1. Use distance by starting a few feet away and advance to ten feet or more.
2. Practice this outdoors, preferably around other people and dogs.
3. Move to a fixed-ratio schedule and reward only after a few successful repetitions.
4. Pair the “down” command with “stay.”
Many commands can be paired; for example, “sit” and “stay” are commonly used together, as are “down” and “stay.”
When a dog sits alongside its owner, it is considered to be in the heeling position. Should a dog excitedly run up to investigate someone, saying “heel” will cue the dog to come back alongside its owner and sit. The heeling technique is simple in spirit but the most complex command to teach and practice. I will offer an abbreviated explanation so owners can get started. In order to learn how to heel, the dog needs to have mastered the “sit” command.
One big difference between heeling and other commands is that the dog is at your side, not in front of you. The dog will need to adjust to this, as well as a decrease in eye contact. When delivering the treat, you need to turn only your upper body toward the dog.