barking at strangers when taking dog for a walk

Question
hi
i have a 6 month old male border collie, when i take him for a walk he pulls, i pull him back and he goes further ahead, after a while he does settle down but its when he looks at certain people, he doesnt bark at all strangers, but when he does he barks and growls,then barks. he doesnt go to bite them more excited, but it is so embarrassing. it like people with strippy tops, hats, glasses,teenagers. Also other dogs he cowers behide me his tail is under, he jumps up me. like he is afraid.i couldnt tell you why he barks at only a selected few people and not all. also when people do approach him to stroke him he either cowers or barks. Any help would be much appreicated.
thanks
louise

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.

Making the dog heel with a loose lead is the first step in building the proper relationship with the dog.  You should be in charge.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm

If you are in charge, he shouldn't need to bark at people or cower from other dogs.