Is your reactive dog barking and lunging when a bicycle or another dog comes into view? Does your dog cower or act "aggressively" at scary sounds or objects?

Most dogs react to some degree to something. Your dog is simply reacting emotionally based on how he or she feels about whatever the "thing" is. When we see that our dog's reaction to anything begins to rise to the level of discomfort, fear, insecurity, or even risks safety, it's important to understand it first so we can match the right support to the cause.

That's why these first 4 guides in Dogly's Reactivity Channel focus on understanding dog reactivity: what it is and specifically what's behind your dog's reactive behavior.

Here's a quick look at each guide to help you understand reactive behavior and your dog's feelings - and what to do next about dog reactivity...

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Understanding Dog Reactivity Guide 1: What Does Reactivity Even Mean?

We hear from so many dog parents who wonder, "Is my dog reactive?" Or aggressive? Afraid? Just not socialized enough and used to interactions with other dogs, bicycles, you name it?"

So many of us have experienced something that was supposed to be enjoyable with our dogs turning highly stressful instead, leaving everyone frustrated and emotionally exhausted. If that's how you feel, you can be sure your dog is feeling it even more.

The first thing to learn about dog reactivity to carry through everything you do in this and all guides is a mindset reminder you'll often hear from positive reinforcement dog trainers:

While it may seem your dog is giving you a hard time, the truth is, your dog is HAVING a hard time.

In this guide, positive reinforcement dog trainer and Dogly Advocate Tiffany Baker shares how you can bring that understanding to helping your dog stay under threshold and feel more comfortable in the world.

What you'll learn in this dog reactivity guide:

• What actually is a reactive dog?
• 2 steps to helping your dog get through reactive behavior

1) Manage the environment

"Management" is a key way to set up your dog for success around potential triggers. That means anticipating your dog's feelings and making it as easy as possible for your dog to stay under threshold by managing circumstances you can control before your dog shows a reactive response when a trigger appears. (An obvious example: if your dog is reactive to other dogs and possibly for many other reasons, you want to avoid the dog park.)

2) Teach your dog foundational, alternative cues and behaviors

Foundational cues are important to have in your dog training repertoire so you have go-to, calming alternative behaviors ready when needed. Learning how to reliably capture your dog's attention and quickly redirect your dog to a rewarding alternate behavior can be indispensable for making walks and other daily happenings enjoyable for both your dog and you.

Tiffany shares two useful alternative behaviors and how to teach them to your dog in the full dog training guide: "find it" and "this way" along with highlighting more fun, versatile cues like "touch" and "look."

You'll also learn:

• 8 specific examples of body language to watch for in dog behavior
• 5 tools that support your reactivity dog training - from HIGH-value treats to the right leashes and harnesses

Jump into the full guide here to get started on a better understanding of dog reactivity to help your dog. For more on decoding your dog's emotional responses and how to put that knowledge to work for your dog's well-being, check out our other reactive dog training guides from Dogly's experienced, positive reinforcement trainers.

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Understanding Dog Reactivity Guide 2: What We Mean by "Reactive Dog" & How to Help Yours

"Reactivity" has become something of a buzzword recently, used for all kinds of situations. Do you know how to tell the difference between an excited dog or a frightened dog or a dog who is showing actual aggressive behavior? Figuring out your dog's feelings behind "reactive" behaviors is the key first step to supporting your pup in ways that match the cause and can begin to alleviate the reactive behavior.

Positive reinforcement dog trainer and Dogly Advocate Tressa Fessenden-McKenzie takes you through how to observe your dog's behavior, why/how to keep a log of it, and how to put what you know about your dog into action for training solutions.

What you'll learn in this dog reactivity guide:

• What do we mean when we say a dog's behavior or body language is reactive?
• 6 key observations to note and how to know what your notes tell you about your dog
• How this specific information can help you predict your dog's triggers and negative associations
• Why and how managing your dog's environment is so much more than avoiding triggers

Check out the full guide here. And next up, decoding causes of reactivity, how to focus on your dog's feelings, and how to use counter-conditiong to help your dog.

Understanding Dog Reactivity Guide 3: What Reactivity Is, Causes, & What to Do About It

Trying to keep our dogs from stressful situations and becoming reactive can get pretty stressful for all of us dog parents as well. And of course, our dogs have a direct intuitive line to what we're thinking and feeling through their leash. That's why this dog training guide is dedicated to supporting you as well as your dog - by giving you tools to help you both feel confident and on top of potentially triggering situations.

In this guide, positive reinforcement trainer and Dogly Advocate Karen Chapelaine shares what you need to know to understand reactivity, causes of your dog's reactions and body language, and specific ways you can set up your dog to be more calm and confident.

What you'll learn in this dog reactivity guide:

• What canine reactivity is and what it isn't - reactivity is NOT aggression. Reactivity can spill over into aggression but it's important to know they are two different things.

• 5 Causes of reactivity: Includes an explanation of each and what they mean with your individual dog - from genetics to scary/bad experience to Fight vs Flight (without an escape/flight option leaving dogs only left with Fight) to lack of training and socialization.

• How to recognize early body language signs of reactivity to get ahead of and alleviate a trigger situation

• Further body language signs of reactivity

• What to do when your dog reacts: Includes how to think of trigger distance with the stop light model (red, yellow, green) and what to do in red, yellow zones (where you manage distance) vs green (comfort zones where learning can happen).

• How to use counter-conditioning with high-value treats to teach your dog to expect good things when he/she sees a trigger (Karen demonstrates a version of "look at that" with her dog CJ in the video as an example.)

• In the accompanying video, Karen takes you through all this and more in a learning/support group for reactive dog parents with answers to commonly shared questions/concerns.

If you're ready to start to better understand and improve your dog's reactions to triggers now, check out the full guide and video here. And next up, understanding "sudden" reactivity - why it's not so sudden, how to anticipate it and support your dog.

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Understanding Dog Reactivity Guide 4: "Sudden" Onset Reactivity and Aggression

Has your usually perfectly-behaved dog surprised you by suddenly out of nowhere becoming reactive, showing signs of aggressive behavior like lunging, barking, growling?

The first thing to know is it's almost never sudden or out of nowhere. Dogs' stress normally builds over time with many gradual signs along the way - even if some sudden occurrence is the thing that finally triggers taking stress over your dog's threshold.

In this guide, Dogly Advocate Karen Chapdelaine helps you learn to know the difference between reactivity and aggression and how to be attuned to spotting signs along the way.

What you'll learn in this dog reactivity guide:

To start, 3 things to know...

1) "Sudden" reactivity or aggression isn't sudden.

2) Aggressive dogs and reactive dogs are two separate things.

3) Dogs are telling us how they're feeling constantly - we just need to know how to listen.

Bonus fact underpinning all three of the above:

Dogs don't want to behave aggressively. Many dogs send us all kinds of signals for our help to get them out of stressful/scary situations so they can avoid resorting to aggressive behavior.

More on aggression vs reactivity in dogs in this guide...

• Most dogs - the vast majority - are reactive not aggressive.
• Why it's important to know the difference
• Most reactive dogs are fearful dogs not aggressive dogs!
• What reactivity looks like - examples of body language
• What aggression looks like - body language examples plus causes of true (and rare) sudden aggression
• The canine ladder of reactivity/discomfort - includes details on each escalating level on the ladder, the signs, and what to do
• Body language to watch for
• Details of sometimes confusing body language such as the play bow/prey bow
• So much help is available! Including exercises and games to engage your dog and certified positive trainers and behaviorists to guide you

Check out the full guide here to learn all the signs of reactivity, fearfulness, and aggression, how to anticipate them, and what to do to help your dog.

Understanding your dog's reactivity and the causes behind it is a crucial step in building a harmonious relationship with your dog. Recognizing the early signs of reactivity and correctly distinguishing between reactivity and aggression can effectively prevent escalation of potentially stressful situations.

By employing positive reinforcement techniques and seeking professional guidance when needed, you can work towards a calmer, more confident dog. Always remember, your dog doesn't want to react aggressively - he/she is simply communicating discomfort or fear. As responsible pet parents, it's our job to listen, understand, and respond in the best way possible.

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Next up in the Reactivity Channel on Dogly

Once you've finished all 4 Understanding Reactivity guides, you should have a good sense of how to understand your dog's triggers and feelings so you can begin to help support your pup in stressful moments. If you haven't already, check out the many other guides on reactivity, from teaching alternative behaviors to using positive reinforcement training for counterconditioning to alleviating leash reactivity, and more, in the Reactivity Channel here on Dogly.

If you have any questions about your dog, just ask in our Community Discussion. Continue in our Reactivity Channel where you'll learn everything you need to know for your dog from our community of Dogly Training Advocates. Or hop over to the Anxiety Channel to learn how to give a massage for calming anxiety and overall health for your pup from a certified canine massage therapist.

If you ever need more personalized dog training guidance, get started in your dog's training plan here.