How to Teach a Dog to Heel – With or Without a Leash

Teaching a dog to heel and walk on a loose leash go hand in hand. Or should do. It’s such a practical thing to do.

This article will help you learn how to teach a dog to heel and includes some useful tips and detailed instructions on training a dog to heel successfully.

Most dogs need to be trained to walk to heel. However, some dogs will somehow manage to magically walk to heel when they learn to walk on a leash. But not always.

Click this link to read an article on How to Train Your Dog to Walk on a Loose Leash.

In my experience, the only reliable way to stop a dog from pulling on the leash is to teach a dog to heel – to walk at your heel.

And that’s what this article is all about, how to teach a dog to heel. By the time you reach the end of this article, you will know how to train any dog to heel!

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What is meant by “to Heel”?

To “heel” is when a dog walks directly next to you — not walking in front of you, behind, or away to the side. And the dog will be keeping pace with you, stopping when you stop and walking when you walk.

The leash is never tight – there are no pulling or superman stances, to the point where the owner can trust the dog not to be on a leash at all and remain at your side.

A dog walking to heel will be beside you – on the left if you are left-handed, or the right, whichever side suits you and the situation.

For example: on one of my favorite walks, there is no footpath beside the road, and I feel much more comfortable with my dogs on the inside, away from the road, which is not always my preferred side.

Therefore, it is useful in this situation that my dogs have learned to heel on either side of me.

I have mentioned previously how some dogs automatically and mysteriously walk to heel once they have learned to walk loosely on a leash.

But they don’t always automatically do it on either side. You need to train them to do so.

Ideally, a dog at the heel will have its head and neck aligned with its legs. And they will be very close, but not touching your leg – which you will appreciate when your dog is wet!

The Benefits of Walking to Heel

For me, one of the benefits of a dog walking at the heel is that I think it looks cool. A dog and its owner walking side by side, in unison, is poetry in motion as far as I am concerned.

However, for more practical reasons, a dog walking to heel means that you have a greater level of control than you would over a dog that doesn’t.

It also allows you to talk with your dog; by that, I mean, verbally reassuring them or quietly giving commands and rewarding them for good behavior.

It’s Not the Size that Matters…

It’s How You Use it. Right!

I’m not quite sure that headline fits, but I hope you see where I was going with it.

It’s all about control, especially with large breed dogs – that is, you have control over your dog, not the other way around. Obviously!

A dog walking to heel is a dog not pulling on the leash – it is a dog not pulling arms out of sockets and pulling its owner in all directions.

See, it’s about how you use it. Regardless of the size!

How to Teach A Dog To Heel

A dog that can walk to heel has many benefits, not the least of which is for you to walk with both hands free.

Knowing you can trust your dog to walk beside you, at your heel, in my opinion, is a milestone in the relationship between a dog and its owner.

Teaching a dog to walk to heel requires two to three training sessions for five to ten minutes each day for about ten days – some dogs learn quicker than others, and it will depend on how regular you are with your training sessions.

It requires pre-planning to put aside these training sessions over ten days for many dog owners because it does not work so well if you can only do it on the weekends or randomly during the week.

As with all dog training, consistency, persistence, and patience is the key to success.

Three Elements to Teach a Dog To Heel

1. Position
2. Command
3. Direction

The exact heel position a dog walks to heel comes down to one of two things: the dog’s natural inclination and the owner’s preference.

The most common position is the head and neck aligned with the owner’s legs, which, in my opinion, looks natural.

However, I know other dog owners who like their dogs to walk slightly ahead, so their back legs are in line with the owner’s legs.

Does it matter?

Not really.

Find out what works best for you and your dog.

As for which side the dog walks on is again one of personal preference, though by default it usually comes down to whether you are right or left-handed.

It pays, however, to teach your dog to walk on both sides, this is useful when walking on the side of the road that doesn’t have footpaths. Or if you need to avoid obstacles, people, or other dogs.

If you are training a gun dog, it is advisable to only teach them to walk on the opposite side to which you carry and use your gun. I think the reason for this is obvious.

The old way to train a dog to walk to heel was to punish or correct the dog whenever they didn’t walk in the desired position.

However, as you may have gathered from other dog training methods on this website, that is no longer the favored training method. It wasn’t kind and often slowed down the learning process.

Today the dog is shown the desired walking position and then introduced to the command to adopt it.

1) Establish the Heel Position

Top up your treat belt or fill your pocket, and let’s begin.

In your first few days, you won’t be using a leash, and you want to avoid as many distractions as possible. Ideally, it’s just you and your dog in a room or yard with nothing to distract either of you from the task at hand.

Position yourself close to a wall or fence with just enough space for your dog to fit between you and the wall. If you are right-handed, you will be walking anti-clockwise around the room, with the wall/fence on your right.

This tight spacing keeps your dog close, and they get used to walking beside you.

The following instructions are for right-handed people. If you are left-handed, the reverse applies.

With a treat in each hand, wave the left hand under your dog’s nose so that it registers that you are holding a treat, but don’t let him have it. Then move your hand behind your back to meet the right hand, luring the dog as you go.

This exercise aims to get the dog into the heel position and then reward him for being in the correct place – he won’t know what he’s being rewarded for yet, but he will soon enough.

Encourage your dog enthusiastically as he moves into position with Yes or Good Boy/girl etc. When he reaches the heel position on the right-hand side between you and the wall, reward him with the treat from your right hand.

That was easy, wasn’t it!

Repeat this exact process once more and then three or four times without a treat in your left hand – show him your empty hand and repeat the process encourage him around to your right hand.

Your left hand is going to be the signal to heel.

Once your dog successfully follows your empty left hand, it’s time to change it from being a lure to being part of the cue to heel.

You do this by pointing behind your back with your dog moving into the heel position.

It is important that you stop using the left hand with a treat in it as soon as you can. I have found that most dogs follow the empty hand after just two or three times. However, keep giving them treats from the right hand.

As soon as your dog realizes that when you signal with your left hand to go around your back to the heel position, you can verbally introduce the heel command “Heel.”

Repeat this process three to four times and then try it without using your left hand as a signal. Just say “Heel.”

If your dog seems confused, then signal with your left hand until he understands what it is you are expecting.

Remember to reward him with the treats, verbally and a rub or pat, or head ruffle.

Once your dog readily obeys your hand signal to get into the heel position, you are ready to start the next step – Walking at your heel.

2) Introduce the Heel Command

This next step is about training your dog to stay on your heel when you are walking – one step at a time.

Start by giving the cue to heel, but this time instead of giving your dog a treat with the right hand, you take one step forward and treat him when he steps forward to keep pace with you.

As soon as your dog moves with you, reward him, and then take another step. It is important that you don’t rush these first two steps. Take your time and repeat as often as necessary.

Once your dog learns to move forward at your heel for two steps, then you can gradually increase the number of steps. But be patient. And always reward your dog within three seconds that they adopt the correct heel position and walk with you at the heel.

It will likely take 5-6 sessions to get your dog to stay in position for ten steps – depending on your dog; it could be more, it could be less.

Another important point here is don’t change direction in these early stages. It will only confuse your dog.

So far, so good.

Once your dog has mastered the art of adopting the heel position and also walks with you in the correct position – at your heel – then it’s time to take it up a notch.

The next step in teaching a dog to heel is to start all over again, except this time you will put on a leash.

You do everything the same, keeping this as seamless as possible helps to settle the dog.

Once you get to ten steps and your dog is correctly positioned, drop the leash and start over.

Your dog needs to learn to walk to heel on and off the leash and with the leash dragging on the ground, and this is the best time to train them to do so.

Nearly there!

3) A Change of Direction

Okay, so we are nearly there. The next step is in another direction, literally.

Once you have trained your dog to walk at your heel for ten or so steps, it’s time to introduce changes in direction.

Start as we have above, getting your dog at your side, taking two steps, stop, and then make a 90-degree turn – left or right, it doesn’t matter. Reward your dog for any attempt to turn with you – your dog will catch on quick enough.

Now take a few more steps in the new direction; if he falls in beside you at the heel position, reward him. Take another few steps, turn again, and reward him if he adopts the heel position.

If your dog does not fall into the heel position, stop for the day and start over in the next training session.

At first, you are aiming to walk in circles – rectangles, actually. Three to four steps, stop, turn, three to four steps and repeat until your dog gets it.

Dog training tip: don’t try to teach your dog more than one thing at a time.

Don’t try to combine more than one type of training in each session, and only introduce advanced steps of training after your dog has successfully learned the previous task.

Last But Not Leash

Walking to heel on or off a leash also means that your dog stays at the heel position when you change direction and when you stop walking.

A well-trained dog will stay quietly at your heel when you stop to cross a road or talk to a friend and not run off to explore on his own.

I teach my dogs to sit the moment I stop walking, and sometimes I need to reinforce this with the command ‘Sit.’ That is my personal preference, something I will leave you to decide if you want to teach your dog to do.

If you decide to teach your dog to sit, this is how to do it.

Walk your dog for about ten steps, then stop and ask your dog to sit, and reward him with a treat when he sits. Do this half a dozen times before trying it without the Sit command.

By now, your dog should sit automatically each time you stop.

Suppose you want to take it a step further and get your dog to lay down, add this command as above. This is particularly useful if you have stopped to talk with a friend or watch something.

Putting it to the Test

Practicing in the yard without distractions at home is one thing. Doing it in the real world comes with all sorts of distractions – dogs, cats, cars, people, smells, familiar habits, etc.

How well you do in the real world comes down to how well you trained your dog at home. So don’t be in a rush to get into the real world with this one.

As far as your dog is concerned, he has learned to walk to heel in the privacy of his home. That’s what he was being rewarded for.

When you first venture out into the public domain, you will need your treat bag and leash and be prepared to start all over.

It usually doesn’t take long for your dog to learn that what they learned in the yard is the behavior that is expected in the outdoors as well.

Be patient, and remain calm. The great outdoors is full of wonderful temptations for a dog.

Articles and links mentioned on this page include:

How to Stop a Dog Pulling on a Leash
How to Train Your Dog to Walk on a Loose Leash