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As dog parents, many of us spend our time trying to get our dogs to stop certain behaviors that we don't switch perspectives and really understand what's behind our dog’s behavior.
If you could decode your dog's body language before and during a walk, for example, you might find your dog's thoughts, feelings, and behavior translating into something like this:
"Oh boy Oh boy, Mom’s walking toward the exciting things hanging by the door….Could it be? Ohhh it MUST be true, she just picked up my harness and the brown leash thing that ties her to me….It’s WALK TIME!
So many things to discover, so many smells to sniff, AND I have prepared myself for when I see my scary frenemies. Uh-oh….there’s Jerry the in-your-face Pomeranian coming our way. No telling what he might do to us. Sometimes he wags his tail, but I know it’s just a ploy to get me to let my guard down...Not this time, Jerry. I run to the end of my leash and I tell Jerry politely he needs to back off. I show him I mean business by giving him the stink eye. Jerry doesn’t ever listen. He just keeps walking right toward us and I'm forced to act scary-crazy and raise my voice: 'JERRY, YOU FLUFFY MEANY! LEAVE US ALONE OR I’LL STEAL ALL YOUR TREATS AND HAUNT YOUR DREAMS!'
And just like that, Jerry scurries past us like the scaredy fluffer he is. Phew, we made it, Mom. Scary, but we did it. We are safe!"
That kind of inner dialogue and more is likely happening with our dogs in their own individual ways whenever they show us what we humans call reactive behavior. To them, it's just a dog's natural instinct, their way of dealing with whatever is happening around them to make scary things disappear.
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Reactivity typically stems from either fear or frustration. Dogs behave in this "reactive" way, as in the example above, to get the other dog or any threat to go away so they can feel safe. Your dog starts barking and your dog lunges at threats because it works. It's the way dogs have learned to cope with the fear and/or frustration they feel.
Your dog has learned that barking and lunging at scary things makes them go away. This is called reinforcement learning, and it applies to both good behaviors and bad. The behavior will continue as long as it continues to be a successful strategy in your dog's eyes.
You turn the corner and there pops up a scary thing? Your dog barks and lunges. The scary thing goes away. Bingo! Your dog is learning this reactivity strategy works!
Helping your reactive dog requires a proactive approach, meaning you need to address the root cause of your dog's behavior rather than just punishing or trying to stop it in the moment.
The first and most important step is to recognize your dog's behavior comes from a place of fear or frustration, not aggression. Punishment, scolding, or any other form of aversive training will only make the problem worse.
Instead work on building your dog's confidence and teaching new coping mechanisms. This can include positive reinforcement training, desensitization and counterconditioning, and setting up controlled environments for your dog to practice.
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It’s our job as dog moms and dads to teach our dogs a healthier, alternative behavior that provides them with safety and emotional comfort as well as decreased stress in the process.
Let's talk about how to teach your dog ways to replace reactive, even dangerous, behavior with alternative behaviors that will actually be more fun, exciting, and rewarding for your pup.
Make sure your dog is at a safe distance and under threshold from whatever typically triggers your dog's reactive behavior. This distance will vary from dog to dog and may even change depending on the situation.
Once you're at a safe distance, you can begin training your dog an alternative behavior that serves the same purpose of making scary things go away while reducing fear and frustration levels. There is no learning behavior that takes place when your dog is over threshold.
This first exercise is a great start for helping dogs create more positive associations with something they perceive as threatening. This can also be used for other scary triggers: bikes, joggers, unfamiliar people, passing cars.
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Once your dog has had lots of practice with Exercise 1, with a consistent response to the clicker or verbal marker, and is quickly redirecting attention to receive that high-value treat, you're ready to move on to the next step: marking the moment your dog disengages.
For many dogs who have a social behavior history of interacting with triggers happily when not on a leash, chances are you have a dog reacting out of frustration on leash.
To help your dog handle and get past this frustration on walks, you want to work on nice incompatible behaviors.
"Incompatible behaviors" means that if your dog is responding to these cues, he or she can't do everything at once so isn't able to follow through with the usual barking and lunging madness. Those foundational cues we mentioned in the previous guide come into play here.
*You can implement these same exercises in any other environments where reactivity exists: in the car, inside of the home at windows, in backyard, etc.
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This exercise can be beneficial for both frustrated pups and nervous nellies. For your training sessions with this activity, you’ll need to find a fenced dog park that has adequate quiet space on the outside of the park.
Congratulations! You have completed the basic building blocks to handling dog leash reactivity. Remember, each dog is different and may require more or less time to progress through these exercises. Be patient, consistent, and practice often to reinforce the positive associations for your dog!
Remember to continue with environmental management until your dog's reactivity has significantly improved. Set realistic expectations - your dog's reactivity is a road of progress, not perfection.
You are rewiring your dog's brain to not only perceive these triggers in a different way but you are also teaching your dog better ways to cope with these otherwise stressful situations.
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Now you're ready to put your skills to work as a foundation for more ways to handle leash reactivity, and check out what's next in Dogly's Reactivity Channel!
If you have any questions on teaching and using check-ins or would like to share your experiences with helping your reactive dog, jump into 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, each one a force-free, certified professional trainer.
If you ever need more individualized guidance, get started on your dog's training plan here.
DISCLAIMER: The content of this website and community is based on the research, expertise, and views of each respective author. Information here is not intended to replace your one-on-one relationship with your veterinarian, but as a sharing of information and knowledge to help arm dog parents to make more informed choices. We encourage you to make health care decisions based on your research and in partnership with your vet. In cases of distress, medical issues, or emergency, always consult your veterinarian.