MANY people underestimate the value of the heel command.
It may be because in an obedience class it's the most challenging command to master and therefore most people simply don't continue training it once the class is over.
The heel command means that a dog walks politely at a handler's side on a loose leash. The dog's shoulder should not be any further ahead than the handler's leg. Traditionally a dog heels on the left side of its handler, but I have always taught my students to teach their dogs to heel on either side, with two separate commands, because it will come in handy one day.
Case in point: while walking my dogs along a trail the other morning, a man approached with his two whippets dragging him towards me.
He shouted out, "Are your dogs friendly?"
My response? "No." I've learned that anyone who shouts that as their dogs drag him or her towards me, is actually saying, "I have no control over my dogs and I'm hoping your dogs are friendly so I don't have to show you what a bad leader I am to my dogs."
Being the instigator I'm known to be, I force people to deal with their problems instead of enabling them by placating them.
In any case, I placed my dogs on leash and into a heel on my right side, as the man was approaching me on the left side of the trail. His dogs were lunging so he decided to get them to sit. The dogs reacted to him placing their butts onto the ground by yelping and squirming like a bunch of spoiled adolescents.
If I had kept my dogs on the left, they would have been forced to get close to the two badly behaved dogs and there would have been an altercation. But with my dogs on the right, I was between the approaching dogs and my dogs and all went smoothly (from my end anyway). By doing this I showed my dogs that I was in total control of the situation and there was nothing for them to have to protect me from or react to.
What the approaching man should have done was get his dogs into the heel position. It would have shown the dogs that their owner was indeed in control of the situation and there was nothing to worry about. It wouldn't have created so much anxiety in his dogs by asking them to sit as two very large dogs approached, albeit in control, so close to them.
His dogs reacted poorly because they lack leadership. If there was leadership present they would have not been pulling, would have walked peacefully by my dogs without any need for interaction and if required sat patiently when asked. Finally, it would have shown these dogs the leadership they so desperately need and help instill the confidence in them that they currently lack.
The worst thing you can do when approaching a dog that is aggressive or out of control is to stop and sit as both of the dogs only get anxious. The dog passing will be thinking the sitting dog is going to lunge out and attack from behind. The sitting dog feels like bait waiting to be attacked by the moving dog. Both dogs and handlers should move in their chosen direction (preferably away from each other) in a controlled heel.
Instead of being elated that your obedience class is over and you no longer having to practice the dreaded heel command, take the time and effort to teach it to your dog properly. Even ask the trainer for extra help during the class or afterwards.
Heel is an extremely useful tool to control your dog and instill confidence through leadership.
