Re-training of position in freestyle heelwork

She likes to place her paws at the level of my toes, whereas I'd prefer her paws positioned at my ankles. She's not clingy or coming so far forward that she gets in front of my legs—it's simply a placement a little further back that I'm after.

I tested a bit without a target and also waited her out to see if she'd find the position I wanted without any help, and she did—but I want her to find it straight away, so we're going back to foundation training.

Here I'm working with both the block and the mat—essentially returning to foundation training that she knows well. She always gets up on the block, but because it's positioned further back than where she wants to stand, she's right on the edge of it, balancing. When I then remove the block and just have the mat there, she comes in far enough back and I click when she's in the right position—but she moves forward after the click. Normally I wouldn't be too concerned about what happens after the click, but now that it's about teaching a new position and not rewarding the old one anymore, I'm not entirely happy with this. I searched around for something I could use as a target that was smaller than the block but larger than the mat, to make it a clearer target. I found a piece of equipment from Henrik that I thought could be perfect to use here.

It starts off a bit like with the mat, but it doesn't take long before Bonus understands what I'm after. I don't mind whether she sits or stands, or what position her head is in (more on that later)—here I'm only working on position.

If you'd like to dive deeper into free heelwork and fine-tune the perfect position, or start learning free heelwork, then Free Heelwork – Online Starter kicks off on 27 March.

The course suits all levels and there's no age limit. All the exercises are available from the start, and you can begin working on exactly what YOU want!

For more information and the enrolment form, visit: Free Heelwork – Online