How to handle your dog when hes pulling

The same friend, his dog apparently pulls pretty bad. I think pulling is one of the hardest things to fix because puppies pull from excitement more than trying to be the leader.  Even Ceasar Milan says that there is no sense in trying to discipline an excited animal and I totally agree.
As far as pulling tips, the first thing I have to say is make sure your dog is well exercised!  Daily walks, runs, whatever.  I am not a person that says that your dog must walk at your side the entire time, but pulling and walking alongside you are different things.  My girl walks a little ahead but she doesn’t pull.  My boy pulls the entire first half of the walk and he’s on a tight leash and can barely go in front of me.
Don’t expect your puppy to walk at your side at the first half of a walk!  The whole point of a dog not pulling goes back to obedience and being the leader.  If you are the leader, once the puppy’s energy level goes down, they will have no desire to pull.  So, if you want to just make sure your dog knows that s/he is not the leader, try obedience surrounding walk-time.  Make your dog sit at the door while you leash him, make him wait while you walk outside and then call him when you want to.  This sounds difficult especially for big dogs, but it is possible.  If you can achieve this from your dog, you can already rest assured that your dog sees you as the leader. 

Next, I request small bouts of walking alongside me.  Such as when other people are walking past or when we are crossing the street.  The idea is to give a balance.  You do not always want to walk right beside your mother, right?  That’s how dogs feel.  They will do it because you want them to, but they don’t like it.  They want to run and frolic and be dogs, not walk at a snail’s pace for no clear reason.  So occasionally, I’ll call my dog back to me, make the leash short and request that the dog walk alongside me for 5-10 minutes or until they stop pulling.  As soon as they relax and stop pulling, I reward them with praise and possibly a treat and then relax the leash and let them run around if they desire.

I completely disapprove of choke chains.  However, there is a leash that is kind of like a halter that goes underneath the dog’s armpits and prevents them from pulling because they don’t like the feel of being pulled there. 

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