Yesterday, Max and I went for a walk with a third trainer. The methods I have been using for the last six months, learned from the first two trainers, in order to get Max to walk properly on the leash, were obviously not working, at least not well enough. They may work on most, but not all, dogs. And of course my Max is not like most dogs. He is more in the category “not all dogs” 😊 and the trainer we walked with yesterday saw that. In terms of leash walking, I now have to get used to doing pretty much the opposite of what I have been doing so far.

Because Max was always pulling and trying to scavenge (even with the muzzle on) and eating dog poo whenever he was running off leash and without the muzzle, the same trainer has also been giving me valuable nutrition advice and I have made some significant changes to his diet. It turns out he was probably always too hungry and not certain whether he would ever be fed a square meal again :-(. I now know what to look for in the list of contents (I had originally been giving him what they advised and Fressnapf and never really looked at anything else), and am, for now, feeding him more than advised on the package and four times a day instead of two, at least until he realises that he will always get fed and does not need to look for food in the street. This time of year is a good time since a little layer of fat on him does no harm in the cold, and he hates wearing a coat.

One new thing that I think is already making a difference is one or two spoonfuls of bog mud (Moorerde, or Heilmoor in German). Yes, really. It is a thing and can be purchased in pet supply shops. I just had never noticed it or read about it. It supposedly has to be mixed into the food, Max loves it, eats it off the top of his food, and even licks the spoon clean – a sign, the trainer says, that he really needs it.

Other than that, Max continues to be the funniest, most affectionate, companion at home, although we still have our power games from time to time but less and less often – he may be stubborn but I am stubborner. If that is a word. Outside and in the streets, he continues to be a bit too vigilant, or nervous, or scared, or protective, or whatever his motives are for occasionally barking and lunging, mostly at e-rollers, even those few that are actually using the street or the bike path and not the pavement, but on rare occasions also neighbours we meet leaving or coming back to the building. I am hoping that with time, he will learn to trust me more and become more relaxed. The body language I learned yesterday also has to do with my ability to get between Max and any perceived danger. It is exhausting to always have to try to guess what might be coming round every corner.

We’ll see, but I doubt I will ever dare walking him without the muzzle on (on him – not me), and he seems to have resigned himself to that fate now although each time I put it on him, it is clear that he hates it.