Should I get a harness to train my dog to walk beside me, or should I just let her a little in front of me?

A little. You tell lies! You let your dog go miles in front of you. By the way people his dog is dominant over him. Lastly he is missing one detail. His dog is a small dog with a fragile neck. Just a regular leash trying to get a small dog to walk beside you can choke them.

@rock4ever I try to get them to stay beside me. Also, they are not dominant whatsoever! Those dogs have done a lot more than pull on the leash, and don’t even hurt their necks at all! I can train them, it’ll just take some time!

They are dominant. They own your house and go to the bathroom wherever they please.
Also I can hear them panting like they’re going to die!

How do they own my house? They go outside on the same strip of grass everyday! That’s only Minnie, and that’s because she doesn’t walk in the Winter, she’s fat, and eats like a hog!

You don’t assert your dominance and get to scared to correct them. I come in the door and get pile drived by these dogs. I will teach you to walk them correctly if they have a harness. But without one I can’t because they can really hurt themselves.

They like you and are ecitted to see you!

I don’t care if they like me they should know better than to jump on people. You can’t baby them just because they’re tiny.

@rock4ever So what if Randy did!? Besides, they are cute and little!

I fixed that long before you came along! :p This is why I didn’t want you knowing my user name!
Who cares if they’re little. Would you tolerate a little kid punching someone in the face because they’re little! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A little kid punching someone in the face is totally different than a little dog jumping on you!

@rock4ever, Hahaha, yeah… I did. I forgot I was even typing an answer.

I let my dog go a little in front of me. It keeps him from getting stepped on and keeps us in a line so we can both fit on the sidewalk, trails or wherever we are.

@Randy At least someone is nice about my question unlike @rock4ever

The thing is his little dogs can pull!

Well, she needs to be on a leash, legally, and it might be a pain but it prevents her from running away to play with another dog, or running into someone’s house – those can go badly very quickly. Story time: years ago, a neighbor didn’t walk her giant lab on a leash, and one day the lab bolted from her and into our house (the door was open as we were taking groceries out of the car) and proceeded to run around in it – muddy paws on white everything: white carpet, white walls, white marble, white furniture – and then try to play with our little yorkie, who’s so small that a playful headbutt can easily snap her neck. My mother forced the neighbor to pay thousands in damages, and hated her for years after.

I was always taught that you have a dog go just a bit in front of you – maybe a couple feet, but this is also from old school dog trainers who believed not in “sit” and “walk” but in “hup” and “heel”.

No you got the wrong idea. He has his dogs on a leash but it’s the regular ones that go on the neck. I suggested to him to give his dogs a harness.

Your dog should never walk in front of you. You lead, you assume control, you are dominant, you are the alpha….whether it’s a 2 pound Yorkie or a 150lb. Mal. He leads, he’s in control, he’s the dominant. He doesn’t have to do as you say. Oh…..and I was raised with Chihuahuas, my parents bred. They all walked nicely on leash or off, at heel, on a collar. A gentle tug is all you need to correct them. It’s easier to overkill. A harness actually will cause an animal to pull more.

I have trained a bunch of dogs and I prefer my dogs walk in a heel, but will allow his shoulder to be even with my leg (nose out in front) but not much further ahead than by a nose. I have only trained big dogs and harnesses do seem to encourage pulling in my experience. I have tried Halti-style collars and don’t particularly like them. I use a prong on my shepherd unless he is actually working. A band collar works for my labradoodle.

I really can’t offer much on the differences with small dogs, but there are quite a few people on Fluther who train dogs and may be able to help!