Finish to the Right
Prerequisite: All exercises from Basic & Advanced Obedience
The finish exercise is a polishing exercise at the end of the recall.
Practice:
Set this up by heeling forward and then pivoting left toward your dog (still in motion) in to a position where you are
walking BACKWARDS. Your dog should heel next to your RIGHT leg as you are moving backwards.
After a few backwards steps, pivot right away from your dog and continue in your forward motion again. The dog
should stay to your left.
Once the dog has is doing this reliably, you can begin to incorporate the 'finish' command with the come.
Polish:
Call the dog to front / sit. Wrap your leash behind your legs from the right. Bring the leash around to the left, and
across the front of your body to your right hand.
Then, simply give the 'heel' or 'finish' command and step backwards three to five steps -
beginning with the right leg. As the dog catches on and comes to the heel on your right, change directions, and
begin heeling forward. The dog should wrap around to your left side as your momentum changes from backward to
forward. Come to a stop and expect the auto-sit. If the dog doesn't sit, give the sit correction.
Eventually, you will be able to phase out the backward and forward steps, as the dog will simply get up and come
around to the heel position from the sit-to-front position after a recall.
Finish to the Left
Call the dog to front/sit. Grasp the leash in your LEFT hand. Give the 'Swing' command and take several steps back,
beginning on your LEFT foot and guiding the dog gently to your left and slightly past (behind) your left leg.
Now, step forward several steps, turning the dog toward or away from you (whichever you & the dog seem most
comfortable with) to circle back into the heel position at your left.