We have a lovely 2 year old terrier spaniel Cross. Very high prey drive and as we live in the countryside with sheep and pheasants at every turn he spends most walks on lead.
2 walks a week he's on a trailing long line so he can have a run around. We walk along the canal twice a week and use and extendable lead so he can enjoy all the sniffs and walk ahead a bit and about once month we drive to the coast where he goes off lead on the beach (great recall when there's no wildlife to chase).
On his short lead he pulls like a train, really strong for a small dog and very determined. I've had a nightmare with him at times as it hurts my hand and shoulder and I've found myself at the top of slopes/stairs unable to get safely down them so I know that walking to heel is essential.
After a ridiculous amount of training (it's taken about 18 months! How do the trainers in the YouTube videos do it in a matter of minutes?!!) he's finally understanding what walking to heel means.
I took him through a wooded area yesterday. This is the kind of walk he would usually drag me through using all his energy to pull ahead. He walked to heel the whole way however it takes me to be constantly focused on him and he needs frequent corrections. I can feel all his energy contained in him now, he's using it to walk slowly. I still allow him to stop and sniff but he's not frantic anymore.
It feels so alien though, it almost feels a little bit cruel to keep him by my side. When does it start to feel relaxed? Will he eventually start to naturally walk at that pace? Will I be able to break my attention away from him? How long do you walk your dogs to heel? Is there going to be a middle ground where he can walk ahead without pulling? At the minute he's either at heel or dragging me!
As I said, he does get time through the week to run and explore more but he has to learn to walk nicely. My parents will be looking after him for 2 weeks next year so we've got about 6 months to really master this. They can and do walk him now but I know they'd have a much nicer time if he wasn't pulling.