hey Amanda here and I have a problem every time I go to walk Meeka she pulls about half the time stops to smell every blade of grass and then takes off running and ends up choking herself when the slack on the leash ends. Also when we pass another dog she gets SO EXCITED and tries to run up and again chokes herself till shes pulling me. I know shes harmless but other owners seem to kinda freak out what can I do??? I do want to get a harness but we wanted to wait till shes bigger since shes mixed with german shepherd we don't know exactly how big she will get

You have just described both huskies that I've had! It's horrible and I fear that I am doing damage to his neck when I allow this behavior.

I am currently trying to teach my 5 month old boy to not pull by offering treats continually when he is walking properly. I have also used a frozen stick of string cheese held at my side and allow him to nibble it as he walks. These methods keep his attention IF we don't walk too far and IF we don't run into any people or critters that are more interesting than the treat. When we stop to meet someone, I make him sit and then I stand on his leash. This prevents him from jumping and lunging. He can still comfortably sit and stand to greet the visitor. Standing on his leash has been the best thing I learned in puppy school. If I allow him to lunge frantically at small children, I fear he would hurt them and I am certainly not in the mood for irrate parents and law suits!

Good luck!

Lisa is right on - offer little snakies and treats to keep them focused and interested on YOU. Also, I highly encourage getting a harness. We have a sort of cheap-o adjustable one from PetSmart (I think it was $12?) and because it's adjustable, we can make it fit him if he gains/loses weight, etc. My guy doesn't really pull per se (he likes to keep the leash taut, but not pull), but if I have him sit at a corner, then say "Hike!" he'll take off at a full RUN an choke himself (if we're just walking with his collar).

Anyway, here's a good article about good leash walking and how to train it:
Good Dog Walking - Pat MIller

As much as I hated to do it I had to put both Adobo & Biko on the prong collars as I felt they would be painful to them. They learn real quick just what their limits are to pulling and I haven't really had any yelping from them when they wear them. I worried way to much about Biko choking himself w/o the prong collar to the point he would be choking and gagging within 5 minutes of our walks. According to the obedience instructor used properly they are almost harmless. just remember these 2 words......used properly.

having this same problem with my 7 month old boy. Gonna enforce these methods more.

Willow is just as bad as you describe and I got the Easy Walk Harness. It made a huge difference in her pulling and you can get it for $14 on Amazon right now.


http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=easy+harness&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=166212306&ref=pd_sl_88hfvzz3rm_e

I'm shocked to hear of the easy walk harness working for you. I wanted to rip my hair out when customers used that on their dogs at my work and the minute they enrolled in training too we said no more!

It's the only thing that has made a difference for her. I have tried the slip leash that sits right under their chin, a choke chain and a regular harness. This easy walk harness was next on my list to try and it was the winner. I was amazed with how much it keeps her in check. She is a pretty calm dog in general, but she turns into a freak on her walks. It was very embarrising! Thankfully, I don't need it for Dakota, he's a dream to walk. What problems did you see with them?

I still have this problem with Demon but it is getting much better. I use a martingale collar and what I do is when he's about to get to the end of my 6ft lead I say "easy" and if he doesn't stop or slow down I turn around and walk in the other direction. He doesn't pull 100% of the time now, it's gone down to about 60% but he's catching on. Also, when I say "easy" if he looks at me I give him a treat. It teaches him to pay attention to me and what I'm doing. It's been a long battle but it's slowly working, hopefully we'll be 100% consistent before it's time to take Ghost our for walks around the block.

Refer to my post above...I am still using the easy walk harness and swear by it. It has gotten so good that I thought she finally has learned to walk correctly so I tried to walk her without it the other night and she went right back to pulling big time. I don't know what it is about that easy walk harness but it's like a flip switch when she is wearing. I have also heard the Walk Your Dog With Love harness is having huge sucess but it's almost identical to the Easy Walk Harness. They are really cheap on amazon, so worth the money to try.

I've heard that using harnesses makes the dog feel more powerful since they can use their entire body to pull... since harnesses are used when needing to pull something.... you've found that this isn't the case with your dogs? Hm.. I may have to see if my PETCO has one that I can try!

Oh that is very cool. I definitely am going to try it after payday next week and will let you know if I have any progress with him! Thank you for the tip!

I have not heard of that one Karen. Good to know other alternatives!

I've been experimenting with a combination of techniques for the past couple of weeks. I've been alternating every minute or so between "Heel" and "Go Sniff" (loose leash walking). I call Sky's name and wait for her to look up at me before I tell her to go sniff, too. She's loving it, because before we were working only on Heel. She still pulls when she smells something really exciting or sees another animal, but I stop and sometimes walk backwards. I think she's starting to make the connection between pulling and not getting what she wants. I think it might work well for her, but it's still a work in progress.

Still going to go get a harness to replace the chain training collar tonight. This cool weather has made her crazy! She's sooooo hyper now!

I GIVE UP. Tried the easy harness on both Blitz and Bullet. Completely worthless on them. I am at my wits end. I don't know what to do anymore. I cannot walk them!!! Bullet pulls even worse than Blitz does and he weighs more so it's twice as bad. I have to grip the leash so hard that my fingers swell with whatever method I am trying to do. The pronged collar works better than anything I have tried but they still pull the first 15 minutes of their walk. I need Cesar Millan.