Okay, back on track.

This is a hard one.
If the dog is already pulling I would suggest a head collar (one that suits the dog, there are so many out there) and lots of training, the head collar willl stop the pulling but the dog then needs to be trained HOW to walk nicely...(if you see what I mean, it's late!!!)

Cosmo has been talk to 'steady' (if he pulls) and to 'close' when people walk past us with other dogs/scooters/bikes etc. He can do it all on a collar, but because I worry about him getting out of it (he has a funny shaped head and neck) I have him on a halti harness, which he isn't too fussed on.

In my experience dogs do learn to pull into a harness if a lot of care isn't taken in training them not to and in all honesty, pulling into a harness gives the dog more pulling power. I did have Cosmo in one of the fleecy harnesses when he was younger, but when he did decide to pull...he had so much power in it and was able to lever himself around and around, I felt I had absolutely no control at all once he got excited. I saw it on a bouncy dobe the other day, it's like they give extra leverage...not good on a big dog. As a result we have Cosmo in a Halti harness as if he does decide to pull (which is rare but you just never know) I have more control as the lead (a halti one) can be hooked onto the front of the harness and it redirect his front half....

Having said all that if he ever starts to pull a lot I'll pop a head collar on whilst I retrain him.

In all honesty I am not a lover of harnesses, the only thing they do, IMO is protect a dogs neck and that has to be good and that's another reason Cosmo has one...but only until he grows up and steadys a bit and until I get a snazzy greyhound collar for him....!!!

Thank you for advice!!

And thank you for the apology Steve

I hope you covered his ears when you said that............. how CRUEL !!!

Like he's bovvered....like he doesn't go 'wotever'...teenage mutant that he is!!!!
Seriously, the back of his head is quite pointy...so I worry a collar, that's fitted to the widest part of his neck, will slip off, if you see what I mean,it's hard to get a good fit... Typical...me having an akward hound!!!!

I find with a harness he has too much power and oulls more than the headcollar, I feel that he get so distracted by other things in the big bad world and pays no attention to me whatsoever! So we decided tonight that we shall begin his training in the back garden (less distractions) and keep it going on the street.

At the risk of getting shot.....well said leanne, I've been reading this post and am shocked about all the arguing, especially when a 'newbie' has asked for help Which personally I think has been over-looked.
Leanne......firstly are you going to training classes.
Secondly....if you don't mind me asking have you had a BC/husky before love....will await your answer hun.

The class I went to with Cosmo (which was brill) suggested that you put a harness on the dog for when you are nOT training it to walk nicely...those walks where you don't have the time, then use the collar and lead when you are training it.
You have to decide what you want from your dog as well (this is my opinion on it anyway),so many people try to teach a heel then let their dog go sniff all the verges and lamposts they want...so send conflicting messages. Do you want an obedience heel or do you want loose lead walking??? We've trained Cosmo to 'close' (obedience heel) when people walk by and a loose lead walk the rest of the time. Sit down and talk to your OH about your expecations and what YOU want your dog to do on a walk and then start to train it from there...most people just want a dog to walk on a loose lead and that can be trained in many ways, a clicker works well for it, do you do clicker training? If not may be worth considering...

Love the teenage mutant label he will now have forever in my mind Bless him

Yep, as I said the Husky in him, will want to pull unfortunately so probably best to try other methods and see what suits him and see what he responds to the best

Good post A Many do become confused over the 'heel' and loose lead' thing and assume it's the same thing. Indeed you need a vision of your expectations of him, then work towards that goal.

It's a thing we've really noticed with having Cosmo. The last few pups we've had have had to be trained to walk with a light amount of tension in the lead. Now THAT is hard to train a pup to do, walk with a bit of tension in the lead, not pulling, not a loose lead, just the right amount of tension. Having Cosmo now and deciding we wanted him just on a loose lead...well it's been a bit of a breeze to train, he ain't perfect and never will be don't get me wrong, but we don't care, we love him to bits!
It is all down to expectations and consistency..do you want a dog right at your side not moving away at all, or a relaxed dog on a relaxed lead. Decide what you want and be consistent and it will pay off in the end.