What side should the dog be trained when teaching heeling?

[german]

Hello, does it matter what side do you teach your dog to heel? should it always be the same side? could you interchange sides depending on the direction when you are walking on a sidewalk? Thank you!

[JMFS]

Hello!

 

I trained Momo to walk on the left, but now that I'm walking on tracks and trails that's changed. I Used to have Mo heel on the left because I'd walk against traffic and he'd be on the inside, near the curb tucked away safely. All of the trails and tracks I go to want you to "curb your dog," which means they're going to have to walk on the Right side. Ugh! Momo can change to the right, but he tends to amble to the left after I've lost focus. We adopted Gertie after I learned all the tracks and trails around here want dogs on the curb side so she's trained to walk on the right.

 

For me, it boils down to the laws of the land. However! There's absolutely No rule that says you can't teach them Both. :D For Momo "heel" means "left" and "right" means, well, "right." He's now an ambidextrous walker. It comes in handy because you can adapt to the situation at hand.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Yup, it comes handy to train both and there may be specific circumstances for that and Jennifer pointed a very good one.

Things to ask yourself are: are you planning on enrolling your dog in formal obedience training and possibly getting titles? Are you planning on showing your dog in the conformation ring? Are you ever planning to get a new dog and walk dogs together?

 

In the world of dog competition there are specific words used to depict the side in which the dog is walking with the handler. The formal term for the dog staying on the left is "heel position" while the formal term for the dog staying on the left is just "side." In both cases, what counts is that the dog's head and/or shoulder area are aligned with the handler's leg with both handler and dog obviously facing the same direction. In many dog competitions (obedience, conformation), dogs are required to be trained to walk on the left (heel), however, if you do not plan on competing in any dogs sports in particular, you may choose whatever side you like...BUT...one thing worth mentioning is that many dog owners get their puppy from a young age and never imagine themselves enrolling their dogs in getting formal obedience titles. However, when doggy adolescence is around the corner, some dog owners may reconsider since dogs at this stage end up having a lot of energy and dog owners are always seeking productive ways to channel it and dog competition events are great for that.

 

However, as Jennifer pointed out, there are advantages of having dogs learn to walk both left and right. For instance, let's say that you are walking past a dog who is reactive, in that case, you may want to give as much distance as possible by moving your dog to your left or right so that you are in between both dogs. Or perhaps, your dog is scared of something. In such case, you can ask your dog to pass to the opposite side so that he feels less threatened. So yes, it comes helpful to train dogs how to switch sides just in case so to maneuver around obstacles.

 

With my Rotties Petra and Einstein, I mostly walked Petra and knew with Petra that I wanted to enroll her in some canine events, so we did mostly heel training. Hubby who walked Einstein most of the time trained him "side" instead. This came handy on those days when hubby worked and I had to walk both dogs myself since I had Petra on the left and Kaiser on the right and they never zig-zagged. This was fine until I took Petra to the city and there was a great need at times for her to walk on the right either due to reactive dogs, some forgotten poop in the way or other obstacles. Training her took a bit of time (I almost ended tripping on her in the meanwhile when I asked her to side and she went back to heel) but it was well worth it in the long run.

 

The general use of keeping dogs on the left stems down from the old days when guns were carried by hunters or the military in the right hand. Nowadays, this has remained mostly a tradition, just as mounting horses from the left is still widely used, although it stems from the past so that swords wouldn't harm their horses' backs upon mounting.

 

In any case, regardless of which side you choose (or if you decide to train both), one thing remains the most important: that you train your dog to walk politely on leash without dragging you down the street.

[JMFS]

The general use of keeping dogs on the left stems down from the old days when guns were carried by hunters or the military in the right hand. Nowadays, this has remained mostly a tradition, just as mounting horses from the left is still widely used, although it stems from the past so that swords wouldn't harm their horses' backs upon mounting.

 

Interesting! I told my husband tonight about the teaspoon of sugar in a swimming pool. He was lamenting Abbi's fascination with a spot she'd already sniffed three times and I got to share some knowledge that made him go, "where on Earth did you learn that?! Wait, never mind, I know where." :D

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Dogs are so interesting beings, we never stop discovering new things about them! As of lately, there's a strong interest in studying them and so much new info comes out from research which is a big plus. Not to mention all the great books coming out as of lately. So much interesting stuff!