Heel

[MaryStencil]

We take our 6 mo golden doodle mainly now  on off leash walks on our property. At night I walk her on a leash. I want to assure that she will heel while walking on leash but I am okay with her not having to be in the heel position off-leash. 

Question: Will she be able to recognize when on leash she will need to heel and differentiate the off vs on leash expectations?

[Adrienne]

Hello, and welcome to the forums,

Great question!

Generally, dogs are good enough in understanding that when the leash is off, they are granted more freedom, whereas when the leash is on they are expected to stick close-by.

 Indeed, many service dogs have demonstrated the uncanny ability to discriminate between when they are working because they are wearing their vest, from when they are off-work because the vest is off. Many dogs can also differentiate between short leashes and longer leashes. With the short leash they know to heel, with the longer leash, they know they can roam a little farther. 

If you want to provide a little more clarity, you can certainly say "free!" when you remove the leash on your property so that your dog associates removal of the leash with moving more freely. And when you put the leash on, you provide feedback every now  and then as needed such as slowing down or stopping if your dog happens to pull forward or praising her for not pulling.  You can also remind to "leave it" if there's a temptation on walks and reward it with a tasty treat for complying. This just reminds the dog that there are certain expectations when the leash is on. 

Consider  as well, that when a dog is on leash, the dog is going to have to exert some great level of restraint (dogs can no longer sniff around, walk at a faster pace), so I feel it's important to reward good behaviors as we catch them and not take them for granted. I feel it's also important so that we can create a strong reinforcement history with us that gives some advantage over all the environmental reinforcements (sights, smells, adrenaline, pleasure of romping freely)  dogs gain from off-leash walks. 

With on property walks off-leash, I feel it's also important to have a dog responsive to leave its and recalls, and I find it helpful as well to every now and then, reward any voluntary check-ins: that is, I carry treats in my pocket or treat bag and give them to the dog should he/she decide to come near me every now and then. I feel that this helps reinforce a dog minding us despite all the smells and distractions and it can also help build our bond. 

Happy training!