If you’ve ever been taken for a walk by a strong, willful dog, you can’t help but gaze in wistful admiration at people whose dogs walks calmly by their sides, even when off a leash.
But there’s more to gain from training your dog to heel than no longer being dragged down the street. When walking your dog is not a “chore,” you’ll enjoy it more, you’ll do it more, and you and your dog will both benefit from more frequent walks.
Training an energetic and always-curious dog to walk slowly by your side and ignore all the fascinating scents and other distractions during your outings will be a major challenge. After all, dogs, unlike people, do not naturally walk side-by-side with their friends and family.
Some dog trainers (amateurs and professionals alike) use various forms of choke collars, brute force, and intimidation to teach dogs to heel. From a dog’s point of view, this concept of “heel” must seem more like “hell.”
As you know by now, that’s not how we operate. Training your dog to heel will be easier than you think when you make the lessons an interesting game. But it will take a little time; you may not get to a finished “heel” for a few weeks. That’s OK, because the process will be lots of fun for you and your dog.
Follow our training system, and soon you and your dog will be the ones struggling dog walkers gaze at in wistful admiration!
>>>> Proceed to Training Your Dog to Heel 2