Teaching dogs to heel has fallen seriously out of vogue, particularly in family dog training-type programs.
The rationale is that dog owners really only want their animals to come when called, not pull on the leash and not jump up on people. Therefore, class instructors and private trainers shouldn't be taxing owners with learning how to train a behavior that is difficult to achieve and not terribly useful in their day to day lives.
The spirit behind this thinking was solid because it urged trainers to move beyond the old-fashioned dog training classes in which students and their choke-chained dogs walked in endless circles. Owners were taught to "correct" their dogs whenever they veered off course. This same spirit echoed Bob Dylan's sentiment that "times they are a changin'" and ushered in positive reinforcement-based training.
However, one might consider the possibility that the pendulum has swung too far. It is a fact that teaching a dog to heel at your side without a leash is an advanced behavior, so why do it?
To answer this I pose the question, why do we strive to become proficient or excellent at any endeavor? Studying and mastering challenging concepts changes your relationship with the subject at hand, doesn't it? And, what is having a dog without investing in a relationship, made all the more interesting because it happens to occur with another species?
Philosophical arguments aside, there are also some practical considerations. Let's readdress the big three on a dog owner's wish list. The recall, or coming when called, will be discussed in detail in a subsequent column. This leaves "not to pull on leash" and "not to jump on people." If you teach a dog a quick and solid "sit" and ask it to do it, then by definition the dog can't jump on someone. So, an owner can use the "sit" to eliminate jumping issues. The particularly nice thing about the "sit" command, from our long-suffering canine's point of view, is that it has a clear definition.
Now, let's look at "do not pull on leash" and how to communicate that concept to a student that not only doesn't understand English but also that is nonverbal and of a different species. You can't even get a classroom full of dog owners to come up with a clear, concise and consistent picture of what that might look like. Since positive reinforcement training became popular, family dog trainers have come up with numerous methods to teach "loose leash walking," and it is the behavior with which they have the least success.
Dogs learn best when information is conveyed clearly and consistently and in small enough learning parcels. The definition of heel is to "stay even with my owner's left (or right) leg while paying attention (looking at) him." If the owner moves, the dog moves, if the owner stops the dog stops and sits.
The criteria are quite simple, and the methods of teaching a heel are relatively clear as well. The difficulty is that it takes a while to teach one's dog because most of the responsibility for the ultimate behavior belongs to the dog. It is really HARD work! And, why does your dog want to work this hard? The answer is because of the relationship that the dog-handler pair develops during the journey to achieve the behavior.
Having a beautiful and fluent "heel" can be extremely useful, particularly if you want to train your dog to do interesting things such as rally obedience, agility or competition obedience or even just hang out in tight quarters.