Usually collar and leash training represents no problem with the puppy. But the older he is the bigger is the probability that you meet such a problem. The easiest way is to cope with it during a game. Playing with the puppy you can quickly put a collar over his head and continue playing. If the puppy starts to reject it, try to divert his attention with a toy or another game. Another way is to put a collar and right then give him a tidbit. Take off the collar whereupon and do not give anything. In a second put the collar again and again give a tidbit. IF the puppy is very stubborn and the collar disturbs him much, put the collar each time before feeding and feed the puppy only when he wears a collar as a drooling bib. With time, when you often take the puppy out in a collared and leashed, the dressing will become a signal of walk and he will treat them with love.
When trained to leased inside the house a puppy may behave in other way when outside: get frightened, lie quiet or go into hysteric. Anyway it is better not to tug him but calm, strike, give a bit of dainty and once again try to make him submit the leash movements. Usually, if the owner is not rude, the puppy quickly stop reacting in a described way. But remember: on the street not the dog leads you but on the contrary - you lead the dog.
While the puppy is small, it is so easy to restrain his desire to pull. Ignorance of this is a sure way to teach the dog walking just so. Later you'll meet a hardship of struggling a mature animal. Teaching the dog behave well needs some time and your attitude to the puppy should be similar to that of surgeon towards his patient. That is, you must be ready to make something unpleasant or even painful to the puppy for the sake of his well-being.
The moment when the puppy strains the leash or pulls you in unwanted direction or pushes his nose in something prohibited, you make an abrupt tug. The tug should be so strong as to promote the dog's submission, no more than this. You must not punish the puppy, but you must change his behavior. But if the pup disregards the leash he doesn't learn. If the tug is very strong and evokes panic, it results in fear towards leash and situation. Bad as well.
If you always pull the puppy up when he pulls you, just see what will happen: the very tension of leash will be taken as a presage of troubles. The dog will try to avoid them and watch the rhythm and direction of yours and his movements.
If the dog is no more a puppy, physically stronger than you and ignores your tug, you can do a series of 3 or 4 tugs or use a choke chain. Breath impediment, caused by a choke chain, reinforced by you tug is very effective.
On the other hand it is easy to train the dog to strain, i.e. pull you at the command "Go ahead". Sometimes it is necessary when you want to improve some exterior faults and of use for a dog which is later be used for tugging a skier or hauling. To train this skill you give a command and begin running, forcing the dog making a necessary speed and run ahead. After this you should slacken pace a little at first allowing the dog to pull you, and repeat the command to bear him up. After 10 to 15 meters of such movement (it is enough to begin with) give a command "Easy" and hold up the dog with a tug he already knows. Another 10 to 15 meters the owners goes so that to make the dog understand he shouldn't pull now. And after this you repeat the lesson. Gradually enlarge the working distance and try the dog with skis, sled or a cart, if needed.
It would be very good to teach the dog to cope on his own with the troubles he makes with the leash according to what E.A. Mescherskaya and N.N. Meshkova in "Advices for a dog-owner" (1992) recommend. They suggest to use a command "Round" when the leashed animal goes behind a tree, a bush or a big stone and tangles the lead. In this case give a command and pull the leash to induce the dog come back. The second command - "Leg" means that the dog must raise his leg when the leash went under his belly, and untangle. To teach this the owner gives a command and raises the dog's legs. With time the dog will gain experience and do everything him self.
This procedures can be trained with out premonitory commands using only a tug-management. After several lessons the dog will fulfill the needed actions heading for the leash tugs.
Someone likes playing with the leash, other bothers. But anyhow it damages the leash made of cloth or leather and the chain threatens the dog's teeth. Such dog's behavior is induced by a necessity to play, therefore don't tug the leash when the dog tries to play with it, since from the dog's point of view, you are in the game. Thus the necessity is satisfied and the behavior model is fixed. Threats and kicks are ineffective because denial to play do not satisfy the necessity to play, which is very developed in young dogs. Best of all is to throw the leash down as the dog begins to grab it. Thus you cease the game because the leash stops to resist. When the dog leaves the leash, offer him a stick, a toy or just play with the dog. It is even more effective to give a toy when the dog holds the leash and much more fruitful when he is only about to do this and occupy his mouth with the toy.
With time the dog will understand that a leash can't be a toy. Just as the owner with time comprehends the elash is not just a rope but an extra effective tool for fostering and controlling the dog's behavior.
by Vladimir Gritsenko, Translated by Tatiana Karpova (Moscow)
(MSU, Biology faculture, Dep. zoology and ecology).