Leashes,collars and the energy of it all

As you know last year I got my first purebred dog. He came with an actual manual with requirements and suggestions, do's don't and articles of how to handle certain things should they arise. There was a section on recommended leads and collars. I went to the store and got the proper one for his coat, so the cloth wouldn't tangle in his long neck fur I was to get the rolled leather. A leather 6 foot leash was also recommended which is strudy and easy on the hands. When he was a puppy a trainer suggested a harness, some people suggested a tab lead for agility training. There was another trainer who insisted on using a collar which was made of plastic wedges, some people swear by pinch,prong or electric collars. In shows you use a choke chain. It is all so much and I realized something on my long walk with him this morning.... It isn't what you use to maintain control of your dog. It is the energy that you both feel on either end of that leash. If you have tension and pulling or if you are able to walk in tandem, that is your relationship speaking to you. I had been walking my dog on only his rolled collar and he was not concentrating, excited about our route, all the smells. He wasn't feeling our connection. He kept pulling ahead and getting caught up in a sniff and lagging behind. The tension was something I knew I had to face. I said out loud" We don't need this line of tension between us" and I just got it. Somedogs will just go to the end of the lead and put that constant pressure because they know it won't hurt them, they will be able to force their way to where they want to be, and nothing stops them. I had used the loose leash walk and tight leash stop method for a while and my dog gets it, when I do stop he instantly hops "close" to release the tension. For some reason today I was lost in thought and not really stopping 100 percent of the time. I guess it made me realize that the energy can become the tool we use. We get lazy and want to use a collar that is easy for us and don't realize if we use the simple buckle collar and use it with the appropriate energy, we can control the situation just as if we use a pinch collar.
It was quite a realization. The thing is so many people will use these tools and not realize that their dog is still pulling they are just not feeling it on their end because the collar is absorbing it. Our end of the leash has no tension. Is that working? My dogs collar was positioned correctly, high up on the crown of the neck and I had my leash in proper handle with thumb through the hand loop and gripping with a loose fist on that loop and because it is a 6 foot it was gathered in a second loose loop about a foot and a half from there. My energy relaxed yet focused on my walk I began to walk with more of that connection. I sent messages of trust,love and positivity to my dog, which I read can help build a great connection with your dog. He began to slow down, and focus more on what I expected of him. I was amazed at first. I didn't know if he was tiring out but, he was looking at me more too. I am so glad we let the tension go and started to just work as a team to walk easily together. He wasn't perfect but, the pulling was much less and after I stopped a few times, he remembered he was to be walking with me.
I don't recommend the correction collars for general walking or the harnesses as I think they all are not productive in the heeling and leash walking disciplines. I instead feel if you use a treat to position your dog in the heel position and hold it there for 10 seconds increasing to 1 minute and reward/release your dog will learn heel to be used when you need it. I support the loose leash walking method of walking with a loose leash and if your dog reaches the end of that leash and your arm moves forward out of its natural position you halt. Do not say anything your dog may pull, eventually he will get it and return towards you loosening the leash then you say good, continue walking. After a while name the action I use "close" and he can get the command when he nears the end of the leash and will let up on his speed enough most of the time. Remember that walks are amazingly stimulating for dogs and they are often distracted by the walk, they will need a lot of patience and guidance but, correcting your dog with a swift jerk on their neck doesn't tell them what you want. Often my dog will smell something so exciting and he will begin to pull I don't let him to it if he is pulling but, if I let him pull a few moments and then tell him "leave it" and follow with"close" he is rewarded for the close by my walking over to the sniffy spot and telling him "sniff" I think this reward is great for him because he knows he doesn't need to pull insanely on the leash to get to sniff what he wants because I will allow him to sniff something he wants to sniff if he learns to control his behavior. Self control is a good lesson/behavior for our dogs to have.
I use a long line for swimming, a 6 foot leather leash, if we are going to walk near dogs who my dog may have issue with I use a gentle leader collar, and if we are walking every day I use his buckle rolled leather collar. My hand on the other end always remains relaxed and guiding with as much loving energy as I can.