Quote Originally Posted by slleipnir
Also..they say never to tighten up on the leash when walking by something you don't want her to tense up over.

I agree with that. Tash has a thing about lunging at kids if they run/ride bikes/skateboards etc right by her. I try to just keep her out of those situations, i.e. walk her at night, walk her when kids are in school, or go a different way if I see kids ahead. Tightening the leash really brings out the "must fight" instinct in the dog. I try to keep treats on me (cheese or hotdogs) and have her sit and focus on me for a treat if someone walks right by her while she nervous. This prevents that tight leash problem that only seems to make things worse. Of course if it's really a touchy situation and you have to keep her held tightly to you, sometimes that happens, and it has happened to me. I try to really avoid that though since it really isn't a good situation, you want her experiences to be happy and calm as possible.