I understood then, that the way I could best communicate with Ava was via our time spent walking, although having her overhead harness put on was something that she only just tolerated. Following some research, we settled on a Hutta Active harness which was not difficult to get over her head and then clipped behind her front legs. She positively strutted when she first had it put on!
Our walks became Ava’s time to grow into being a dog. Life in the puppy farm had robbed her of these experiences in her early life. However, now she had a second chance to grow to her full potential. The more we walked the happier she became. The pulling on the lead lessened and Ava became happy to trot alongside me even though Lilly and Ruby were off lead. It soon seemed the right time to let Ava off lead also.
For the first few times off lead Ava stayed close by. But then she discovered squirrels! The periods of time spent chasing them became longer, and on two memorable occasions Ava was missing from sight for more than ten minutes. I was frantic, but our little network of dog walking friends came to the rescue and we were happily reunited, both of us a little traumatised.