[email to my trainer]

I have been walking Herman with the double leash and Halti ever since last Friday. He got the hang of it pretty quickly, even if it isn’t his ideal way of walking. There are walks when he has more energy stored up than others, and on those days, I have to stop a lot because he’ll tend to walk ahead of me, and I wind up bumping into him a lot to keep him on my left side. We don’t wind up encountering other dogs most of the time, and when we do, it’s usual from afar. When this happens, I try to just keep walking in the same general direction, rather than turning around and making Herman think that I’m concerned about the other dog. He still gets agitated, but I’m calmer and the Halti and leash help me control him better. He doesn’t pull and whimper as much, so the interruption to our walk is not as severe as it used to be.

I really need to figure out a way to get Herman to relax at home. The cats are becoming more and more comfortable around Herman, as far as getting closer to him without running away. And Herman, for his part, stays still more often when the cats are near. I think he knows that running towards them is something I highly disapprove of. But even when he’s still, he’s very intense, and he still whimpers quite a bit. I’ve tried some massaging. Treats can keep him occupied temporarily. But unless he’s tired out, he’s never relaxed. I find myself feeling guilty to the point that if I wake up in the middle of the night, I’ll go sleep on the couch out where Herman is for the rest of  the night, because I know he’s at his most relaxed when he’s resting and I’m nearby.