Kroki

Question · Dog

How do I teach my dog to heel?

The short answer

To teach a grown dog to heel, start somewhere calm, keep a treat at your leg and reward every step it walks right beside you. Add the word “Heel” once it stays close, then build up distance and distractions slowly. Use a harness and a slack lead; tugging your dog back by the neck shows it nothing about where to be. Kroki, a reward-based training app for puppies and dogs, has no heel step but teaches loose-lead walking on a harness and has an SOS card for lead pulling.

How to do it, step by step

  1. Start fresh: new word, harness on

    If “Heel” has meant pressure on the neck in the past, pick a new word such as “Close” and switch to a well-fitting harness. A new word lets you begin without the old baggage.

  2. Make your leg the best place to be

    At home, reward your dog every time it stands at your side, using treats from a pouch at your hip. Then walk slow circles in the room and pay every second step it stays at your leg.

  3. Count steps, not minutes

    Grow from three steps to ten to twenty before you take heel out of the house. A grown dog can work for a few minutes per session; stop before it starts to drift away.

  4. Take it outside in easy places first

    Practise on a quiet street at a quiet time, then at the edge of a park, then on busier routes. Every new place is a step back in difficulty, so make the stretches short again.

  5. Keep your distance from triggers

    Dogs that pull or lunge towards other dogs often can’t hold heel when the trigger is close. Cross the street or turn away, and reward heel at a distance where your dog can still take food.

  6. Release often

    Heel is hard work. After each stretch, say “Free!” and let your dog sniff on a slack lead. Short bursts of heel between free time keep it keen.

Teaching a puppy?

Puppies tire quickly, so a heel session is a minute or two of a few steps indoors, often without any lead. Most of a puppy walk should be easy loose-lead walking with lots of sniffing. The page for puppies has the details.

What research says about collars, tugs and rewards

A grown dog that pulls hard on a collar puts real pressure on its neck. In one study, pulling against a collar raised the pressure inside dogs’ eyes, while pulling against a harness did not raise it significantly; the authors advise a harness for dogs with eye problems such as glaucoma (Pauli and colleagues 2006).

Old-style heel training often relied on sharp tugs. A study of 92 companion dogs compared training schools: in schools that used many aversive methods, which the authors say included jerks on the lead, physical handling and yelling, dogs showed more stress behaviour in class and larger rises in the stress hormone cortisol afterwards than dogs from reward-based schools (Vieira de Castro and colleagues 2020).

A review of the research came to a similar conclusion: aversive methods can harm a dog’s physical and mental health, and there is no evidence that they work better than rewards (Ziv 2017). A treat at your leg is the kinder way to show your dog where to walk, and nothing suggests it costs you results.

When your dog keeps drifting ahead

  • It surges forward at the start of every walk: practise a minute of heel in the hallway first, so the first steps outside are calmer.
  • It swings wide to sniff: the stretch is too long. Shorten it, then give sniffing time as the reward.
  • It crosses behind you to the other side: reward a little earlier, and keep the hand with the treats on the heel side only.
  • It only stays close when it sees food: move the pouch to your back and reward from it at random, sometimes with a toy.

Common mistakes with grown dogs

  • Asking for heel on the whole walk. A grown dog needs time to sniff and move at its own pace too.
  • Jerking the lead back. It hurts, raises stress and tells your dog nothing about where it should be.
  • Practising only on walks. Without calm practice at home first, outdoor distractions win almost every time.
  • Expecting an older or stiff dog to keep your pace. Slow down to its speed; heel is about position, not tempo.

When to see a professional

Talk to a professional before you train heel if:

The help pages list services in Germany, Austria and Switzerland only. Elsewhere, ask your vet practice who they recommend near you.

Frequently asked questions

Can an adult dog that has always pulled learn to heel?

Yes, though it usually takes longer than with a puppy, because pulling has worked for years. A new word, a harness and lots of short stretches at home first make the change much easier.

Can my dog learn to heel on both sides?

Yes, many dogs learn both sides. Teach one side until it is solid, then the other with its own word, such as “Heel” for the left and “Side” for the right.

How do I teach heel to a big, strong dog?

Start indoors, where pulling isn’t possible, and use a well-fitting harness with a front ring for walks. Work far from triggers at first, and ask a trainer for help if you can’t hold your dog safely.

Should I teach heel off lead?

Off lead indoors is a good way to practise, because the lead can’t do the work. Outdoors, keep the lead on: heel is a short-stretch skill, not a replacement for a lead near traffic.

Are prong or choke collars useful for heel training?

No. They work through pain or pressure on the neck, which research links to stress and health risks, and they are not needed: rewards at your leg teach heel well.

How long can a grown dog walk at heel?

Most grown dogs can manage a minute or two of focused heel once trained, longer with practice. Use it for short stretches, such as passing other dogs, and give free time in between.

Why does my dog heel at home but not outside?

Outside is full of smells, sounds and other dogs that compete with you. Go back to very short stretches in quiet places, pay more generously and add distractions one at a time.

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