What is the best way to tighten up shoulders as my dog is very loose.

Breed and age would help anyone giving advice. Also a description of what makes you think the shoulders are loose, is it because the feet are all over the place or because you see the shoulder blades moving when the dog exercises?

The age 17 months and throws the front legs up too high.

Road work at a steady pace - maybe alongside a bike if a large breed?

> throws the front legs up too high.

this could also be because the upperarm is too short or the front and rear angulation are nto in balance and the legs get thrown up so as not to collide with the back legs coming forward.

He did not do it before I got him at a year I wondered if it is a stage he is going through everyone who has judge him has said he is balance and excellent construction

Could also be over exuberance, try moving him a bit slower.

Are you stringing him?

When a dog  is correctly angulated in the rear - it creates thrust from behind, good shoulder and upper arm assembly then allows this to be transfered into forward movement......the so-called 'ground covering stride'.

If this is thwarted by keeping a dogs head too high, the power is used by bringing the kegs up instead of forward.

Agree in general peppe, high action is not usually caused by any muscular looseness but by either upright shoulder or short upper arm but stringing up can also cause the front leg that should and would be reaching forward to kick up as the dog can't balance his movement and may not be able to see where he is going.

In general & in most breeds the drive comes from the back and the front legs extend to balance the dog in its forward movement (stop it falling on it's nose) the neck will also extend forward to assist in this and the head will be carried as an extension of the back and neck.

There are few breeds that ask for high stepping and others that require a high head carriage but not many and it is not a natural gate but is the reason I asked what breed.