Overwhelmed with walking my 11 month old lab. Leash pulling. Advice welcome.
I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. Based on some of the posts I see here, I know there are others feeling a bit the same. Where I'm feeling overwhelmed though is with the amount of information there is out there with training and trying to figure out if I'm doing the best for my pup. Specifically, our biggest concern is loose leash walking right now. Hoping someone can provide a bit of help.
I have an almost 11 month male black lab (mostly American) that I love very much. He's 60 lbs and a ball of energy and very very happy about life. I love this about him but man it makes walking a bit of a pain, especially when it comes to new places. He's pulled me over a couple of times and my husband is getting worried about my safety.
At the recommendation of the training instructors we've been seeing at his puppy class, I put him in a class that is supposed to help with making him more calm on walks. Their recommendation was to work with a long line (15 ft) and give him about 5 mins in an open field to sniff and try to focus on a couple spots vs going from one spot to the next. If he pulls to the end of the line (which he does every time) I was to stop, turn around in place, have him pay attention to this and start walking in the other direction. Well... He pulled to the end of the line each time and I'm not sure I'm doing things right.
The suggestion was to not take him on walks unless we are doing the above until he starts to get the hang of it so he is not rewarding himself for pulling. My concern with this is that it could take a bit for him to get the hang of it and this means less walks for him (we were going a couple times a day previously - with about half the walk being good and the other half not so good - sometimes we'd have some great complete walks though). This is sort of where the overwhelm comes from - because one the one hand, based on research / training suggestions, he shouldn't be pulling and getting rewarded for so this would mean we should be waiting until we get the hang of things but on the other hand from other suggestions, he needs to be able to walk otherwise frustration will come from there and this will interfere with socialization. What advice are you meant to actually follow?
My questions are:
Should I be following the advice and keep trying what I've learned in calm class to only go when we are working on leash manners before taking him out for walks? If so, what can I be doing in lieu of this to help expend some energy and give the same "vibe" as a walk for him?
What are some other things I can do to help him not pull? I have worked in the house and he is perfectly well behaved in here and is pretty good on the paths around my place. When there is a lot to sniff / check out, there's pups and people around / we're going to new places it becomes increasingly difficult to the point we just cannot continue with the walk due to safety concerns.
I am starting to get frustrated because I just want to enjoy the time with my dog walking (this is my favourite part of the day - when he's having a good day and I know he enjoys it a lot too). How does one keep their patience going with this?
Feel like I'm failing a bit at this and really want to do the best for my pup so that he can enjoy life in the way he does (just in a way it's more manageable).
TDLR: My 11 month old male black lab is struggling on walks and pulling a lot and causing a safety concern. Went for training but a bit confused. Hoping to get some advice on a path forward from here.