The Halt

The trick to teaching a straight sit is teaching your dog when to sit. If your dog is in good heel position and knows how to do a proper tucked sit, the sit will be straight if you can clue your dog exactly when to put it down. Again, footwork and body language are the keys to coordinated halts. As you come to a halt from a brisk heeling pace, it is natural to shorten your stride over a couple of steps. Plant one of your feet and bring the other up to meet it. Decide which of your feet naturally bears your weight alone and consistently plant that foot. For most of us, that's the right foot. As you come to a stop, take a couple of steps at a reduced stride length, straighten up slightly and say "sit" at the same time that you plant your right foot. Practice this without your dog. Have someone else watch you to make sure you are saying "sit" simultaneously with the planting of your right foot. A tug on the leash as you plant your right foot will further clue the dog to sit at that point.

In the early stages of training halts, I recommend that you do a four-step exercise; left, right, left, "sit." Repeat this in a straight line until your dog gets the rhythm of the exercise and starts to anticipate the sits. Do not worry if the sits are not perfect at this stage, rather work on your timing. The sits will end up straight if the dog is heeling in good position and he knows exactly when to halt.

Getting coordinated halts probably takes more practice than any other aspect of heeling training. Learning to come to a stop in the same manner (same footwork, same body language) every time takes work, but is absolutely necessary if you want straight sits from your dog. Pembrokes are very sensitive about such things. They really tune in to your body language and get off on following your lead.