If we give our dog something awesome every time they see a trigger, they will eventually understand that the trigger predicts the appearance of awesome things. We can however change these feelings to a calm, neutral and even happy state of mind. Right now, your dog shows reactivity because the trigger (frequently another dog) elicits these feelings in them. Psychology has taught us how we can alter feelings that are linked to a certain situation.įor your reactive dog, these are the emotions of profound stress and anxiety when faced with another dog. take their leash and move away from the situation until they are more relaxed and happy again.īut, of course on the long run we want to not only prevent our dog from lashing out at another dog – we want to change their reaction all together!Īnd here is how we do it: Helping A Reactive Dog Find Calmįortunately, there is not only a possible, but in fact very straight-forward way to address negative emotions. Instead, always maintain a calm and collected attitude when your dog gets scared and reacts unfriendly. In their mind, if you scold them, then the situation probably is really critical! In fact, scolding them for showing stress through barking, lunging or growling is only going to make them more anxious. We cannot cure this discomfort by scolding our dog. Your dog reacts to it in the best (and only way) they know: by choosing to be the first to attack. This does not mean they actually wants to attack the other dog in front of them – it just seems the only viable option for our dogs.Įspecially if your reactive dog is on a leash, it is likely that they will decide on what appears like a dominant-aggressive charging of other dogs, when in fact they just perceives it as the last resort solution to take care of a threatening situation. Like humans, some dogs choose to retreat, and some choose to just go for the outright confrontation when faced with a situation that makes them anxious. Even though it may look like our dog is “protective” of us (likely not) or “dominance-aggressive” (also likely not), the most plausible and common reason for his behavior is that he is not happy to be where he is, stressed and (often) scared. Here are the top 3 reasons your dog can and will get better! Reactive Dogs Are UncomfortableĪ lot of reactivity originates in discomfort. Sometimes they even form friendships with other dogs. Many went from being quite reactive dogs and having to be separated at all times to being able to peacefully coexist. I have used the methods described many times with fantastic outcomes on my clients’ dogs. Read on to get to know my opinions and solutions for reactive dogs – and why I think they do have a chance for recovery! It is not too late to start training your reactive dog! By understanding dog behavior and where it stems from, we can devise a training plan. Modern dog training has given us the tools and knowledge on how to reduce and at times even eradicate reactivity in dogs. And you wonder: How can you introduce your reactive dog to another dog? Maybe your dog is actually really good at training and you would love to participate in dog sports, but the reactivity is holding you back. Not being able to walk him without worry because he is showing leash reactivity, not being able to go to the park, not being able to take him to a fun group training class and always having to watch out for potential critical encounters is wearing and stressful. Having a reactive dog can be a huge burden.
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