Based upon feedback I received here a few weeks ago got the prong collar for my Bouv when he was 5 months old- didn't correct, and put it on the both latches so it wouldn't move. That worked for a couple of weeks. Now at 7 months, he's starting to tug again. What should I do now? Isn't he too young for a correction? I stop and don't go on, but that can happen 40 times in a 20 min walk. I notice at the end of a really long walk he doesn't pull, but sometimes I only have 20 mins in a session. I tried to treat while wwe walked, but that didn't work either. I was tried giving him a very short line, but he just pulls ahead. He's 60lbs now, so need something to keep him in line. Looking for suggestions.

Have you read this article?

http://www.leerburg.com/fit-prong.htm

I just picked up a Prong for Starbuck. I'm not sure how much I will use it. She is fairly responsive to a pop on the flat collar.

Wait for more people to reply, I have never used a Prong and I don't want to give you bad advice.

When I walk Starbuck on a flat collar and she starts to pull on the leash I give her a verbal "Easy". If she doesn't relax and slow down then I give her a fairly soft pop on the leash and a "No Pull". If she continues to pull I will pull her into another direction or force her to make a 90 degree turn.

Leslie,

I would avoid a swift or hard prong correction on such a young dog if possible. Along with the treats, instead of just stopping, when he starts to get ahead of you use your "heel" command and do an about face and walk the other way. Once he stays with you and pays attention then praise and treats. Continue with this. For the first few days you may not get off your block, but the message to him will be clear. "Mom is nuts, who knows where she'll go next! And, she has treats if I pay attention!" This will condition the dog to pay attention to you on a walk.

At that age, I just let my GSD run into the prong and self-correct if she was pulling. I never gave a "pop" correction, because she did not know the heel command.

Have you been teaching the heel command yet?

Leslie, you might have more success if you put the prong on the live ring instead of both rings, you can see it demonstrated in this article: http://www.leerburg.com/fit-prong.htm , scroll down to Dead Ring vs Live Ring where it shows the live ring. This should give you more control when he pulls as he will feel it more than on the dead ring, although I agree with John about hard or swift corrections not being appropriate at your pup's age, especially if he's not trained in the heel command yet. When he pulls he'll feel it and should back off from pulling on his own. Make sure you have the prong fitted correctly otherwise it will not be effective - it should not be loose. The link above talks about that as well.

Just want to interject another thanks to Ed Frawley for all his educational articles. Kind of blows me away that anyone can have access to such experienced dog training.

Edited to add: a gentle little pop on the prong can probably be handled by your pup if he doesn't stop pulling on his own. When he responds to a gentle pop, I would treat and praise him. Others may want to weigh in on this.

I agree with Sandy about the live ring. I also don't think that at 7 months old the dog is too young for a correction, but I don't think the situation merits one. Try to teach him a 'slow' command. Ed does this in his Basic Obedience DVD with a flat collar. My dog learned the slow command without using markers or treats. A couple of walks with a prong collar and praising when he slowed down did the trick.

Time to watch the basic dvd again. I don't even remember that. I might try the live ring with no correction. It's funny, when I get him to stop and check back to my side and say good boy, it gets him to run ahead again or jump up and latch onto my arm. I do find the more I walk him the less he will pull. I haven't been working on the heel command, only learned how to do it on older dog with correction. I've seen it done with puppies and treats, but never seemed to be able to master the coordination. Also, are you supposed to give the dog freedom at first on a walk, or should he always be in a heel. Or, do you wait until he learns the heel and then you can give him freedom.
I have so many questions. This site is great, the two classes I signed up for were cancelled, so I am looking for some new classes.