Train "contact" with your dog. Gets its attention on you. If you dont like the "stop" or "back" everytime it pulls, then turn right or left.

Surprise it - it is not to know what happens next and must be focused on you.
I have no idea how old your pup is, but classes will teach you how to do this

They pull as they are excited to be off for their walk.
I have tried and tried with mixed success to stop Loki pulling.

Rewarding with treats and praising when he walks nicely. This was more to get him to walk next to me and only works for a certain amount of time before he finds something else more interesting.

Stopping the walk when he pulls, saying, "no pulling", or something similar and only continuing when the lead is loose, remembering to reward. If that doesn't work, repeating the command with a gentle tug.

Changing direction.

Sometimes it works really well. Other times, especially if he sees another dog, he pulls like a steam train.

True to form when the walk is almost finished, he is perfect on the lead.

If all else fails try using a gentle leader , i had this pulling problem with my Pyrenean when her training fell by the wayside a wee bit while my older dog was ill and needed my full time attention , i tired walking backwards , stopping , changing direction i think i tried every harness on the market and i was at my wits end when a friend suggested a gentle leader , it did take a fair bit of getting used to i practised in the house for about a week and a half before i was confident enough to try it outside and for a while after that it was the garden or just down the street walks .

Then when i got Storm , my rescue Pyr and i just knew i needed to have total control over him as he weighs over 12 Stone and is very strong , so again i tried the gentle leader with him and it is great once the dogs get used to it , and you learn how to control them using it it really does make a difference and now i can walk my two giants on my own and have them under total control . Storm sometimes reacts to strange dogs and i manage to turn both of them around and keep control of them while he is kicking off so i would reccommend them to anyone with a pulling dog

Fiona xx

Thanks Fiona. Do you know, I might give that a try. It doesn't impress other owners when you've been pulled flat on your bum and are hanging onto a stretched lead for dear life with a focused dog on the other end, intent on dragging you along to meet the other dog.

Especially with huge doggies even though i know Storm just wants to play his barking and lunging frightens the life out of people , if i didnt know him and was on the recieving end of that treatment i think i wouild be scared too . Thankfully it did not take him long to learn that if he stays calm and does not try to do an impersination of an angry stallion rearing up on his back legs , he is allowed to say hello nicely and i am really chuffed that over the last week or two he has started to respond to me telling him to sit when another dog approaches him . Something i did not expect to happen so quickly with him to be honest . I do know that without his gentle leader on i would not stand a chance of holding him back when he kicks off as he is so much quicker and stronger than i am , mind you i am sure my neighbours thought i had cracked up when i first started using the gentle leaders after practising in the house i eventually felt brave enough to try them outside , but only in the garden then up and down the street It took me a while to get used to them and how to turn both dogs at th same time i had some giggles and tangled leads as i am sure Akira thought it was a great new game , lets tangle mum up and see if she falls

I would not be without them now and i am so chuffed that i can contol the 2 of them as i am certainly not wonder woman but when you have over 18 stone of dog attatched to you in some way you have to be able to control them

Fiona xx