Heeling Your Dog For Dummies
I’m a firm believer that heeling your dog can heal your dog. Whatever ails them, heel can help. No, it won’t “fix” all the behavioral issues, but we definitely use it as leverage to help with reactivity, anxiety, nervousness, and anything else you can think of.
It can be quite meditative and help dogs really relax in a way that they never can when they are helpless to control arousal and impulses.
It also is an amazing way to deepen your bond with your dog and improve your relationship. Make walks a thing you actually do together, now, instead of just being pulled down the road behind your dog who is on their own walk. You become more relevant and worth engaging with, respecting, trusting, and following.
Have a listen to find out what heel really means, how we use, who should use it, and what it can do for you and your dog!
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Minute-by-Minute Breakdown
- 00:00 – Host Kati Peppe opens the episode and asks listeners to subscribe.
- 01:00 – Heeling benefits dogs in many ways and is an underrated command.
- 02:00 – People mistakenly believe letting dogs roam equals happiness; that’s false.
- 03:00 – Episode will cover what ‘heel’ means, who should use it, and why.
- 05:00 – Heel is a job; dog should walk slightly behind on your left.
- 06:00 – Dog must keep walking with you past smells and maintain position.
- 07:00 – Heel requires focused practice, like a human focusing on breath.
- 09:00 – Heeling reduces stress, reactivity, and excitability by redirecting attention.
- 10:00 – Stopping while heeling should make the dog stop and ideally sit automatically.
- 11:00 – Walking in heel for twenty minutes can tire a dog as much as frantic exercise.
- 13:00 – Heeling turns walks into shared activities where the dog follows you.
- 15:00 – You can release the dog to sniff as a reward after heeling.
- 19:00 – Accountability is necessary to maintain heel; owners must enforce standards.
- 23:00 – If dogs repeat mistakes, corrections are not meaningful or timing is off.
- 24:00 – Walks shouldn’t require thousands of leash pops; dogs should learn after few corrections.