Off-Leash Heeling and Walking
Next you’re going to teach your dog to heel off-leash. Heeling means walking right by your side and staying right by your side even as you turn and change pace and then automatically sitting whenever you stop. Heel your dog on one-side only. The left-hand side is the traditional choice and these instructions will apply to left-side heeling, but if you’d prefer to heel your dog on the right, you can do so, as long as you do so consistently. You don’t want your dog bumping into your legs, crossing in front of you, or later, wrapping the leash around your legs.
Let’s use the 4-steps of Lure-Reward Training. 1. Say “Heel”, 2. Waggle a food lure in your left hand and stride out. 3. As the dog walks by your left-hand side, 4. Praise profusely. Periodically, 1. Say “Sit”, 2. Lure/Signal Sit with your right hand (across the front of your body and in front of the dog’s nose) and 3. When the dog sits, 4. Praise and offer a food reward for the quicker and straighter sits.
Initially, heel only in a straight line but with lots and lots of Sits. With hyperactive dogs, you may want to start with just a one-step, Sit-Heel-Sit sequence. Then try for two steps, then three, five, eight and 15 steps between Sits.
Once your dog is heeling well for straight-aways you can try introducing turns. At first, you’ll want to start with 90 degree turns and 180 degree turns. Have your dog Sit, then lure your dog around your body as you turn in place before quickly having your dog Sit again on your left-hand side and then, off you go again in a straight line.
So, you walk straight, then have your dog Sit, Turn, Sit and then walk straight again. As your dog gets the hang of this, you can start making turns while you are walking. Keep in mind, your dog will have to change speed to accommodate being on the inside or outside of the turn. If you are heeling your dog on the left side, then when you make right-turns your dog will be on the outside of the turn and you’ll need to lead your dog by moving your left-hand lure forward a little. When making left-turns, your dog will be on the inside of the turn and you’ll need to slow down your dog by moving your left-hand lure back.
If you walk at the same speed and in the same direction, you’ll gradually lose your dog’s attention and so, change speed and direction often and stop frequently for your dog to Sit and Stay. You should be doing something like: Sit – Heel – Sit – Heel - Speed up! – Speed up!! – Slow Down - Slow Dowwwn – Right Turn – Speed up! – Left Turn – Left Turn – Left Turn – Slow Down – Sit and Stay. You want to keep your dog on their toes, focused on you and your instructions, unsure of what will happen next.