Morning moon and other trials

A tough week. On Monday morning, we drove back from WV, with Zorro in the back of the truck. Ordinarily, he's great in the car or truck. But this week, the moon sets late in the morning. He could see it from the truck window, and went nuts, resulting in a harrowing drive for driver (me) and passenger (Denny). Denny got him to stop temporarily by swatting him on the nose with a magazine, which he did not like at all. But after a few minutes, he would start up again. Looks like we may need to get curtains for the truck.
Walks have also been a challenge this week: he's started jumping and leaping at other dogs. He isn't aggressive: given the opportunity to get up close to a dog, he usually just wants to circle it in a playful way. But other dogs and their owners don't know that. They just see a 56-pound black and white dog straining against his leash and are rightfully intimidated. As of yesterday, we are back to using the head halter, which he doesn't like but does help maintain control. We encountered a brown and white spaniel on our walk this morning and I successfully got him to sit and stay until the dog passed.
Other rescue dog adopters tell me that a certain amount of backsliding isn't unusual. Even the Adopt A Pet Bible says that some dogs will show some JD tendencies after they've settled into their new home.
Meanwhile, we are on Day 7 of the Protocols of Relaxation. Hard to say it's working, given recent events. But he's doing pretty well with the exercises, which now involve me disappearing for a few seconds while he remains in stay position. Mostly he looks bored which I guess is the goal.