We just got a young pup and know we can't have her pulling for quite some time but am curious how much training we can start at this young very teachable age? I know most urban/rec mushers all live with their dogs in the house and that is also our desire. I would love to be able to take her for a loose leash walk, but once she is in a harness she pulls with everything she's got. Not looking for race speeds, just exercise for all of us involved and to have some fun with our dog as she is old enough. We have already noticed she knows when her leash is connected to her regular collar and when it is connected to her choker. With the choker she walks really good for her age. With her regular collar she always has more leash to work with - potty time mainly. So some questions...do I use this collar difference now and try to have her walk/run in front when using the regular collar and make her "heel" loosely when using the choker? She currently walks either just ahead or just behind while using the choker - depending on how tired she is. When would you suggest harness breaking her? Not pulling, just getting used to wearing it. I will be starting to use mushing terms as we take her for walks so she can learn them as well. Any other training advice people are willing to share is also welcome. My main concern is I don't wanna mess up the chance to have her pull but also don't want a crazy dog that we can't take for walks. Lol And if there is anything we can do now to accomplish those goals for the future. I'm a firm believer in training right now for how you want them to behave when they are older. Thanks for any insight into this new area of dog life.

Kevin

Sorry I'm not on much. And I'm sure others have better advice than I. I would not use a collar for pulling at all, and get her a used harness off a mushing Facebook buy/sell group and of course buy her a properly fitted one once she's fully grown to train her in. Dog booties is a nice brand where you just measure the neck and everything else is adjustable. You can train her now by using something lightweight to pull with groundwork. For example, a plastic kids sled. I actually have my puppy pulling a kids sled, while I teach her commands. So while your pup is pulling it around the yard, add the commands. Gee, easy, haw around, gee over, etc. That way when she's full grown and able to pull the bike or scooter or whatnot, she will already know her commands.

As she grows you will want to make sure your vet knows that you are hoping for her to run in harness. Likely he or she will make a special effort to watch her joints and structure. You can put her in a basic pet store harness to have her drag around stuffies and learn to move around and become accustomed to basic terms.

Honestly rather than using a choker collar, I would suggest you invest in attention and check in training. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_BEXER4lGo

At 6 months you can put them in harness and pull very light loads.
12 months light training ~1mile
15 months she can start in harness, but just like any athlete, you will want to build on the speed, distance, and difficulty, not jump into the 10 mile hauls.