Brought to heel

Fran Ardley explains the techniques to train that most fundamental of gundog tasks

- Fran Ardley

The inability of a handler to coax a gundog of any breed to walk on and off the lead at heel is one of the biggest issues a professional trainer will encounter.

This applies whether training clients on a one-to-one basis or taking group classes. Yet it is one of the fundamental requirements of a gundog’s basic training. No matter what aspect of the shooting field you eventually want your gundog to be involved in, it should walk next to you under control (on and off the lead) without either pulling on the lead or wandering off doing its own thing. It is accepted that the retrieving breeds should be well disciplined in the requirement of walking to heel. However, if you have a spaniel that you plan to work in the beating line, it can be both a bonus and necessity to be able to call your dog into your side when working through cover crops or when you reach a flushing point and you need to keep your dog under close control.

You only have to look at the numerous leads, harnesses, and other ‘quick fixes’ that have been designed to make it more bearable for the owner to deal with a dog pulling on a lead to highlight this; it is a massive market. Yet time spent doing the basics could avoid the need for using one of these devices, and get the majority of dogs walking properly on the lead.

Why and when

There is a train of thought that thinks putting a gundog on a lead too early can reduce some of its drive. I have heard this numerous times where spaniels are concerned, but the truth is that for the majority of owners, getting their dog used to walking on a lead is a necessity.