Heel Virtual Dog Leash Review: Sit, Stay, Spectacular

What You Need To Know

Introduction to the Heel Virtual Dog Leash

TAYLOR: Downhill is the best time to chat while running at altitude. My buddy Kevin and I finally found a window of sacred time to run together, and on this particular day, we bounced between personal stuff and business. We were lost in our conversation as we effortlessly glided down from a ridge near my house.

Timber, my pup, came with us for our little jaunt. On our ascent, we already had some successful wildlife encounters, like a neighborly pair of moose, that warranted a spoonful of peanut butter upon our return home.

When on leash, Timber knew the drill. “On by, T.” That’s my command. She adheres. On we would go. History tells a little more of this story, though. On the two occasions Timber had slipped from her collar and broke loose from a frozen clasp, she put her nose to the ground and ran down those moose.

She doesn’t have a healthy fear of these massive creatures — or any for that matter. To her, they are big brown playmates. In both instances, she had cornered the moose for multiple hours. Nothing worked to break her attention — not her favorite toy, fresh meat, nor the promise of a run. Both situations ended with me having to get within a couple of arm’s length of the moose to scoop up this dang dog and carry her home. All the while, Timber excitedly, joyously, panted about her recent adventure.

This is the type of behavior from our rescued husky that had me fully convinced we could never let her off-leash. As smart as she is, she is equally stubborn, which is why it’s more than an amazing scene as we pop back into the story of our run.

Timber was off-leash, leading the charge on the downhill — her favorite. She dove from reckless distances into the quickly receding snow banks, bulleted around switchbacks, and emerged from the trees with a deer leg.

As the three of us came to the final swoop of a hill that dove as quickly after it rose, we came nose-to-nose with Clover’s mom. Who the heck is that, you might ask? Well, Clover is a two-year-old moose calf named affectionately by my eldest daughter. Clover’s mom is pregnant and has been working hard to kick Clover out of the roost to make way for the baby. These are the two we saw from a distance on the way up. I was able to verbally prepare Timber for the first encounter. There was no chance this time.

Momma moose did a quick flip on the singletrack (thankfully), and Timber set off in hot pursuit. Timber approached her boundary quickly, which was set on my Heel Virtual Dog Leash. It buzzed, beeped, then sent a correction right to her. It didn’t make a difference in this 100% natural takeover of her brain. By this time, the moose had turned on Timber. I quickly retrieved the remote from my running belt, upped the voltage, sent a beep, and within a second, Timber came trotting back, but not without her gaze stuck on the moose.

This was the true and ultimate test of this tech. It’s the testimonial I’ll lead with when talking about the Heel Virtual Dog Leash. What previously took multiple hours and put my life in jeopardy to break Timber’s vision quest on a moose, now took a split second.

What alert methods does the Heel Virtual Dog Leash support?

TAYLOR: The previous scenario happened just three weeks after beginning with the Heel Virtual Dog Leash. As mentioned, with Timber, it would go either wonderfully or terribly because of her intelligence and bullheadedness. Thankfully, this time was the former.

One of the main reasons this system worked so magically was the consistency it provided. That’s the hardest part about doing anything new. As diligent and determined as I was, the Heel Virtual Dog Leash was even more prepared. The basics are that the handler can set a radius from 10 to 750 feet on the Roam 350 remote where the dog can roam. I could even use the system as a traditional training collar up to 1,000 feet away.

The system is “customizable” in the sense that I could adjust the radius, change the level of shock (even turn it off), and send various training stimuli to my dog with the easy-to-use remote. Each time I worked with Timber in the collar, I chose to put everything in the middle. Every single time she approached the boundary of the set radius, the Autoprox system would kick in.

First, she would be alerted by a beep. If she went any further, it would be accompanied by a vibration, then a shock (if I had the shock setting turned on). Even though I was present, the system did that work for me and never failed to give her feedback to learn from.

Putting a shock collar on your dog, no matter the purpose, can be scary. But, the important thing is to know what levels the collar you choose can cover. In this case, the Heel Virtual Dog Leash ranges from no shock to 50 milliamps. The segment average is between 30 and 80 milliamps, so this is right in the middle, with a setting for 25 milliamps to make life easy. I tried it on myself first, and found that the medium tier was enough to make me giggle — it gave me a shock, but no real pain. Cranking the collar to high gave me an uncomfortable jolt that prompted a physical reaction.

Based on my pup’s reaction, low had little to no effect, medium would typically be more than enough to have her turn her head toward me, and high (reserved for only necessary scenarios) would make her yelp. Even the highest shock is in the moderate range of dog collar voltage.

For us, it took a lot of beeps and vibrations, but only one shock to really start having a lot of success, aka providing reasonably known limitations. Over the course of our work, we have only needed a strong shock in three situations. The consistent beeps and vibrations have done the bulk of the training. I have kept all of our same commands to help her be more comfortable with learning about this new system.

If you have multiple pups, Heel Virtual Leash can accommodate up to three connected collars at a time.

How did we progress with using the Heel Virtual Dog Leash?

TAYLOR: Honestly, Timber and I progressed really quickly with this system. I expected it to be more like months of work to be where we made it in weeks. I think part of that is because she was so comfortable with her newfound freedom with boundaries.

Throughout the winter, she pulls a sled around with a few logs. That was our version of “off leash.” So, that’s where we started. I put the Heel Virtual Dog Leash on her and practiced with commands for a couple of days. Again, these were the same commands I would give her otherwise: come, woah, mush, heel, and so on. This is how she got used to hearing the beeps and feeling the vibrations.

After that, we went for a few walks while letting her long leash drag. We live in a very rural area, so this worked nicely because there were minimal distractions besides wildlife. After that successful experience, we progressed to a run.

Our first run was as normal as possible. I hooked her up with her harness, running leash, the Heel Virtual Dog Leash, and we headed out as if nothing was different. After a mile of running, I stopped and took her leash off while giving her strong commands. Of course, she got excited and had the zoomies, which I had both expected and feared.

This was the second time she was shocked because she went beyond the boundary of our set radius. Because I had the shock setting on, she received a correction, another command, and Timber came right back.

For the rest of the run, I held the remote in my hand and kept her close. Even with me feeling a little anxious, I couldn’t help but enjoy the run because Timber was so happy! She was running her pace, and I was at mine — sometimes ahead, sometimes shortly behind. We went 2 miles total off leash on this run.

For the next few runs, I followed the same procedure. I kept the Roam 350 remote in hand and kept a close eye on Timber. I diligently looked for her typical distractions, such as wild animals and the occasional dog. I also stayed almost exclusively on well-known routes where I could use her typical dogsled commands and build her confidence.

Another great training method was to utilize the Roam 350 remote and the Heel Virtual Dog Leash as an invisible fence. This was one of the major reasons I wanted a collar like this. I wanted to let Timber roam around and play with our daughters freely as we spend time outside. This system has built a really healthy at-home boundary for Timber, too. I can foresee this being a successful form of leash while we’re camping this summer.

Because of the consistent feedback, my own typical commands and encouragements, and a progressive mindset, we were able to quickly reach trail running status with a wider circumference. Just like with our children, I make sure she can always see me and I can see her.

How comfortable is the Heel Virtual Dog Leash?

TAYLOR: The Heel Virtual Dog Leash comes in two convenient sizes. We have a medium-sized dog (50 or so pounds) who could have fit into either collar. The medium ranges from 12 to 17 inches in circumference, while the large goes from 15 to 24 inches. Her neck measured at just under 16 inches. We opted for the large to trim back the excess band length as needed, which feels like the right choice.

The collar is made of a very durable yet flexible rubber band, which is easy to adjust and fits Timber comfortably. We had no issues with comfort that I could perceive.

The smoothness of the collar was also the only negative aspect to me because it loosened over the course of a few runs. I had to be sure to check the fit a couple of times per week and make sure the prongs were secure enough. It really isn’t a huge issue, but a little extra texture along the band would give me that extra percent of assurance.

Heel even packs its leash with two sets of prongs of varying lengths, which are simple screw-in/screw-out components. Our Woolly Siberian Husky needed the longer setting to get through her thick, long hair, but thankfully, we didn’t have to give her a trim. That likely means very few pups would need that, because she is a walking football.

The collar’s mechanical component was also quite durable. The plastic casing has an LED light to show that it’s on and connected. Lots of bumps, drops, and miles later, the shell really protected it all.

Sadly, the casing is only water-resistant. This is another component that I hope will be updated for future models. We live in a dry climate high in the Rocky Mountains, but we do have a few stream crossings that we frequent on runs. Timber hasn’t fully submerged her collar, but moisture has been splashed all over it, and it still works as expected. If you have a lab or any other water-loving dog, this might be your only limitation.

Battery life was longer than expected, too. Most of our outings together are around an hour long. I found myself charging the collar once per week (every 5 to 7 hours of use), and I have yet to run the battery down to where a charge was necessary. Some weeks, this also included multiple hours of use at home, treating it more like a virtual fence.

Final thoughts on the Heel Virtual Dog Leash

TAYLOR: The morning after our successful moose encounter, Timber and I ran into Clover’s mom again. This time around, Timber perked up and had a quick few strides toward the large cow. The momma did her trademark flip around after her initial launch. I halted Timber with a strong “Timber, whoa,” and she immediately listened. I was able to get her to my heel, and without even grabbing her collar, I commanded, “On by.” And on our merry way we went.

With each passing day, we have more successful encounters that leave Timber and me feeling happy and safe on our adventures together. Her demeanor has changed positively while running, and at the end of the day, I’m seeing more of Timber than I ever have. She was happy to run before, but is so much happier being able to roam and run in her own natural way with me. This ease of tension will bring more confidence and trust in our relationship, and it’s all thanks to the Heel Virtual Leash.

You can pick up the Heel Virtual Dog Leash for $399 from Heel using the button below.