[quote=“Lo Bo To”]I just got back from walking the three big guys. As I said, the youngest of the three always pulls me when I am walking her. And she is strong as an ox. I try to tell her to heal and stop and make her sit when she is pulling (which is all the time) but she doesn’t respond.
It makes walking her almost impossible.[/quote]
You’re not near Taipei, are you? That’s a shame; I could show you how to fix the pulling in minutes. I’ll try and explain here (I just did a demo on Truant’s dog, Jack, who is also a big, strong dog and a big puller, so Truant can verify that it works … once he has slept off his jet lag).
Method 1:
Use a high collar (the usual collar but not loose nor too tight but kept as high on the neck as possible). With the dog on your left side, hold the end of the leash in your right hand (thumb through the far end of the ‘handle’ and other fingers gripping the rest) and with your left hand grip the leash near the collar in such a way as to keep the collar high (but not strangling) and the dog’s head level with and close to your leg. This is much easier and requires much less effort than trying to pull your dog back once he has started pulling ahead.
Do not look at the dog. Do not ask the dog to walk. Just walk, head high, shoulders back, and mind focused on the walk and how you envision it should be. When the dog tries to pull ahead (very difficult with the way you’re controlling her now), simply tug the leash towards you, not back, up, or down, and just a tug - you are not jerking the dog’s head (which can cause back problems later, for you and the dog). Keep walking, keep looking forward, keep your posture, and keep your mind on how the walk is going to be from now on.
The dog may battle for ten seconds, two minutes, or maybe five minutes, but rarely more than seven, and then will realise that she has a leader now and will walk more nicely beside you (Jack took about 20 seconds). She will test occasionally, and you repeat the gentle tug to the side towards you and keep the collar high. Don’t talk to the dog; just lead with your body language, and try as much as possible to leave the leash loose whenever possible (a tense leash creates a tense dog, so a loose leash is what you are going to achieve in that time).
Once your dog has accepted that you lead the walks and has behaved well for a length of time, you can allow her to smell the ground or take a pee, or even give her a longer leash to walk around more. Perhaps run with her or let her off the leash in a safe area and play ball. But only do this on your terms. You play when you say play and stop when you want to stop, with no arguments; this is how alphas lead in dog packs. When you return home, use the method again.
Method 2:
You can start with the dog having a looser leash and not such a high collar. Proceed on the walk as you always should, with your head high and looking forward, shoulders back, and mind focused on the walk and how you envision it should be. As soon as the dog starts to pull ahead (you must be quick), you switch direction (when starting out, it is much easier to switch to the right). Give a gentle tug of the leash in the direction you are now heading and proceed. Do not engage the dog in a conversation about it; remain aloof and ignore any attempts to get your attention. The dog will foillow, then catch up. If she starts to pull ahead again, switch direction again and give the dog a gentle directional tug on the leash. Keep this up until the dog accepts that you are leading the walk and not her (with Jack, about five seconds).
You may have to play this game for several minutes before the dog stops trying to walk ahead of you, but you will notice almost instantly that she has stopped pulling you with any amount of force … in fact, she should never be able to pull at all, and this is the way you want her to learn to walk. She may battle for leadership at first, but once she senses you are focused on being the leader and realises that her attempts at a coup are thwarted at every turn, she will succumb to following your lead.
Both these methods are extremely effective, with no need for punishment of any kind (just causes other problems anyway), nor so much as a raised voice; you are doing it all by projecting strong leadership and little more. Very quickly she will learn to walk nicely, and you won’t need to keep repeating the corrections, except for the very occasional reminder. It’s not the dog who’s changed, of course; it’s you. 
You could be lazy and buy a Halti collar/harness, which do work very well, but it is far better and cheaper to establish your role as your dog’s leader, which will also serve to help eliminate other unwanted behaviours too.
(See this post for more info on relieving your dog of her perceived leaderhip role using langauge that she understands.)
It works. If I was near you I would come and show you and you would be amazed; instead you’ll have to amaze yourself and go do it yourself. Stay focused; do not engage in a debate about who’s leading the walk; show calm, confident leadership - your dog will understand this and let you take the lead.
Let us know how it goes (you’re going to love it
).
Sean