Basic Obedience Training - Part 2: Teach Your Dog The Come and Heel Commands
Come
Teaching your dog the "Come" command could save his life. A dog who comes to you when you call him is not running out into traffic. "Come" can mean the difference between life and death for a dog.
Start by rewarding your dog and saying "Come" when your dog comes to you in the house. Is it when you're watching TV? Is it when you're coming in the door? That's okay. The point is to get your dog used to coming to you and believing that when he does, he will get good things (so keep good things in your pocket, or always pet him and make a fuss over him).
When you walk him on a leash (say six-foot), practice saying "Come" and calling him to you. No, he doesn't have much choice, but it's good practice. And, reward him when he comes. Do the same thing on a flexi-leash which is longer.
In a safe area, where there is no chance that your dog can get loose, practice "Come" with your dog off-leash. Make sure that you reward and praise your dog a lot for coming to you.
Practice, practice, practice. You want "Come" to become an automatic response for your dog. Make sure you do not punish your dog if he doesn't come or if he comes slowly. You never know when your dog may get loose from you in a real outdoor situation and he is not under your control. If that ever happens, all of this work with the "Come" command will, hopefully, pay off.
Heel
You can teach your dog to heel without jerking on a choke collar, by using your clicker and a bag of treats.
Start by walking around your living room away from your dog. Your dog should follow you. Click and treat! Go the other way. Let you dog follow you. Click and treat! Keep it up. Slowly start changing the game a little until you are only clicking and treating if he is on your left side and he is closer to you. Keep it fun. Don't do it all in one day -- keep your sessions short.
Next, bring out the leash and let your dog have it on during the sessions of following you around. Keep the leash loose. Click and treat. Keep working in your living room. Eventually move to your backyard. Let your dog get used to the same thing out here. It's still a game. Your dog is still following you around, still keeping the leash loose. Keep clicking and treating! Just a few minutes a day.
That's it. Your dog is following you on your left side, heeling on a loose leash.