Dog query I: are dogs always trained to heel on the left? If so, since when?

[Maus_Magill]

I was under the impression dogs heeled to the left in the US to keep them out of the road while walking.

Where’s there no sidewalk, pedestrians should walk facing traffic. If the dog is on the left of the walker, it would be on the curb, not on the street.

I could be totally off base, though.

[Ulfreida]

@Leo_Bloom

Edit: which also implies, do some trainers have “heel” and “walk at heel” as different commands?

There is a convention among Agility trainers that “heel” means left side and “side” means right side. But people use whatever they feel like. Dogs don’t speak English.

Since the decline of formal Obedience competition and the rise of other competitive dog sports, I’ve seen a lot more individuality in commands. For example I use “by me” to mean “stick close, at my side or behind me but not in front of me.” That’s because that’s the degree of accuracy I typically need, and I’m saving the “heel” command for if I ever do Obedience competition again (where the heel position is rated for precision).

[Lacunae_Matata]

@burpo_the_wonder_mutt

Apocrypha Alert

I’d heard the dog heels on the left because the master is cradling his shotgun in the right hand, pointed at the ground, breech open, to facilitate reloading/firing. If dog’s on the right, dog gets in the way (to say the least).

That could very well be true, though I don’t have a cite. Our dogs are trained to heel to the left because my husband works with police K9s. Tony’s right-handed, so he doesn’t need the dog in harm’s way if a gun is drawn. (Okay, actually, only one of our two current dogs heels to the left, because the other one is too stupid to train. In 18 months of consistent, regular training, the pet dog has learned exactly two commands. But she’s special. However, all of our previous dogs have been trained to heel to the left, to keep them away from the gun hand. The convention does help keep them away from oncoming traffic, too.)

[Blue_Blistering_Barnacle]

@ZipperJJ

We were taught in our obedience class to heel the dog on the left (the trainer did show dogs) and it’s worked out well because we don’t have sidewalks. It keeps the dog on the side away from traffic.

My dog washed out of service dog training, and is therefore trained to accept either side equally. I was running with her on country roads a few days ago, and keeping her on the left did a marvelous job of keeping her far from the oncoming cars. Then I pondered whether or not this was the origin of the common practice of keeping the dog on the left. And now here I find this thread…

[pulykamell]

@Blue_Blistering_Barnacle

My dog washed out of service dog training, and is therefore trained to accept either side equally. I was running with her on country roads a few days ago, and keeping her on the left did a marvelous job of keeping her far from the oncoming cars. Then I pondered whether or not this was the origin of the common practice of keeping the dog on the left. And now here I find this thread…

The gun explanation above actually does make sense, and it doesn’t sound so much apocryphal as practical. Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know, but it’s not one of those BS explanations that immediately rings as such to me.

Like I said above, for me, it feels most comfortable. I am right-handed. I walk with the leash in the right hand, and across my body, because I feel it offers me the most control. This would be a good photograph of the way I like to walk my dog. Right hand on top of leash (I have put my hand through the loop and hold the leash firmly where the loop meets the rest of the leash.) And with my other hand, I keep a loose hold on the leash (as in the picture), trying to keep the leash as loose as possible and not transmitting tension to the dog. I also like walking my dog with a slip lead. I’ve had the regular clasp leashes become unclasped on me, but never had an issue with a slip lead. I would also feel comfortable doing it in reverse (head of leash in left hand, leash across body, dog on right), but left side feels most natural to me and I feel most in control in that way. I don’t know if this is a left-handed vs right-handed thing, or just personal preference, though.

[burpo_the_wonder_mutt]

I have three to add:

1. I won’t swear to it in open court, but I thought Cecil touched on the hunter/shotgun/dog-on-left thingie in a column, better than 20 years ago, but I just did a quick keyword search and found nothing. I know there are better Google-fu-ers out there than me, you might find it;
2. I would assume our dog training “regimen” came from the British, and of course their traffic flow is reverse of ours, so (tossing a monkey-wrench in here), wouldn’t their’s be dog-on-RIGHT, to keep Rex away from cars? (which of course screws my hunter theory, above);
3. Lacunae Matata, I just love it when I’m reading something (like your post above) informative, sober and direct and here comes “…too stupid to train,” and I almost spit my iced tea all over the keyboard. Keep up the good work.

[Lacunae_Matata]

Thanks burpo. I wish that had been the effect I was going for in my post. Sadly, it’s purely factual. Pandora is living, walking proof that, while certain traits might generally carry through a breed of dog, individuals vary. Great Pyrenees are supposed to be smart. The last one I had? Brilliant. Too smart for his own good some days. 'Dora has the IQ of a slice of cheese.

[njtt]

What if your dog is a ‘very large cat’? (Some are, apparently.)

[gracer]

@burpo_the_wonder_mutt

2. I would assume our dog training “regimen” came from the British, and of course their traffic flow is reverse of ours, so (tossing a monkey-wrench in here), wouldn’t their’s be dog-on-RIGHT, to keep Rex away from cars? (which of course screws my hunter theory, above);

All dogs I have trained, I trained in the UK and all walked to heel on the left. All were gun dogs though, and as mentioned, that’s why they need to keep left.

It is annoying on the road, that when I call her to heel she immediately appears at my left which is the dangerous road side. I’d never really thought about training her for both sides… She’ll walk on the other side if I want her to but I have sort of explain it and she’ll always come to the left first.

She only very briefly decided all by herself to heel on my right side: when I first met my SO, and he would be on my right! Her nose would push cheekily between us and she’d worm herself in there. She got over it, eventually.