I have used pronged and choke collars and easy leads. What I have found is that, with pits, because they are higher energy and have a high pain threshold, if they are intent on something, they will just lean into whatever it is, no matter what. I have come to realize that there is no substitute for proper training. I used the turn-the-other-way method. Kaos is very strong and sometimes gets excited to play with other dogs as well. We have worked hard on obedience with him he will sit while another dog passes, but he will still get so excited that, even though he is sitting, hes whining and shaking. I finally started taking him to the soccer fields. There are closed off tennis courts close by and I’ll let him run off some energy first so he’s not so fresh. Then we’ll walk close enough to the soccer fields to catch his interest, but not so close that we don’t have room to work. I don’t wait for Kaos to start pulling. I want him to stay beside me on a loose lead. If he gets too far infront of me I use the “come” comand and short tugs until he turns and follows me (which places him behind me.) The thing is, you have to wait till the dog is actually following you before you reward him becuase, at first, Kaos just sort of turned sideways and continued to try and pull in the same general direction. I would keep tugging and changing my direction until he truly turned and gave his attention to me. I would then walk a few steps with him in the correct position, stop and have him sit, then reward him. Sometimes I would end up doing a full 360 degree circle or more before he would truly break his fixation. It seems to be working very well though and is much better at encouraging him to actually give me his attention, rather than just not pull on the leash. Now I don’t use any type of aid, I just put in the extra time to teach him properly. I’ve also found that teaching tricks can help becuase it gives your dog something to focus on other than what is going on around him.
