Walking Issues

Question
My lab will be turning 1 year in a couple weeks.  He has been neutered.  When taking him for walks, he does great UNTIL there is another dog in sight.  He pulls and whines, practically pulling my arm of out its socket to try to get to the other dog.  It's not out of aggression.  He just loves other dogs.  I'm not sure what I can do to snap him out of this behavior.  I've adjusted our walk to exclude areas where I know there are dogs tied up in the yard but there are still the occasional fellow dog walkers we inevitably run into.  I'm hoping this is still the puppy in him and that this will eventually pass.  I see some people walking their labs without even having a leash on and they stick right by the owners side.  I would give anything to be able to have the same confidence with my lab. I'd appreciate any suggestions you have.

Answer
Part of this is technique.  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.

Some dogs are just easier than others.  Those people with their dogs off leash may or may not be able to train your dog to walk off leash.  Another thing that might help, would be letting your dog have more chances to play with other dogs.