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It's a long post, I very much appreciate anyone reading it and giving advice or criticism!
Every time I take pup on walk training outside, half of me die physically, emotionally and spiritually. Background, I live in an apt, puppy is 5 months old and pee-pad trained at home; he is also a big puppy at 45 lbs. So taking him out is mainly for training to walk on a leash. I've tried training him in the hallway he is doing so well, probably due to the lack of distractions around. He could do heel without a leash in the hallway. I use his food and fancy treats like chicken breasts and cheese (also ever since I got him, I've been using all mealtime for training so he works hard for his kibbles too, and he knows all the regular commands).
However, when we go outside, it is so hard to get his attention (expected with people and other dogs walking by, smells, sounds, etc...) so a normal 15-minute walk I usually spend more than 1 hour with him. I always bring a lot of treats and food with me and I go out before he gets his food so the food is more motivating. Here is what I typically do (edit: I forgot to mention he is on a ~6ft loose leash when we are outside):

Every time I take pup on walk training outside, half of me die physically, emotionally and spiritually. Background, I live in an apt, puppy is 5 months old and pee-pad trained at home; he is also a big puppy at 45 lbs. So taking him out is mainly for training to walk on a leash. I've tried training him in the hallway he is doing so well, probably due to the lack of distractions around. He could do heel without a leash in the hallway. I use his food and fancy treats like chicken breasts and cheese (also ever since I got him, I've been using all mealtime for training so he works hard for his kibbles too, and he knows all the regular commands).
However, when we go outside, it is so hard to get his attention (expected with people and other dogs walking by, smells, sounds, etc...) so a normal 15-minute walk I usually spend more than 1 hour with him. I always bring a lot of treats and food with me and I go out before he gets his food so the food is more motivating. Here is what I typically do (edit: I forgot to mention he is on a ~6ft loose leash when we are outside):
- I try to get him to do zoomies in the hallway before walks to burn out some energy;
- As soon as we get out of the building. I found a spot and let him sniff around/explore a bit within the range of the leash then I try to get his attention back to me with treats. We won't start walking till he gives me attention and/or does a sits/down command;
- As we walk, if he pulls on the leash I stop and call him back. When he comes back, I give him a treat. If after a few minutes he still doesn't come back, I walk the opposite direction for a little bit, then change direction again if he pulls again;
- If he continues pulling a lot, I will just stop/sit down at the closest convenient spot and try to/wait till I get his attention back to me or does a sit/down command before we start walking again;
- I also stop if I see any dogs coming my way and keep him on a short leash and try to get his attention, award him if he does give me attentions;
- I try to use food/treats to get him to walk in heel position but that normally doesn't work till later on in the walk (but I started noticing as soon as the treats in my hands are gone, he sprints out till I grab more treats - any advice with this behavior?);
- Throughout the walk, in addition to treats, I also use praise or asserting voice to let him know if he is on the right track;
- He gets to play with some other puppies walking by, but I feel like this one I'm not as strict. He still gets to play if there's tension on the leash but the other dog walks over. But if he actively pulls towards the dog, I'd pull him back and that's a no play.
- Thursday we went out for a walk for 1.5 hours, a lot of calling him back and repeating the same thing. He pooped twice and right after getting back he pooped on the carpet in the hallway (ugh! especially last time he did that I got in trouble with the building). So I put him in the bathroom and cleaned up the hallway (I always wash his paws in the bathroom after coming back then he gets a treat and staying in pen for a bit while drying up). Since I feel like my patient was running thin, I went to grab milk downstairs real quick/calm down before I wash his paws and put him back in pen.
- Friday, we went out again. This time he was being extra hyper. So I spent 40 minutes training him in the hallway before going out; and took 2 breaks for myself to not get worked up, and I used my serious voice so he could walk ok before I decided we could go out. 5 minutes into our walk, he/I already got a random impulse control lesson by a fellow dog walker when he acted too hyper greeting the dude's dog (which I appreciate). So a few minutes later, I decided to make a stop where there's barely anyone so he calms down a bit. I was squatting down on his level with my phone in hand when a pup showed up. He launched right at the dog and 125 lbs me got dragged on my hands and knees right behind him. Just when I managed to stop the motion, he launched again, and I got dragged on my back. It scraped my hand and phone. Afterward, we sat in the park for a whiiiiile before finished the walk (I thought about just carrying him home but it was feasible). After getting back, I needed a second before cleaning him up. Once I was emotionally and spiritually back from exhaustion (15 minutes?) I bought in a peanut butter treat and cleaned him up. After he got into the pen, he got a few different treats and chew toys while I heat up something for myself to eat. He was whining so I took him to the bathroom. Within 10 minutes, I opened the pen 3 times to let him go to the bathroom, but he either doesn't come out, refused to be carried to the bathroom (and he is too heavy when he does corporate), or run the opposite direction. So I was pissed, decide to ignore his future whines and went to eat dinner. 2 minutes into my dinner, he pooped right there in the pen in front of me ?!
- Saturday no walks and it was sunshine and rainbows
- Today, I was planning on doing some painting. So I figured we can do a morning walk then he naps so I get some free time. The walk was aight, he was pulling a lot like usual. we came back after 1.5 hours. He was giving me a hard time getting back into the building (my building shutdown the regular door and only left the revolving door), and afterward, he kept walking around me so I kept getting tripped by the leash. In the elevator, I used my serious voice to tell him to site down. He sat right away and looked intimidated. After we got off the elevator, he doesn't want to come into the apt. So I left him in front of the door (with leash inside) for a hot second when I'm taking off the jacket. Then I told him to come in again, which he did. Then I took off the leash, told him to go out and come back in again, which he also did. So I put him in the bathroom and I took a quick an ice cream break before going giving him a bath. He wasn't eating his peanut butter treats in the shower. After I put him back in the pen he wasn't eating his new treats I put in, just keep whining. So I took him to the bathroom for potty. He didn't go and I put him back. He whines again, I took him out again but he wanted to play didn't go potty. So I was trying to put him back when he tripped over the water bowl and got water everywhere. At that point, I was like, "f*k" *angry voice; now he is behaving very well, ate his treats and sleeping in his pen safe and sound.