What’s the Most Important Command for Walking My Dog?

Your dog catches a smell and speeds up. Then they drift to the other side. Another dog appears and suddenly you’re competing for their attention. You shorten the leash, slow down, speed up, or call their name—but a few minutes later, you’re right back where you started.

If this happens every day, it’s easy to assume the problem is simply that your dog needs to learn not to pull.

But stopping the pulling only tells your dog what you don’t want.

There’s another question that’s much more important:

Have you taught your dog what they should be paying attention to instead?

One Standard Poodle in Uptown Dallas is a great example.

How Do I Stop My Dog From Pulling on Walks?

Wednesday, a Standard Poodle who lives in Uptown Dallas, initially struggled with pulling on her neighborhood walks.

Her owner didn’t have a yard, which meant walking wasn’t optional. Wednesday needed to go outside multiple times every day for potty breaks.

So the pulling wasn’t something her owner dealt with occasionally. It was happening over and over again.

We could have spent those walks simply correcting Wednesday every time she pulled.

Instead, we started somewhere else.

We taught Wednesday the heel command.

And we didn’t start by taking her on a long walk.

How Do You Teach a Dog to Heel?

At Breyers Canine Academy, heel isn’t simply teaching a dog to walk forward beside you.

We taught Wednesday that her owner’s hip was her reference point.

If her handler stepped backward, Wednesday learned to move backward.

If her handler sidestepped away, Wednesday learned to close the distance.

If her handler turned left or right, Wednesday learned to reposition her body and find the hip again.

When her handler changed speed, Wednesday learned to change speed too. Whether walking slowly, walking normally, or running, the expectation remained the same:

Find the hip and keep up with it.

We initially taught this through motivation and rewards. Her handler moved, and Wednesday worked to catch up. The better she followed the movement and maintained her position, the more opportunities she had to earn a reward.

It became a game.

Instead of constantly telling Wednesday where not to go, we were teaching her exactly what to follow.

Then We Took the Game to Her Neighborhood Walks

Once Wednesday understood the exercise, we began applying the same skills to the walks she was already taking every day.

Now those walks had a different meaning.

Her job wasn’t simply to avoid pulling on the leash.

Her job was to follow her handler.

Her handler could change direction, slow down, speed up, or create distance, and Wednesday learned to notice and adjust.

The better she followed, the more opportunities she had to earn a reward.

But Wednesday wasn’t expected to spend the entire walk in heel.

We also taught her a free command. When she heard “free,” she knew she could relax, sniff, and explore.

That gave her clarity: there was a time to explore the environment and a time to follow her handler.

Then Something Changed

After several weeks of repetition, Wednesday started anticipating the game.

Her owner didn’t have to constantly remind her where to be. Wednesday began defaulting toward her mom’s hip because that’s what she had practiced over and over again.

Eventually, Wednesday found her owner’s rhythm.

Her owner slowed down; Wednesday slowed down.

Her owner sped up; Wednesday sped up.

Her owner changed direction; Wednesday adjusted.

What initially required deliberate training started becoming a habit.

And eventually, that habit became Wednesday’s natural way of walking.

We didn’t just teach Wednesday to stop pulling. We gave her a new default: follow her owner’s rhythm.

So, What’s the Most Important Command for Walking Your Dog?

For many dogs, it’s heel.

Not because your dog needs to spend an entire walk glued to your leg, but because heel teaches something much more valuable than simply not pulling.

It teaches your dog what to follow.

If your dog is constantly pulling on walks, instead of only asking:

“How do I stop my dog from pulling?”

Try asking:

“Have I taught my dog what I want them to follow?”

At Breyers Canine Academy, we help dog owners throughout Dallas–Fort Worth build practical obedience for everyday life.

Because the goal isn’t to spend your walk following your dog, constantly correcting them or wondering where they’re going next.

The goal is to teach your dog to follow you—so you can finally enjoy the walk instead of spending the entire time following your dog.