Quadruple success

[JoanneF]

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Don't feel disheartened, you haven't had him for very long so it's bound to take time.

 

[doggie1]

Don't feel disheartened, you haven't had him for very long so it's bound to take time.

Thanks for that. He is making progress, for weeks nothing seemed to change his behaviour, but now I can see the progress. Not least, I think because he focuses on us more now. We are his people, before he could take us or leave us. Our other dog used to wag her tail all the time, she was a very happy dog, one thing we've both noticed in Eddi is that his tail is more often than not wagging now.
That was a cold, soggy, wet walk. My back is aching again because he was pulling, I had to put his Halti on for a lot of the walk.

 

[JudyN]

Would it help if you used the Halti the whole time? I do have reservations in that there is a danger of the dog lunging and damaging his neck (combining Halti and lead attached to a harness might help), and that he could get frustrated because he can't lunge - but if after showing his frustration he then calms down, you can then reward the calm. And though they're not the perfect training tool, you do need to protect your back.

Wearing it all the time might also help in that he won't get frustrated because sometimes he can lunge and other times he can't.

Some dogs are naturally waggier than others, so though more wagging is good, don't assume that not wagging means he's not having a great time. Jasper only wags his tail as a communication - if he wags it when sniffing in the grass I can be pretty sure he's recognised the smell of a dog or owner he knows and likes. Some dogs seem incapable of not wagging!

 

[doggie1]

Would it help if you used the Halti the whole time? I do have reservations in that there is a danger of the dog lunging and damaging his neck (combining Halti and lead attached to a harness might help), and that he could get frustrated because he can't lunge - but if after showing his frustration he then calms down, you can then reward the calm. And though they're not the perfect training tool, you do need to protect your back.

Wearing it all the time might also help in that he won't get frustrated because sometimes he can lunge and other times he can't.

Some dogs are naturally waggier than others, so though more wagging is good, don't assume that not wagging means he's not having a great time. Jasper only wags his tail as a communication - if he wags it when sniffing in the grass I can be pretty sure he's recognised the smell of a dog or owner he knows and likes. Some dogs seem incapable of not wagging!

He's on a harness when he walks nicely and if he pulls he goes on a short lead on his Halti. I have two leads when walking him. He was trying to get to the ducks on the river, so I had to put his Halti on. We may never be able to let him off lead, using a flexi lead is a compromise so that he can run around a bit. I know a lot of people don't like flexi leads, but it works and I have the security of putting on his Halti. He doesn't pull as bad as he used to. I do loose lead training with him at other times.

No, he is definitely wagging his tail because he is more settled, I can just tell. It used to be down and between his legs a lot of the time before.