Delilah Starts Building Her Heel Foundation Through Positive Reinforcement

Delilah has made a lot of progress in just one week, and in this latest session we were able to begin working on the foundation of her heel position.

Now that she is comfortably taking food from me, we can start using luring to guide her into more specific positions and introduce new obedience concepts without adding unnecessary pressure.

For Delilah, patience is still a major part of the process.

Creating Value in the Heel Position

The main focus of this session was not asking Delilah for a perfect heel.

Instead, we wanted to create value in the position itself.

Using food, I lured Delilah into the heel position beside me. Once she reached the spot we wanted, she was rewarded heavily.

The idea is to make that position feel extremely valuable.

Rather than thinking of heel as somewhere she is forced to stay, we want Delilah to begin choosing that position because good things consistently happen there.

That gives us a much stronger foundation to build from later.

Using an Indirect Reward Marker

Once Delilah was comfortable in heel, we used her indirect reward marker, “get it,” to disengage her from the position.

This gives her permission to move away and collect a reward.

After that, we immediately called her back into the heel position and reinforced her again once she returned.

This creates a simple pattern:

Heel → Reward → “Get It” → Disengage → Return to Heel → Reward

Repeating this pattern helps Delilah understand both how to leave the position and how to return to it.

It also keeps the training interactive and prevents the session from becoming too mentally heavy.

Why We Are Moving Slowly With Delilah

With a more confident dog, it can be tempting to move quickly through early obedience exercises.

Delilah needs a different approach.

Because she can still be sensitive and easily spooked, pushing too quickly could create hesitation and set the training back.

For now, we are focused on keeping each session clear, productive, and positive.

We are not trying to see how much she can handle.

We are trying to create enough successful repetitions that she begins to feel comfortable and confident during the training process.

Building Confidence Through Obedience

For Delilah, obedience training and confidence building go hand in hand.

Every time she successfully follows a lure, moves into position, takes food, disengages, and comes back into heel, she is learning more than just a command.

She is also learning how to interact with the handler, process new information, and work through exercises without becoming overwhelmed.

As her confidence continues to improve, we will gradually begin asking for more precision and duration.

Right now, however, the foundation matters most.

One Week of Progress

Delilah has already come a long way in a short amount of time.

When she first arrived, even taking food and comfortably engaging was something we needed to build.

Now we are able to begin introducing heel work and more structured obedience.

That progression is exactly why we take our time with dogs like Delilah.

By building trust and engagement first, we create a much stronger base for everything that comes next.

We are really happy with her progress so far and excited to continue building her heel, confidence, and overall obedience throughout her board and train program.

If you are looking for professional dog training, confidence building, obedience training, or board and train programs in Gilroy, California and the surrounding South Bay Area, contact Primal Canine to learn more about our training programs.