My pup does awesome when we walk alone. Every morning Samson and I go out for a walk. He does not pull at all and checks in with me often. However, in the evening "family" walk, my wife and children (3 year old girl, 7 year old boy) join the fun. If Samson and I walk in front of everyone, everything is good, better yet amazing! However, if we walk behind everyone he is constantly pulling the leash and also seems a bit more distracted and does not check in. In my opinion, he even seems a bit stressed to get ahead of the pack. This is driving me nuts because I know he is very capable of walking next to me and maintaining a loose leash (he does it every morning).

Is Samson trying to get me (the pack leader) to the front of the pack? Or does Samson feel he is above my wife and kids in the pack structure and is trying to get ahead of them?

I know that a quick fix would be to leave the wife and kids at home, but this would not be a family walk that we all enjoy.

Thanks in advance for all of the input.

PS: I want to say thank you to all of you dog gurus out there for providing productive input on all of my previous posts.

"Is Samson trying to get me (the pack leader) to the front of the pack? Or does Samson feel he is above my wife and kids in the pack structure and is trying to get ahead of them?"



I think he's a pup of 7 months and just wants to be with the pack. With you and everyone. :-)

He sounds very nice to me.

That's a pretty high-level distraction for a pup of this age. (I'd just walk in front.)


That's JMO, and the puppy experts will be better.

Ditto with Connie! Most of his buddies are getting away from him.

IMHO, dogs just want to walk faster when they're excited. When your pup is just walking with you, it's easier for him to calm down and eventually walk in a more controlled manner. Like Bob said, when you have the whole pack, your family, together, it's just more exciting. Ours does the same thing and she's four years old. On my walks alone with her, she's a gem. When my wife and I walk her together, we're constantly having to manage her to get her to walk correctly and it's only until we're well into the walk does she calm down and stay in the correct position on a loose leash. Do you ever notice that if you're walking alone with your dog and you just say something to him, that he picks up the pace a bit? Our does. Just that little stimulation has a big effect so having your whole pack along for a walk is just that much more stimulating. Plus, yours is just still a pup.

That's a good point, Greg. The "wahoo!" effect.

You should see how fast my dogs walk (and how much they lick their lips) when we are on the way home for their supper.