Dog pulling on lead - help!!!

[Didthatreallyhappen2]

Our cockapoo is nearly 2 years old. In almost every respect he's wonderful, daft as a brush, soppy, very affectionate, absolutely the perfect family pet, and we all love him to bits.

But …. he pulls hugely on his lead on his walks. I walk him twice a day, at least half an hour each walk but usually more. I'm a SAHM so he's in and out of our big garden all the time, chasing squirrels etc etc. We knew he was a high energy breed, and were prepared to give long walks, but he pulls constantly. It's meant that I now have very bad sciatica (can barely get out of bed some days) and shoulder problems and I'm getting a bit desperate.

We tried him on a harness which was supposed to stop pulling. All it actually did was mean he could pull even more because he had the leverage (think "World's Strongest Man pulls caravan" sort of thing, and the angle that they can pull at). So we've put him back on a regular lead and collar and now, every time he pulls, we simply pull him back, stop walking, say "Stop" (or TBH "Ow" in my case), and then wait for a couple of seconds before starting again. Some days we have to do this every step of our walks.

Are we doing something wrong (or right, I ask hopefully). He is the most wonderful pet in almost every other way and we love him to bits, but this is becoming a real problem. Someone suggested putting a sort of muzzle headset on him, but he'd hate it and that seems like a punishment, which we don't want to do.

Thank you for reading. This was longer than I had anticipated.

[BlueSlipperSocks]

Method 2, Walking to heal with a constant stream of treats, I managed 2 miles like this and if you hold the treat in the hand so she can't eat it she will sniff at my hand and we don't end up bankrupt with a very podgy doggy

This is the method I use. When walking nicely, sniffing the treat, give the cue "good walking". Treat every few steps to start with, increasing the distance before you give the treat. In no time at all your dog will walk nicely on lead. Once he's grasped the cue "Good walking" you can then use it for him to walk to heel when not on lead. Good Luck 😊

[spot102]

Halti itself doesn't stop sniffing but may prevent your dog sniffing if you have a short lead as the lead attaches under the chin, not at the neck. You may therefore need a longer lead for the dogs head to actually reach the ground - especially with a tall dog.
Alternatively you could move the lead to the collar when dog is allowed to sniff.

[BlueSlipperSocks]

^^ If your dog jumps for the treat do not give the treat. Only treat when all 4 paws are on the floor, but dont stop to treat. As you give the treat say "good walking".