Puppy scared on walks

Question
Hi Suzanne,
I adopted a 10 week old female great dane.  She was not leash trained so the
first time I ever walked her it was like taming a wild horse.  When I walk her
she is clearly scared, tail between her legs, she freezes and shakes, she's
constantly darting from one side to the other and looking around, ears
perked up.  She pulls so hard on the leash she makes choking noises.  I have
tried stopping every time she pulls and waiting for her to relax.  Also, once
we start heading home the fear and pulling gets worse.  I want to fix this
before she's too big to handle.   Please help.

Answer
Dear Gianna,

You're doing the right thing by stopping and waiting for her to relax.  I realize this makes your walks long and probably stressful but it is the right thing to do.

You need to get her into a good positive reinforcement puppy training class.  Go to http://www.apdt.com and do a search for trainers in your area.

A lot of dogs balk at the leash, and a lot of dogs just are so overstimulated by the environment outside that they have absolutely no idea how to walk down a sidewalk.  The best way to get a dog to know how to walk calmly on a leash is to take her for as many walks as you can so that the environment and distractions become non-issues for her.  Accept the fact that this will take a couple of months, but know that it will end and that your hard work now will pay off hugely in the future.  Don't give up walking her.  The more you and she walk, the easier the walks will become.  I promise.

Suzanne Harris, BSc, CPDT
http://www.dogdaysUSA.com