Bring To Heel Meaning

(transitive, idiomatic) To cause to act in a disciplined manner.

Example: 1906, John Galsworthy, The Forsyte Saga, Part I, ch. 12:
  They wanted a lesson, and they would get it; but it would take three months at least to bring them to heel.
1988 June 10, Howell Raines, "Journal: In Tory Country, Someone to Watch Over TV," New York Times (retrieved 16 Jan 2012):
  Even some fellow Conservatives maintain that Sir William has shown a dangerously authoritarian streak since enlisting as a general in Mrs. Thatcher's single-minded campaign to bring broadcasters to heel.
2011 April 4, "Ahmad Shuja Pasha," Time:
  Now Pasha says the ISI is the only organization that can bring the wayward Taliban to heel.