Teaching your dog to heel step by step

Before teaching it, define precisely the position you want, because a vague criterion produces a confused dog. Classic heeling has the dog on your left, shoulder level with your leg, moving at your speed and stopping when you stop. You can choose whichever side you prefer, what matters is consistency: switching sides each time makes it impossible for the dog to work out which behaviour you pay for.

• The position: the dog's shoulder level with your leg, not pulling ahead nor dragging behind.
• The attention: the dog keeps track of you while walking, not fixed on the ground or the surroundings.
• The duration: a few metres or a few seconds at first, not a whole trip round the block.
• A start cue and an end cue: the dog must know when heeling begins and when it is free to relax.

The most common mistake is starting by walking. The dog does not yet know where to be, so pulling, correcting and repeating become the dominant experience. Far better to teach the position first at a standstill: the dog learns that being beside your leg, in the right spot, makes the reward appear. Only when the position is clear do you add movement.

1. 1

   Reward the dog when it is in the right position

   With the dog standing beside your leg, give a treat with your hand near the seam of your trousers. The reward always arrives there, so that spot becomes the most rewarding place to be.

2. 2

   Guide the dog back into position with a lure

   Let it drift away, then use a treat to guide it back beside your leg. Each time it returns to the exact spot, reward. Repeat until it comes back on its own, eagerly.

3. 3

   Add the word only when the position is reliable

   When the dog moves into position confidently, say your chosen cue an instant before it does. The word attaches to a behaviour that already exists, not one you hope for.

4. 4

   Take a single step and reward if it stays at your side

   Move one leg forward and reward at once if the dog follows, holding position. One step, one reward. Not two, not three: build movement one step at a time.

5. 5

   Extend to two or three steps keeping the criterion

   Add steps only if the position stays clean. If the dog drifts ahead or behind, you went too fast: back to one step and reward the correct position.

6. 6

   Always end with the release cue

   After a few good steps, say the end word and let the dog relax. Finishing while it is going well, not when it is exhausted, is what keeps the exercise enjoyable.

Once the dog takes a few clean steps, the heel develops in three independent directions: how long it holds, which turns it handles without losing position, and what speeds it can adjust to. Do not raise all three at once: increase one variable and hold the others steady, otherwise the task becomes too hard and the dog stops trying.

A dog that heels perfectly in the living room can forget everything on the pavement, and it is not disobedience: the exercise simply has not been taught in that context yet. Smells, noises and other dogs are powerful distractions, and every new place should be treated as a small return to basics. Do not demand on the street what has only just been born at home.

1. Restart from a few steps in a new but quiet place, such as a yard or a traffic free street.
2. Use the heel in bursts, to clear a tight passage or a crossing, then release the dog for the relaxed part of the walk.
3. Raise distractions in stages: first a few people far off, then steadily livelier settings.
4. If the dog fails several times in a row, the setting is too hard: move away from the distraction and pay the easy position.
5. Always alternate heel and freedom, so the exercise stays a short moment and not a burden lasting the whole outing.