Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I think we've got obedience under control in the house so we moved to the yard this morning.. He barely listened at all, but I know it will take much time..

He hates his halti, although I've always been so careful to make it positive with treats and lots of praise. It's been a week and a half and he still alternates between chewing and trying to paw it off, and laying on the floor refusing to move. He'll let me put it on and take it off no problem but hates to wear it for any length of time, so walks are nearly impossible because he freaks out. I put it on him in the house a few times a day for a couple of minutes, distract him with treats and toys, and then take it off before he has a chance to freak out.. Do I need to just put it on and let him work it out himself?

We've had friends over briefly a few times and he barks once when they come to the door and then sits when I ask (he's on leash with me and doesn't have much choice) and waits until I say "okay" to go over and sniff them.. When he's satisfied I praise him for being calm and give him a treat and then he lays at my feet. He's still protective of me and gets upset when they start to move away from the door and into the living room but that's okay. We're working on it and it's amazing that we've gotten this far already, so I'm sure that the rest will come..

That's about it lately.. Just wanted to keep everyone updated..

Wow! Thats so awesome! Kaiser is so good around people! I can't believe you can get him to sit, Cookie just freaks out and jumps on them. She's getting better, but getting her to sit is still a long way away.
i read in the insert that came with the halti that when they freak out, it looks a lot worse than it actually is. Cookie freaked out a little at first, but not bad. She still doesn't care for it and will paw at it, but she pretty much stopped chewing on it. Give him time, he should get used to it. It's good that you're having him wear it around the house too.
Be patient in the yard, it will take a while like you said, just keep remembering how he was in the house when you first got him and how much he's improved. You're doing a great job! And thanks for the update!

no reason to get really excited yet, it's been mostly men so far and he's never had much of a problem with men.. We'll see though, I've got a couple of girlfriends coming over this weekend..

I hope he gets used to his halti fairly quickly, walking right now is not fun..

yes, improvement in small steps. there is alot that is going on in his head for him to be changing, so even if it seems small on the surface, all that is happening in his head, will make a big difference in the long term. JMO you know I've wondered, in a case where a GSD was nipping in class, the insructor got the owner to hold the leash/dog muzzled while we each came by & shook hands with owner. I wondered what the dog would have done, if the dog had been 'secured' ?somehow? & his owner had walked with (like attached at the hip close to) each of us, approaching together. just considering how Kaiser would interpret that maybe to mean that Leah & her friend are together so must be ok. might help, as a transition to later encounters. Hang in there, I think you're doing great!