Walking whilst out with husband andchildren wants to be ahead of them

Question
I have a nearly 6 month old white German shepherd.He is a lovely dog and is great with my children when in doors, he is very relaxed but will follow all of us around the house.
My main question is when we take him out for walks and all the family come and our children are ahead of him he pulls frantically and barks he will only stop when he gets ahead he sounds like we are really hurting him.
He does not do this when walk 1-1 he is very good and calm .
I have seeked advice and was told not be bring the children however if my husband is out i still need to walk him but cannot do this now as he is so out of control.
What do you suggest? we do stop when he barks, treats but nothing works.
Thanks in advance for your advice.

Answer
You should stay with a flat fabric or leather collar until your puppy is 5 months old. Then you can go with the metal slip collar with the rings on each end. Otherwise you could damage its windpipe. Put it on like this for the usual dog on the left position. Pull the chain through the one ring forming a "P". Facing the dog, slip it over its head. The free end comes over the neck allowing the other end to release pressure when the leash is slack. A five month old's head will still grow some. If you buy one that easily goes over the head, it still should come off leaving the ears when the dog finishes growing. You need a good 6' leather leash, although you may not want to give a young puppy a chance to chew it.

Easier dogs will give up their pulling with a few good snaps of the leash combined with a stern "Bad dog!". You can work up to forceful corrections with the leash doubled up in both hands and your whole body behind it. But you don't want to use any more force than you need. One gentle technique I like is to just stop when he pulls. He wants to go. If you move forward when the leash is slack, and stop when he pulls, he should quickly figure out the only way to get to go, is not to pull. This is about teaching him not to pull, not getting somewhere. The man that taught it to me said "If in a half hour you haven't made it out to the front walk, fine, you have taught him a lesson. Pulling the dog backwards is a good technique too.

Still, you may want to switch to a head collar. The leading brands are Promise, Haltie, and Gentle Leader. They have a strap going around the dogs nose looking something like a muzzle. They work by pulling the dogs head around. No other way gives you such great control with so little force. The prong collar is now a dangerous relic of value only for its macho looks. Do not consider using one without hands on instruction from somebody with plenty of experience with them.