The reason I’ve chosen the command “heel” as the first command to teach your puppy or dog, is that your dog is going to learn to follow you everywhere.  You do not want to stumble over him/her.  You do not want to hurt your puppy, and you don’t want to be hurt because you didn’t know your puppy was there.  It is also assumed that you are going to train your puppy/dog to be a good neighbor and citizen, and not allow him to roam at will.  You will be teaching your dog expectations.  As stated in previous articles, your dog wants desperately to please you, the owner, you are the alpha of the dog’s pack.
The second reason, is this is the foundation command for obedience competition.  Whether or not you compete in obedience, or conformation, teaching your dog to heel is the elemental step needed to establish boundaries.
     To begin with, remember not all dogs train the same way.  People do not learn the same way, why expect your dog to be perfect when you can’t be?  It’s the striving for perfection, that’s the reason for competing.  If you train in an unkind, rough way, this will be reflected in your dog’s attitude.  Keep your dog happy by giving him praise when he does things right.  Even when the dog makes a mistake, correction must be immediate, and praise when the command is obeyed even if for a few seconds.  Before a dog can understand verbal commands, your dog understands tone of voice.  Practice having a consistent tone of voice when training your dog.  There is your command voice, and your praising, happy voice.  Yelling, screaming and cussing your dog is not communication with your dog.  He does not know what he did wrong.  It is up to you to use two voices to achieve communication.
     To achieve a proper “heel” the leash is held in both hands, your left elbow is held along your side and is straight.  Your right hand will be held close to your body.  When initially training your dog you will be using a combination of signals, voice, hand and body, to teach your dog.
     You are going to be giving your dog a vocabulary of words to learn.  We have to assume the dog already knows his name.  If not, start acquainting him now.  Whenever you speak to your dog, use his name.
     To start the process, the use of a training collar and leash is encouraged, this way the dog knows that you mean business.  The other collar and leash is for playtime and walks.  Be sure that the dog has already gone to the bathroom and a has had a light drink of water.  It is recommended that early morning and late afternoons be used for training periods so that the heat of the day is avoided.  Keep the training sessions short to begin with.  With a puppy, you may find that 5 minutes, two or three times a day, will be sufficient at first, and as the puppy grows the training sessions can be increased.  Less, more often, is an excellent way to reinforce training.
     The trainer is the one that chooses the command and hand-signal combination, and it is imperative that these signals remain the same for the life of the dog.  Confusion and bewilderment of your dog will result if you change without warning.  It is also important to reinforce the commands given during training throughout the rest of the day.  The same signals and verbal commands must be used by the family members who are in contact with the dog during walks and playtime.
     For the command “heel”, the trainer needs to position the dog on his/her left side.  The dog’s eyes will be even with your left leg.  The left leg is the dog’s key to what you are doing next.  Some people like to reward with small treats, others with praise alone.  Some dogs focus so intently on the treat they do not listen to commands, like children at Halloween time.  Using food occasionally as an enticement can  keep your dog interested.  Praising your dog is a reinforcement of the bond between trainer and dog.  When the dog knows he is pleasing you, the “alpha” of his pack, the dog has a sense of belonging and acceptance, and will continue the act he associates with pleasing the “alpha”.  The next step is to combine a verbal and  a hand signal, in this case, “Jenny(substitute your dog’s name), heel.”  There are two hand-signals that can be used to indicate heel, it’s your choice.  The first one, is to simply slap your left leg with your left hand once.  This is done at the same time as you are giving the command to heel.  The second is to sweep your left hand in front of the dog’s nose (no contact).  Your palm will be sweeping in the direction you are going to be walking.  These are the two standard signals.  The decision may be made dependent on the size of the breed of dog you are training.  If it’s a short dog, slapping your leg will be more convenient than bending over to the side to sweep the air in front of it’s nose.
To repeat, the verbal command and the hand-signal is given to the puppy at the same time.
     Now for the fun part.  You the trainer, will step off with your left leg, this is synchronized with the verbal and hand signal.  Movement of the left leg is the body signal to the dog that you are starting to move.  Remember the dog is at ground level, it’s a different perspective down there.  The puppy  will not know what you are doing at first.  Give short, quick corrections.  Keep them gentle, please.  The moment the puppy moves in the general direction you want to go, give him praise.  You will want to start off slowly, but remember you will want to have the dog go at your pace, you are not being trained to go at his.  Vary the speeds and direction of travel.  Get to the point that the dog is watching you always.  Figure eights, going around obstacles, and reversing direction keep the dog interested in what you’re going to do next.  A dog can get bored just as easily as a trainer.
     Finally, even though this may be a puppy, he must be socialized to the point he can ignore distractions.  This way you know he will “heel” no matter how many cats or ducks are right there.  Always end a training session on a high note.  The dog has done something, anything, right.  Praise him, then play with him, so that the dog will look forward to the next training session.