Big Paws Only Dog Forums

Good News! 
I just came in from a walk with Tonka.....and. ...SUCCESS!!  The treats really worked...my treats werent as effective as my daughter walking a few steps ahead of me with a bag of gummy worms lol.  He never took his eyes off the prize and followed her as though he had been born with a leash on!!  The only time he stopped was when some of the neighbors dogs began barking as we passed....but only for a second and he composed himself and began following those gummy worms!  I am going to try again later today and see if he does as well without the gummies in his line of sight!  Thanks for the help!

Well... this is all good information, and exactly what I was looking for too.  I don't think I need to change the leash and collar yet, as I have only attempted these walks twice (at about 5 minutes each) so I tested him (after reading the post about that) and he is not scared or upset by the site of the leash or even me putting it on him.  I even tried walking him with one of my other dogs and that helped a little but not much.  I am glad the head lead was mentioned because I almost bought that until i saw how much they cost and knowing that I would have to upgrade the size periodically I figured I was not going to invest in that until he is almost grown (but after reading about your dog's experience I will have to take him to try it on (when the time comes) and make sure Tonka doesn't react negatively to it as well.)  I am glad to know that the pinch collar is more effective for pulling Tonka back as opposed to pushing him forward.  He does have preschool next week but I am not sure if the leash/walking will be addressed.  I am going to try the treat suggestion.... I can't imagine why that never occured to me since he is soo treat driven.  But I assume that once he starts taking me for walks then the pinch collar is a handy tool to have?

Thanks everybody!  Tonka will be 11 weeks old this week (he is 9 wks in the picture) and I  absolutely love having him around.  I love getting to look at everyones babies, they are all so beautiful (and sooo big).  So far I really like BPO and I look forward to getting to know everyone and their babies. 
Stacey

PS I would definitely love to get Tonka associated with other Danes around me and set up playdates Tina.   

Hi everyone!  I was just told about this board and wanted to check it out and introduce myself.  My name is Stacey and I live in Las Vegas and I am a new Great Dane owner (Tonka).  I look forward to talking to you guys and learning from everyones experiences.

Stacey