My clients want me to drag their puppy - how do I approach this?

Using the bully stick is a great idea. My 2 yr old terrier mix likes to sniff deep into the grass for dried poop. When we are in the greenbelt or walking through the neighborhood I give him a chance to do his business but keep him close. I now know his body language for "sniffing for poop" and needing to poop. I personally don't like the flex leashes and I always put one of my harnesses or training harness on my guests if they don't use one. If you are there frequently you can work on sitting and "come". Keep the puppy close during your walks and keep him moving forward. If you let him and see him spending time sniffing in one spot, quickly bring him back to you. Use the bully stick, say "come" and he should pick it up pretty quickly. Ask the owners about their training methods -that you approve- if they have any and work on them. Hope this helps.

I think you stumbled upon a great solution with the bully stick. Ideally, we don't want to be dragging our dogs around (and vice versa) and there are instances where pulling on a flat collar can lead to health problems. However, if it's not excessive, not sudden (no collar pops/jerks), and not punitive, it's unlikely to cause problems for the dog, so I wouldn't be concerned with the owners' statements. Would you be as concerned for the dog if he were the one doing the dragging? Like a dog that's so excited to get to something that they strain and lift their own front legs off the ground pulling against the leash? A harness may be safer if they're open to going that route, but I think your best bet for changing their approach is to get good success with your own method so they are excited to try it on their own. If you can pair your actions with some cues like "leave it" or "let's go" then you can phase out the bully stick eventually for most distractions.