[mamamia1]

My girl is 15 weeks and we have been working on basic obedience for about 3-4 weeks now. I understand that she is way too young to be heeling perfectly for a 20 minute walk, so I work with her for very short sessions (5 min) encouraging her with praise and treats to heel with out pulling and to watch me. After our session I say O.K. and let her use her full leash length to sniff and explore. Our success varies from day to day. If we're having a good day I might sneak in a couple heeling sessions during the walk, if its not so good I keep it down to one. I do my very best to stay up beat and praise when she is paying attention to me instead of any distractions that may come by. I have been using the change in direction as a tool when she begins pulling, but usually by the time shes already started pulling this will only stop the pulling for about 10 seconds and the next change of direction. She will pull until she chokes if I allow it, which I do my best not to. I have been using kibble as treats, if I use more valued treats [ie. weiner bits] her reaction is no greater, and it seems to actually be more of a distraction because she will start jumping up as well.

At this stage I am not concerned with a perfect heel, I just want her not to pull to the point of gagging. Any tips?