Training a Blue Heeler involves working with his natural instincts as a herding dog. Also known as the Australian Cattle Dog, Queensland Heeler, Australian Heeler and Hall's Heeler, the Blue Heeler originated in Australia. The name heeler comes from the dog's habit of nipping at the heels of cattle (and sometimes people) when he herds them.
Training a blue heeler is the same as training nearly any other dog. With her exuberant energy and willful personality, it just might take a little longer to figure out whose training who.
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Exercise
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The first step toward training a blue heeler is to ensure the dog is getting enough exercise.
As herding dogs, blue heelers have a lot of energy and endurance. These dogs can become destructive or aggressive and are difficult to train if they do not get a lot of exercise each day.
Blue heelers are intelligent dogs and train easily. Giving them physical and mental work to do will prevent behavioral problems.
Clicker Training
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One of the best ways to train any dog is with a clicker. The dog comes to associate the clicker with a reward.
To begin clicker training, you must teach the dog about the clicker. Click and treat, click and treat, click and treat is your basic training session for a few days. Once the dog knows the clicker is associated with the reward, you're ready to move on to learning actual commands.
Obedience
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All dog training begins with obedience training. Basic commands such as sit, stay and down are the fundamentals of all other training.
This can be accomplished through clicker training or with treats.
When training a dog, always reward the good behavior and ignore the bad behavior. Yelling at your dog or physically punishing your dog does not aid in teaching him. It only makes him fearful of you and destroys the bond you have with him.
Teaching your dog to sit involves rewarding him (click and treat) each time he performs the behavior you want from him. You may gently push down on his back end to show him you want him to sit. Once he's moving toward the correct position, not after he's there, click and treat.
No nipping
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Teaching a blue heeler not to nip children (and sometimes even adults) is one of the most challenging aspects of training for many guardians of this breed.
The heeler's herding nip is more like a pinch than a nip. It doesn't leave teeth marks or break the skin. But it can bruise.
When training a cattle dog not to nip, you're going against the pet's natural instinct to herd. Children must be taught that when running around near heelers, they're almost asking the dog to herd them.
In basic obedience courses, teaching the dog the "Leave It" command and "Down" command will be useful in curtailing her desire to nip. Basic obedience in general will help with this problem. Teaching the dog to sit and stay when there is a desire to herd will be important.
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