Okay, I've done this before! I've been a husky owner for 17 of the last 20 years. Now I have a new 3 month old pup who takes walks just as I would expect a walk to go with an untrained husky pup. You all know the "sled dog" pull, I'm sure!

My first husky went to obedience school and we were given a choke collar. After she threw up twice in school and passed out once on a walk, the trainer introduced us to the prong/pinch collar. After training with that she became a decent heeler!

However, my dilemma lies in the fact that I have a baby and we should not use a prong collar when he is this young. Our walks consist of him pulling and gagging and me stopping him to move him back into heel position. Basically using the recommended methods for training heeling. But he is still gulping and gagging while wearing his regular flat nylon collar. I read somewhere on the internet that 48 out of 50 dogs have some kind of neck or trachea damage from constricting collars. I do not want to hurt him, but as you all know, HE HAS TO HAVE EXERCISE!

Any suggestion? What do you know of the Gentle Leader or other head halters? It looks scarier that the prong collar to me.

Thanks for any advice!!

I've personally never used a halti/head collar, so I can't say much about them. There was a thread on here somewhere about them though, and if I remember correctly there were quite a few positive reviews.

Edit, found that thread: *Click*

When Konrad was younger I walked him on a harness so he wouldn't hurt himself (he used to pull like a psycho...). For loose leash walking whenever they pull stop and wait for them to come back towards you, praise them then start walking again (the praise might be unnecessary, the walk itself is a reward to them). I had some problems at first with Konrad but what helped us get started was finding an empty field with few distractions, and practicing there, if I couldn't go more than a step or two in one direction without him pulling I'd turn around and walk the other way, and as soon as he got close to the end of the leash I'd switch directions again. It kind of helped him to pay more attention to me, and without a sidewalk he didn't have a reference for witch way was 'forward' so he didn't really know where we were going.

I personally wouldn't be walking until at least 6-8 months old, and even then probably not very far. A young dog of mine would be getting most of its exercise through play. Then there's the mental drain you can do with simple training and NILIF (Nothing In Life is Free). Keep training short and throw in a good round of tug, some light wrestling and repeat every few hours. With any luck he might be slightly tired.

With the walking you should start from scratch since this behavior has already been reinforced out in the world. Begin inside and use an assortment of treat, praise and toy rewards. Maybe a couple of laps around the house a few times a day, then add the outside world in small increments until he's not hauling you to the sidewalk.

I'll let others address the tools and training aspect of it. I use choke chains and regular flat collars. It just sounds like you went too far too soon with the walking bit.

We used a harness on the pups until they were 6 months old. Then we switched to flat collars. The moment they started pulling I would turn and walk the other direction. We did that as well as held a cookie at our side so it was at their eye level and pretty much baited them into heeling.

Head collars are OK but I wouldn't use one on my dogs. A lot of dogs at work have them and they are constantly scratching their faces trying to get it off. Or they learn to pull with it on.

You all have some good points. I am trying to train as you are suggesting using the stop and sit and restart and change directions and all the other training techniques; however, I am going around the block with all the distractions and possible Bordetella infected dogs coming to sniff us. Maybe I should keep the walking to a minimum and to the yard. I do not want him to develop bad habits nor injure himself. He has been taking a morning walk with me since I am less of a wrestler than my two sons and husband are.
I read recently that a harness presses on the chest of a husky where it triggers a pull reflex. I don't think I want to introduce a harness ~ we pull enough already!

Putting them in a harness does make it easier for them to pull but when they're so small and so weak it really gives you a lot better control without putting so much pressure on the neck/trachea. That's the reason why we used the harness.

How old is your pup now?

I like this method for puppies. If I had a puppy, I think I'd start with this way:

I just remembered I saw this product at Petsmart the other day. Has anyone tried it?

http://www.amazon.com/bounce-doge-walk-Bounce-Doge/dp/B004L2GMOQ

Hmm... never seen it or tried it. Interesting idea though!

Honestly, for a puppy, I wouldn't use any training tools. I think those tools are appropriate for older dogs, but puppies should really be taught from step one at the least intensive training necessary.

i think a good training harness for a puppy would be an easy walk harness, just be warned that my boy when he was 6 months figured a way to pull around it. but it worked great when he was younger. so if you use that, and if you feel him yank back a bit and turn the other way, even if you keep walking back and forth, he will eventually understand.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E69VDC/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000BHWMY4&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1V0X5F357QQXR5F5FBH2

My puppy is 3 months old. I think I have decided to lay off of the walking around the block for exercise and just play in the yard and wrestle in the house. It really is safer while he's so young. I like this Silky Leash idea. I need to research it more for sure. Tori, do you think the clicking in the Silky training is kind of like the sonic emissions from the Bounce Dog-e Walk? However, a click is positive and the sonic sound is negative and annoying. Hmmmm... I think I like the positive reinforcements better!

As Eddy (and yourself) have said, it really is safer for the puppy to no go on walks around the block until he's about a year old. Short walks when he's older are okay, but long walks on pavement put a lot of stress on his growing bones and joints. Puppies also don't have the inhibition to stop when they are tired, so they will keep going as long as you do and can do serious injury to themselves by doing so. Thus, it's best to exercise a puppy with free play (fetch, running around a yard, etc) and mental stimulation through training.

I think you're exactly right. The silky training is a similar idea as the Bonce Dog-e Walk, but using positive methods instead of negative ones. Silky also trains to heal through pressure on the leash. You want the dog to follow the leash so he always walks slightly behind you. The clicker training added to it is an added bonus for success.

So yes, I would very much advocate Silky over Bounce.