Teaching your dog how to heel is very important if you and your dog like to walk together on a regular basis. Teaching your dog to heel can mean a lot of fun for both of you. It will also allow you to spend more time with your dog while being rewarded for dog heeling. Teaching your dog to heel is not that hard to do if you have a little patience and perseverance.
One of the most important things you must remember is consistency. If you start a dog training program and don’t stick to it, you will only be setting yourself up for failure. Dogs respond best to positive reinforcement and treats. Dogs love treats and will usually follow commands. If you want to learn how to teach your dog to heel properly, you should first start out using treats and positive training methods.
The first thing you must do when learning how to teach your dog to heel is get your dogs’ sit and stay positions in the sitting next positions. When dogs have the proper sit and stay position, you should reward them with treats. When I first started dog training, I always went to the park or on walks with my dog and would keep treats in my pocket to give him treats when he had the sitting position. That way he knew when I had something good to give him, which worked great for me because he was getting attention at all times.
The second step involved teaching your dog how to walk with you by walking beside you and stopping him with your hand. I learned how to teach my dog to heel this way by slowing down as I approached a walk pace ahead of him. I would then put my hand on his chest and in an easy, beckoning motion, point to where I wanted him to go and say, “comedo!” Once he got my signal, I’d quickly stop and in a very friendly manner, give him a treat.
Next, I found it easier to train my dog to walk on-leash by simply putting him in a standing position facing away from me and having him stay within reach of my left hand. I would simply move my hand forward, and he would go with me, staying in position until I said, “walk!” After I let him get used to that, we never used the sit-stay-fetch method any more!
Once you learn how to teach your dog to heel with the simple verbal praise method, it becomes a two-step process. You still need treats to reinforce the correct behavior, but now you also need to use the verbal praise to encourage your dog’s good behavior. I find that it is the combination of both that works the best. With the treats, you are reinforcing your dog’s behavior, while at the same time, encouraging the verbal praise to keep the dog’s confidence high.
I have found that the key to successful training is consistency. You can’t expect your dog to walk on a regular schedule if you are always going to be gone when he needs you. As with any training, make sure that your dog is going to see you every single day. If he is left with just you and the service dog unit, then the training will take longer. Make sure that your dog will go to you whenever you call for him.
In summary, teaching your dog how to heel means that you will need to take your dog through a learning process. First, let him know that you will always be there whenever he needs you. Then take him through a process of gradually increasing the distance between you and the dog as you teach him each step of the walk. Be consistent in your timing and in the pace that you set for your dog. When he sees that you are happy with the progress, he will begin to understand what you want from him.