Hand Reduction
Hand reduction describes the transition from heeling at the hand to walking with eye contact – an important milestone on the path to complete heeling.
We deliberately take plenty of time with this. We usually start when the dog is around six months old. At first, we raise the hand toward the face only very briefly, then immediately return it to its original position – so quickly that the dog cannot change its behavior.
Gradually, we accustom the dog to walking under the longer raised hand with the same attentiveness and commitment as before, directly at the nose. Only when this works reliably – often at around one year of age – do we finally replace the hand with real eye contact.
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