How to teach off-leash heel? My dog won't stay by my side.

Off-leash heeling is a skill that takes some time for most dogs to learn well. I do competitive obedience with my dogs, and the best way I have found to teach nice, attentive off-leash heeling is with a clicker and treats. (If you're not familiar with clicker training, check out this website for lots of info on the general idea behind it: www.clickertraining.com).

Take a handful of treats and your clicker, and work in a fairly large room or outdoors if possible - just make sure that the area is fenced for safety. Remove the leash and walk around the room; make sure your dog knows that you have treats, and encourage him to follow you. As he comes up to you, turn so that he falls into step beside you on the left in heel position - as soon as he gets there, click and reward with a treat. You can toss another treat out in front of you to reset, if needed - just turn and walk away while he's eating it, then click and treat again once he catches back up into heel position.

Once he gets the hang of finding heel position, you can start to ask for a step or two of heeling beside you before the click and treat. Then three steps, then four, etc. Make it a game; run away and encourage him to chase you, then click and treat for finding heel. Most dogs really enjoy learning this way, and will quickly figure out what you want. As a bonus, they learn to love heeling with you since it's always been a fun game to them :)