She pulls, is distracted by everything (dogs, squirrels, people, cars, leaves blowing). I used a Easy Walk harness for approximately 7 months and throughout 2 sessions of puppy school and advanced puppy school (all were based on clikcer training and we went 2-3 times a week). I then called Bark Busters and am now using a modified chain collar. It is mostly webbing, but has chain on it so I can pull and correct, but without any possibility of choking. I have been working with her for an additional two months doing attentativeness training (having her on leash and trying to get her to focus on me, when she tries to pass or head off in another direction, I turn and go the other way. If she doesn't follow, I turn my back on her until she gets that I'm wanting her to follow. I do not jerk her leash). Then I spend another 5-10 minutes trying to get her to heel by praising when she's either next to or behind me and correcting with collar and growl when she tries to pass or heads off another direction. We generally have to switch between walking and attentativeness even after the 10 minutes or so of attentativeness because she quits focusing on me or finds something else more interesting.
And yes, she an only dog and my first dog as an adult which is why I'm trying so hard to train her properly.

Edited by XXXXXXXXXXX on 10/22/2007 at 3:18 PM

My ultimate question is when can I generally expect a dog of this size to start calming down and acting like an adult instead of a puppy?

Great, so I'm doing everything I should - training, spaying, exercising - and I still have a monster for a dog. Lucky me.