Axl update

So Axl has been doing pretty good. The gentle leader really helps and knowing how to use helps even more. It's going to take time but I think we can have him walking like a normal dog soon.

Now that I know what his problem is, uncertainty, I can see it so clearly. I'm trying to be very careful not to feed that uncertainty when he has it. I try to get him to sit and become calm before I talk to him. We are working on sitting with hand signals so I don't have to say anything to him until he calms down. But it's very nice to understand and know what's going on now. I can head off problems before they occur.

We took them to the dog park yesterday for the first time in 2 weeks. I was a little nervous and on edge but things seemed to be going well. One thing I've found is that if I keep them moving things are better. There was a large St. Bernard in the park and Axl was acting funny around him so we just kept moving and all was fine. When they met up a few minutes later everyone was happy. So I'm learning what to do. But then a male pit bull came in who was very unsure of himself. Axl senses that and will take advantage of it. Luckily I'm getting more and more familiar with the body language of my dogs and other dogs. I spotted, almost as soon as Axl did, that this dog was unsure of himself and what to do in the park. Axl went to sniff him and the dog shied away. I knew that was it, Axl would not let that go and he didn't. Luckily I was standing right there and was able to grab Axl before anything happened - like I wanted to see two pit bulls fight, no thank you - and we headed out of the park. I figured it was better to just leave then to push things. We then took them for a little walk and did some gentle leader training. So it was all good. This whole process is going to take time and I'm up for that, I just hope Axl is :)