I had an 'uncontrollable' puller in my 2nd dog, it took 10 minutes with the Koehler method and she was watching me attentively and not pulling at all. I took her to a training day last Tuesday and one of my friends asked, "When did that dog start heeling?" "This weekend." (that's when the book came in).
The Nordic breeds can be pretty bullheaded, though.
So can the Japanese ones, hehehe.