Teaching Your Dog to Heel
Sometimes when you are out walking your dog, do you ever wonder who is walking who? Walking a dog that is obedient and stays close to your feet makes for a much more enjoyable walk. Here are some tips on how to make your dog heel:
The whole point of this exercise is for your dog not to pull, so let him know that you don’t like it when he does. When your dog tries to pull, act like a pole cemented in the ground and don’t move anywhere. Only move forward when the leash is slack.
While this method may not get you very far in terms of distance, your dog will start to get the idea that pulling on his leash is completely unproductive. If you want to really enforce the point, you can even take a few steps backward.
The same goes for your dog pulling side-to-side. Except instead of stopping, just keep walking. There’s only one place for him to go.
Getting him to heel might take a little bit more bribery. Just like your other commands you will want to tell him to “heel” when he gets near your side. In addition to that, give him a treat every time he does it. This should reinforce what you want him to do.
The whole point of this exercise is for your dog not to pull, so let him know that you don’t like it when he does. When your dog tries to pull, act like a pole cemented in the ground and don’t move anywhere. Only move forward when the leash is slack.
While this method may not get you very far in terms of distance, your dog will start to get the idea that pulling on his leash is completely unproductive. If you want to really enforce the point, you can even take a few steps backward.
The same goes for your dog pulling side-to-side. Except instead of stopping, just keep walking. There’s only one place for him to go.
Getting him to heel might take a little bit more bribery. Just like your other commands you will want to tell him to “heel” when he gets near your side. In addition to that, give him a treat every time he does it. This should reinforce what you want him to do.