Leash training help

Hi everyone!
My husband and I recently adopted a rescue puppy who happens to be half mastiff. Needless to say, he is growing at an extremely rapid rate. He is still only 8 months but we are trying to leash train him to walk in 'heel' position. As he is a puppy, he still likes to pull and try to venture out wherever his little heart desires.
We need to leash train him fast and we have been working on this for awhile. Soon he will be too strong for me to take on walks alone unless we get this issue fixed!
Please help =(
Oh also, any tips on him jumping on strangers would be appreciated. He loves people and gets a little too happy to see them!

 

I am not a dog expert and in fact, a first time owner of mix dog! He is half boxer and half pit bull. He weights more than me He seems to do well walking on leash with my sons, and we turn to Ceasar Milan's videos a lot to learn what we need.

You probably need the type of leash control that sits on the top, in the back of your dog's neck, rather than a regular leash. As fas as jumping on people go, you will have to tell people to knee him down. Only the one he jumps on can teach him that. This worked for me when I visited my daughter and her dog jumped on me. No matter how many times my daughter said it, he won't listen to her. So I took the matter into my hands, knock him off and command him not to jump on me. It worked!

 

This reminds me of the days when we were trying to teach Barbie how to be in the leash. Barbie is a pekingese that the vet said wouldn't want to be on leash. And the vet is right because once we attach the leash to the collar, Barbie would go on a crawling but unmoving position. Obviously, she doesn't want the leash. But when we are out in the park or in the mall, Barbie appreciates the leash although more often she wanted to be carried.

Now Barbie is 3 years old and had gotten used to the leash when we are out of the house.

 

My moms rescue schnauzer used to jump on strangers... they do that as a way to impose their dominance. I think the fact your puppy is still pulling when you take him out on a walk indicates he thinks he is the leader of the pack. You better start firming your leadership over him. You can do this by picking a snack safe for dogs... start eating it, then after a while give him a peace, but not if he barks. If he barks silence him, try to portray authority and don't hesitate, dogs can feel that. Be generic and firm, that's all you need, that and learning more about dog behavior.

 

That is a good advice, @Trellum about sharing a pet-safe snack. Capone is still jumping on people when they first come inside the house. This bad behavior I credited to my youngest son, since he always allows Capone to jump up and kisses him. He doesn't do this to me though because I won't tolerate that.

I got to train the human, not the dog, in my case