on these things, then your using a crutch to lessen the task and avoid training on it... I want a dog whose postion means nothing, he is to sit steady, mark & remember birds, and enter the water where and when hes told. As often as not, when a person makes a big deal out of which side their dog is heeled on for a particular test, the dog can't finish the test, usually over the part of the test that the 2 sided heeling was supposed to help on. I just dont see it as a hunt test benefit, and I have NEVER seen a postion I thought it gave an advantage to a dog/handler if they where up to the task to begin with.

With hidden guns, the direction of the guns throw means nothing in my opinion, either a dog marked a bird or he didn't. Sure theres time you got a winger blind visible, and you kick a dog toward it, but the majority of the time you don't. Having the abilty to cue your dog which side of a gun a bird is means almost nothing with hidden guns. If I was training a dog to run a game with visible guns (i.e. field trials) I would probably 2 sided heel, even then, its not a big deal. travis