Heelwork to music...any advice on where to start & how to train please?

Hey all - not sure if this is in the right section - probably not knowing me lol! but I was wondering about HTM and how it works? Does anyone know any good sites about it? or anyone know about training a dog to participate in it?

I was thinking Dudley seems to stick really close to me and karl and look at us all the time (like they do on the bits I've seen on telly) and we thought it might be nice to give it a go when he's settled in.

any advice?

xx

Hi

I have found a lot of links, but the first one I'm not sure if I can post here..

Here's one though:

http://www.caninefreestyle.com/

And then try to type "dog dancing" in Google.com... you'll get loads of sites...

I would love to try that with Luna.. I just dont think I can find many places here in Denmark teaching that...

Thanks very much!
I will scout around - and see if i can find somewhere local that does classes!

xx

Yeah I hope you find something

Great fun , but you do need good heelwork and obedience before you even think of starting Apart from straight heeling you need to be able to do turns (right, left, & about) at various speeds, automatic sits, drops, stands, waits, plus a reliable recall. If you are considering Freestyle rather than HTM that gets even more complex.

Do have a go, but get the good basic obedience first

Mary Ray is probably the best known HTM trainer/handler although she also does Obedience & Agility at the highest level. She also does workshop's & training days as well as videos on training

She's a very good teacher & well worth investing a few pounds in to go to a training event or buying a video

She's also a very nice person

thanks again all. I'm not thinking of trying it right away. I am working on his basic obedience first SB. He's got 'sit' off pat now - and he is getting the hang of 'lie down' and we have also tapped in to his natural 'tricks' - he stands on his back legs (not like begging - like a human) and we say 'meerkat' wheneer he does it - not the most important of obedience tasks - but he enjoys it and so do we!

xx

You are doing well Zounds Slow and steady is the way to achieve results and to have a happy, confident dog. Tricks are not unimportant They teach the dog to listen to you, to focus on you, they help with bonding as they are things which bring fun to both of you, they provide mental stimulation, and some tricks are very good for keeping the dog physically supple.

hey, htm is lots of fun. I dont go to classes as theres none around here, but i enjoy teaching indie the moves

heres some sites i found that r good

a vid: http://media.ebaumsworld.com/index.php?e=smartdog.wmv

http://www.dogdance.net/dogdance/clips.htm

Thank you! very good sites! and thanks SB too - it's nice to knwo that the 'tricks' we're teaching are not useless. Dud loves them anyway!

xx