What is the Difference Between Loose Leash Walking and Heeling?
Loose leash walking refers to the behavior of a dog walking with the leash slack or loose. Thus, training for this behavior is done to prevent dogs from pulling on leash - something that is usually considered a problem, or behavior to modify. Dogs can walk with a loose leash on either side of, or behind, or in front of the leash handler.
It’s worth noting, too, that dogs do not inherently know they should not pull on leash. Dogs move faster than people, and it’s natural for them to want to get to things in the environment they are interested in - which means dogs are not pulling out of disrespect, dominance, or any other reason in relation to people. Dogs just don’t think in this way. Therefore, it’s our job as the leash handler to help our dogs learn to walk calmly without pulling.
Heeling refers to a dog walking next to a person or leash handler. If you were to draw an imaginary line from your foot-heel to the side, a dog in heeling position would be right up to that line, slightly back of you (or essentially right next to your side). This behavior is also taught to help a dog walk without pulling on leash.
So should you teach loose leash walking or heeling?
I like to teach both behaviors. Loose leash walking is basically just the standard behavior we want dogs to follow, so we can help them learn they only get to move forward if they are not pulling.
Heeling is specifically excellent to have for situations as needed. It works great to pass other dogs, if the dogs cannot meet at that time, or for other safety reasons like walking closer to the handler to avoid vehicles in roads, or even other people on sidewalks or city places.
With heeling in particular, we usually will add a cue - or signal - to let a dog know when to perform the behavior for relatively shorter times or distances compared to loose leash walking where we mostly expect dogs to not pull for longer times (the majority of walks) without a specific verbal cue.
Example of both types in the video:
0:39 - Loose Leash Walking
You can see Mocha out in front of me, or to the side.
8:12 - or she is behind me.
19:03 - Heeling