If you’re a dog owner that is looking to self-train your own dog and confused about which style of the Heel Command to do. Then you are in the right place.
Most dog owners start off with the same belief that they will train their own dog, so you’re not alone. That’s very normal and it’s ok if you’re thinking this. Like almost every other dog owner who started the same way, there is no reason to pay someone a bunch of money to do something that anyone can do. We get it.
Now, we just have to figure out which style of the heel command you want to teach your dog. The interwebs and social media are filled with so many variations and rabbit holes to pursue. What you do know is, you are deciding between your dog looking straight up at you while walking or looking straight ahead. Which one is the best one? Which way is the right way?
You’ve researched both methods, seen so many free 15 second videos, seen the free 5 minute long instructional videos, and you read all the free training guides you could get your hands on. You keep coming back to the same spot.
Unlike other dog trainers, we are going to give you the correct answer for free. Right now, most of our clients might be in a state of shock because we charge some higher prices in the industry and have a great repeat business cycle in different areas, but here’s why we are giving the answer away for free.
We know these things to be true… The free guides and instructional videos found on social media and the internet is how dog training would work if we lived in a perfect world. It’s all the same similar directional process. They don’t show you the prep work, the clean up work, the variances of a dog’s personality, breed, ability, drive, issues the dog came with, the bad habits you will create following a training plan with no details, that the free training was provided by self-proclaimed trainers who have only trained their own dogs, the proofing process to make a command more sticky, or the official dog trainer was someone who recently got a dog training certificate and they are trying to swim in the deep end. There’s actually so many more reasons not listed here, but we think you get the point.
The other things we know are… Most dog owners get a dog that is too much dog for them, they realize they have to schedule their day out everyday for dog training, they realize dog training will take them a few years to master the commands they want, they recognize a dog trainer does this full time which is why it looks easier, they realize they are too tired when they get home from their full time job, they get a huge reality check when their dog does not look like what they saw on social media after weeks of working with their dog, and then they come to the realization that they wasted 2 or more years trying to save money but lost the most valuable commodity they have. Time…
Now your dog has all these bad habits and you will usually pay more wherever you go because they have to fix all this extra stuff. It’s a tale as old as time. We get it.
So here’s your answer on which heel command is the best one to teach your dog. The best Heel Command to teach your dog depends on what you are trying to get from your dog when the dog training is done. Here’s what I mean.
For the heel command that has the dog looking straight up, also known as focus heeling, we list some benefits and some cons. This is a great way to have your dog solely focused looking at you the entire time. It’s great for aesthetics. We think it looks really cool. You should see how many videos we watch on different outfits that can do this. We’re like, they are looking Boss right now! Not even joking. It’s also great because it gets your dog to focus on a single object like a toy or food. That super fixation is something you leverage to train your dog new commands. Searching for select items or people can be one of them. The toy becomes the reward if the dog is successful. The food or toy becomes a great pivot to train other skills like down, look, sit, etc. You would see this for dog sport competitions, dock diving, and obstacle courses to name a few. Some cons are you will always be carrying a toy, food, or object with you. Especially in the more difficult areas like public places to try and keep the dog’s attention. So enjoying your dog at the crowded store is not something you should expect anytime soon. Very few dog trainers make that transition and it takes a lot of non-stop work with your dog for at least a couple of years. We have seen the ones that do. They are great at what they do but it is a lot of time and work. And of course there is also the factor that the dog may just be super easy to train that most good trainers could have done it. Dog trainers know this. That is one option.
For the heel command that looks straight ahead, we list some benefits and some cons. This is a more difficult task to teach because you are teaching your dog to look forward and take in the world. You are now placing your dog in a position to be more aware of what’s around them and make good decisions. And depending on the dog, the breed, the personality, the person training them, the style of training, this goes on for a while, will determine what type of success you end up with. Dogs that help the vision impaired, select obedience programs, and service dog programs tend to focus on this one. Depending on the program, this can also take a couple of years to instill with your dog. A benefit is that you won’t have to be equally focused on your dog or carrying a toy the whole time. This is not knock, it’s just a listed benefit. We add our cons for this also. We have trained both styles. It’s only to show a difference. So with this style your dog is more equipped to go into public places and look more natural in those environments. Some cons are that this method is not nearly as cool looking. We recognize the other one does look pretty cool. More cons are there is a lot more proofing needed because of the difficulty level to have a dog make good decisions and go against their drives is very hard. That’s a second option.
So the short answer on which Heel Command is the best depends on the need or want you are training your dog for. As a curtesy, if you do hit a wall or realize your self-training is NOT getting you the results you wanted. Please bring your dog to us first. You’ve wasted enough of your own time and your dog’s life span time. Let us train your dog so you can start enjoying your dog for the tomorrow.
