the infamous pulling of the leash.

Question
Hi Amy,

We adopted our 3 yr old lab mix (looks and acts lab for all intents and purposes)"Remy"  a year ago and he has been the perfect dog in every sense except what I mention in the subject line.

I have read tons of stuff on leash pulling, collars, methods etc... Nothing seems to work 100%.  Lately my collar of choice has been a prong. At least he does not pull my arm off with it. but he does still pull - I've tried freezing like a tree... I've tried turning abruptly in the other direction.  It works a bit, but my goal is slack in that darn leash.   Also, I want to mention he is a very "sniffy" dog, always on the trail of some scent.... when he bends over to sniff seems to be the time when he forgets he is leashed and begins to pull! Argh! I do praise like crazy when he is NOT pulling. (not often) Other than that he is friendly, affectionate, always comes to us on command, is well behaved in the dog park, only chews on his own toys, I love him to death!
But please let me know your best tried and true method for leash pulling (and too much ground sniffing)  ....  

Answer
Dear Margaret,

I've been there, i've tried everything too!  What I use is the chike collar, which will only lossen when they heal or the leash is slackened.  Have you tried the muzzle leash? all it is, a simple loop around their nose, and its attatched to a leash.  It's supposed to work very well. I also learned that if you have a cable leash and give him slack like a few feet and not 5 inches, it works really well. THe same with normal leashes, dont rap it around your hand give him some room. It will also keep the blood in your hand flowing.  Also raping it around your hand is dangerous, because if a dog comes attack your dog, you want to let go of the leash so thy can run to safety.  I've had to do that with my lab, who was chased after a St. Branard, and your dog will come back, when the other ones leaves.  Sniffing.  Jerk his leash, and call his name, I've never had a problem with dogs tracking snts, but I've heard that works.  Good luck, if you have any questions, I'll love to answer them, and please tell me how it goes.
Thanks,
Amy