Teaching Your Dog to Heel
Read this lesson first, and then practice it with your dog.

1. Load up your pocket (or a bag or pouch) with treats.

2. Take your dog to a quiet area where it’s safe for her to be off a leash.

3. Decide on which side you’ll prefer your dog to heel—your left side or your right. It
doesn’t matter which side you choose, but once you decide, don’t change your mind
later and confuse your dog. For the purposes of this lesson, we’ll use the left side. If you
prefer the right side, just substitute “right” whenever we say “left.”

4. Put a few treats in your left hand.

5. Show your dog the treats in your hand and then start walking away.

6. Encourage your dog to stay with you as you walk away. Call her name, slap your left
leg, make smoochy noises, etc. Pick up the pace of your walking, almost as if you’re
trying to get away. As you’re doing all this, wave the hand with the treats down low on
your left side so your dog knows where they are.

7. If your dog follows you, stop after a few strides and give her the treats and lots of
praise. It’s great if she’s stayed right by your side, but don’t worry if she lags a bit behind
at this point.

8. Wait a couple of minutes, and then repeat Steps 4 through 7. Vary your walking
speed and make sudden changes in direction. The point is to make it interesting and fun
for your dog to keep up with you.