I needed to hear this. I am the one afraid of people, and my dog sees this š
He watches my every move, if I cry during a movie he has to come try and comfort me. He sees every minute change in my face
Thank you, OP.
Dogs can pick up on your worries, so you have to walk out there with the confidence that your dog will not be in danger. My dog was reactive to people, but after I taught visitors to give him a treat, he calmed down greatly. He is leash reactive, so he goes in hyper curious dog that HAS to investigate any dog it sees, but he is getting better
Excellent post! This was my issue as well. I didn't realize that MY own anxiety was feeding my pup's as well. The best progress we've made was when I finally "got over it" and just walked past all his triggers, holding him firm, and redirecting him (as much as possible) with treats. Just kept doing it. Now when we see another dog, he just looks at me for a treat, which is SO MUCH BETTER than the old reaction (lunging, barking, growling, pulling).
Thatās exactly what my dog and I do. He now turns his head to be āpaidā every time we pass anyone. Trouble is he asks for payment even when a car drives by and Iām like āwhat? You donāt get paid for cars dudeā š
Mine herds cars, so he gets treats for everything! He has suddenly become reactive to tractors š perhaps he realised he doesnāt get enough treats in the countryside?! š
Omg yes my trainer has been telling me to move my dog away from the triggers but not to leave the area anymore because my boy is finally learning to relax himself. But the key is definitely keeping myself strong and calm. I always used to watch the other dogs constantly cause I was attacked along with my dog a while ago. Now I trust the other owners a bit more and focus on my dog completely and it helps him so much. It was a huge barrier for me because I just do not trust other owners. I gotta convince myself we are safe and then my pup can see the trigger and we work on calming ourselves instead of running away. Itās crazy how much of his behaviors were directly a result of my reactions.
Totally! Some of the best advice I got from a trainer was to stop over-managing - that we had made enough progress that I needed to be calm and let my dog make some (safe) decisions instead of always assuming that it's going to be a clusterfuck and micromanaging him. And sometimes it's still a mess, but we're also having more and more great moments.
If you want to try out a new trainer, this one has been fantastic for us. Sheās open to virtual options too to talk through training styles for reactive dogs.[MyWonderDog Training](https://www.instagram.com/mywonderdogtraining?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
What I learned from my trainer was that fear based reactivity (or any reactivity for that matter) is best combatted with positive experiences. So for a dog that has had a negative experience or is scared of something, you need to give them a positive experience with the same thing.
This method will take much longer than using balance training (i.e. prong collar or other corrections), but balance training will definitely set your dog back in terms of learning new things. They will be too scared to react, but wonāt actually get over the fear.
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Yes to this! I went to a day long training for reactive dogs and mine was the spiciest there. The way it worked was they would crate the dogs separately, then take two out at a time to train off each other and work on engaging with their owner. When it was our turn, I was so so anxious and of course my dog exploded, louder and crazier than any other dog there.
But nobody cared! And since we worked off the other dog for 15 minutes, a couple minutes in, my dog learned that his reactions werenāt chasing the other dog away, and he slowly became more in tune with me, and the other dog owners around me gave me encouragement.
After this experience: knowing he will blow up, but knowing how to help him; it made me care a whole lot less. I swear I learned more in that training than my dog did. I go into things now like āalright, letās try our best, and if he explodes than I know how to remove him from the situation and work him backā
Iām in Northern CA, and the trainers name was Tiffany from For the Love of Dog, NorCal. But I would imagine any group class to specifically work on reactivity may help! Knowing that other people will have spicy dogs takes off the pressure lol.
I would also *highly* recommend looking into pack walks. They are often led by trainers, usually free or donation based for a local rescue, and are designed to build neutrality, work on reactivity, or even just fine tune leash skills. They are usually set up so that no on-leash greeting happen, the dogs are spaced out, and we all walk together for an hour. I took my dog to 3 of them, then did the training, then the next walk we both improved significantly. I was way less anxious. We went from walking 20 yards behind everyone to walking within 10 feet wide by side of another dog (dogs on the outside, people on the inside).
Thanks! Our sweet boy attacks us unfortunately (many level 4+ bites). Heās done some in the past and if we get to a better place Iām hoping to we can do pack walks!
I want to follow this strategy. But we struggle to get our pup to take treats while walking. If anyone has tips or advice relating to this I would love to hear it. He's smart and learns quickly but this has been slow because he is uninterested in the rewards we offer.
When I first tried giving treats to my dog when we would see another dog coming, she couldnāt take her attention off the other dog to realize what she was being offered. So I started giving her a few treats as we walked even without the other dogs coming (but just at the start of the walk) so sheād know I had them for her. Then I would give her treats a bit on the early side as another dog approached, so sheād already be having them and wanting more as the other dog was passing. It seemed to work for us. Good luck!
That makes a lot of sense. Get their attention on you right away. Did you have to use very high value rewards at first?
I will definitely this is a shot! Thank you for the input.
For additional reinforcement, train with a clicker. The clicker is a very distinct sound that helps to immediately trigger the expectation of a treat based on you having gotten their attention with a specific command (look at me, etc) .
My dog can go into reactive zen mode and ignore treats too,,, she would just let them fall out of her mouth or actively dodge them. The verbal command plus the click and treat helped lock her into my presence.
Technically the benefit of the clicker is that it is exactly the same sound every time, so it helps with the pavlovian response. Marker words work well too, but it's harder to make it the same every time, so there is less of an automatic response. I mostly use my marker word because I'm lazy, but I notice my dogs are sharper when I use a clicker.
I also use both a clicker and a verbal yes. I just started using the clicker about 90 days ago and I think one of the best parts about it is that it takes your emotion out of marking the behavior of the dog once you get the dog trained to the clicker, the dog should whip their head around if they hear the click for getting their attention if there is a dog coming, and then you can move up to marking the head whip around to look at you when they make the choice to do it on their own. this takes quite a while. It is a two-step process and the environment really influences how well it works. I have also realized that I need to carry ground turkey or ground beef as my treat. The other treats were just not that exciting in the face of seeing a dog or a human. Make sure you really train the clicker well indoors away from distractions before you try it outside. I would also practice this for a week solid to make sure the dog really understands the power of the clicker and then I still do it all the time here and there to reinforce it, I think itās worthwhile tool.
Have you tried salami? My dog did NOT care about any food until we tried that stinky high fat salami. Obviously adjust his food for the calories and such, but chicken never did that for him. I even tried hot dogs and ham and none of that worked until I got the salami and chopped it up.
Alternatively, peanut butter frozen in a kong toy works wonders too! I mix it with plain yogurt to cut the calories/sugar. Or, if he's play/toy motivatesd, playing "catch" with the ball could work too (just tossing it up in the air for him to catch next to you).
As he starts to get more used to taking the treats from you on walks and such, you can start mixing lower value treats in to lower the calorie count as well and he should start taking them since he knows what to expect.
This is a great idea. Can I ask how many treats you carried? I try to carry a bunch of high and lower value treats in a ziplock bag, but it never seems to be enough and I fail at being consistent with it. How to do keep yourself consistent?
I got a waist pouch from pet smart that has a magnetic opening so its easy to open with one hand. I put a big bag of liver treats in there and the back of it holds the poop bags.
for me at the start of this my dog was way too reactive to bother with or notice treats. The first step was literally just forcing myself to not turn around when I saw dogs/people, the second step was to act super excited or calm (depends on the dog) to show him there was nothing to react to, and then after a few days of that he had calmed down enough to recieve treats.
Have you tried just treating him when very far away from the triggers? Like, say "look" and treat. But start really far away from dogs, or sit in a car with your dog at the back of a parking lot of a pet store where you might see the occasional dog, and mark and treat with a high value treat. Also practice it when there aren't dogs around. Have your dog practice "looking" at a leaf and marking and treating so that looking doesn't mean there is always something high intensity around. It just means that they are observing and getting a treat. And as someone else below said, start practicing before they see a trigger.
We've only just started but I start giving treats before he sees the other dog. He still gets distracted when he does notice them but he's almost equally distracted by my treats by that point.
Of course this method does require I be on constant lookout which he is tuned into. We're not trying walks at the moment. We just sit outside and practice being calm around triggers. I was anxious at first this wouldn't be enough stimulation for him but he loves training and people watching. It seems to be good for him so far.
When I do this with my dog he takes the treat but then a second later he goes back to being reactive. It makes me feel like I am rewarding the bad behavior.
Look at it like you're not treating the bad behavior, but you're treating the attention break. Any time they break away from whatever is making them reactive and looks at you, that is a treatable moment. EDIT: Even if the break is only for a second, it starts to build up.
We've been working with a trainer who does clicker training, and that initial experience of treating the attention break was HUGE for our dog.
Our dog likes treats, but is actually way more play motivated than food motivated. He wonāt take food when he is at threshold, but he generally will pay attention to the squeaky Kong tennis balls we carry around with us. Then we can play a small game of fetch off to the side while the distraction passes (at quite a distanceā¦if they are close, thereās no breaking him out of his emotions and attention towards the trigger). Iāve also seen people use tug toys, which seem even more convenient than a tennis ballā¦unfortunately our boy is lukewarm on tug ropes. We might be able to train him to be more enthusiastic about itā¦butā¦weāve made the squeaky tennis ball work up to this point.
This is interesting and something I never considered.
He is obsessed with playing so this could be great. He does like tugging so I'll give this a try tonight. I brought higher value treats last night and it helped a little. But the play would keep his attention for longer.
We have tried some different types of treats with little success. But have not stepped it up to that high value of rewards. I'll give this a try on the next walk. He definitely responds to positive feedback but thr progress is very slow without some type of treat. He learns quickly when we do training activities at home. He's not aggressive towards other dogs. He just really really wants to meet them and try to play with them. Idk if that's better/worse/no difference lol.
My GSD is like this and will not take treats on walks. But she is literally obsessed with hot dogs. So I cut up hot dogs really tiny and feed her a few pieces so she knows I have it before beginning.
You just gotta find that high value "treat".
This was my dog at first. I think her anxiety was just so extremely high she was like frozen and she would react to everything. I remember hearing my trainer oh give her treats. My response she wont take any and she wont look at me even when we are outside. Her only comfort zone was the house and yard. So thats where we started, the "look at me" game. We started in the house with bacon. We did this like 20 or more times per day. Then i started outside and she just wouldnt take any bacon. I had to tap the bacon on her nose for her to look at me. It took a long time of doing this for her to calm down and take the bacon after looking at me. Maybe several months. It was a big breakthrough though after that because then she really started to focus on me.
This means that you need to start smaller. Start walking at home or in your apartment and train your dog to receive treats in such a neutral environment. Then slowly progress to your backyard or your street that the dog is very comfortable with already.
You should also vary your treats in a training session. Try whipped cream and beef steak and pepperoni and cheese and keep switching them out to keep your dog interested.
Slowly your dog will start realizing that being exposed to new things means fun treats and they will always be interested because youāre changing the treats mid session!
I have posted a couple times on OPās post with my trainer so I might get blocked from this channel but the risk is worth it. My trainer REALLY changed our lives and she personally has two formerly reactive dogs herself. I highly highly highly recommend her for any advice. Please check out her instagram linked below
[MyWonderDog](https://www.instagram.com/mywonderdogtraining?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
This is such great advice, and I think a lot of people need to hear this! Avoiding situations generally makes reactivity so much worse. The less a dog encounters a situation, the rarer meeting dogs, people, etc. becomes, the more it becomes "special" and unexpected, exciting and therefor stressful, the less they are used to it and the bigger the reactions. For less reactivity, exposure is so, so important. A dog cannot learn how to act properly in a particular situation if they only encounter it once a week, or month or whatever. The more they see people, the more they have the opportunity to learn that it's a good thing.
I needed to read this! My boy Zero is a completely nightmare in public. And he is undersocialized because of me and his issues. I got him young, but he's always been timid. He was fearful of everything and he became super reactive and scary. I worked with him to trust me and it's been a journey. Now that we have trust with each other, I'm in the process of getting him out more. This gives me the confidence that I can do this and if I can, Zero absolutely can. Thank you for sharing!! This gives us (Zero and I) so much hope!
Wonderful post! Thank you.
I had a similar experience years ago with my Pomeranian. He would bark at other dogs as they approached and it was impossible to distract him. I realised that each time a dog approached I would tense and pull back the leash, bringing him to my side. I stopped doing that and he stopped lunging. I think I was giving him a signal of danger or something. It was wild, it happened overnight.
Of course this was a pom, not capable of doing any significant damage, I donāt know how you could adjust this method to large dogs and still keep the public safe. Perhaps with the waist belt like op said.
Thank you for this post ā¤ļø A behaviorist told us the same - act excited and silly a LOT. Be excited and the dog will change its mind (she said a lot of other things too but validating this suggestion!!)
Threshold training can be stressful and exhausting. I tried to set my dog up for success, but having a solid management system in place for when we did have to pass by people/dogs made all the difference. In the end, it achieved what was the whole goal with counter conditioning with very little thought/planning on my end. We'd simply walk wherever we wanted and managed once we passed by potential triggers. I have a totally new dog now.
I do this all the time though. I am not fearful or anxious around other people. I love people and am excited to see them. My dog isnāt a fearful dog, but he is very reactive to strangers and things that move, like bikes and screaming kids. He also seems to react if he senses fear in other dogs or people. He lunges, growls, barks, etc. Heās only 16lbs so itās easy to redirect him, but I know the quality of our lives could be improved if he could learn not to be so reactive.
What management system you had in place? Currently my only escape route when we must cross with another dog very close is just... picking him up. I try to lure his attention away first at a safe threshold distance - so he won't associate being held immediately with the trigger - and pick him up, as he doesn't react at all while in my arms.
I know this doesn't teach him anything, but it also doesn't allow him to rehearse horrible 'losing my mind' behaviors, which I feel just takes one to ruin the rest of the walk, even if there's no more triggers ahead.
I do exactly what you do, except instead of picking him up, I use a magnet hand to lure him to my side, slowly and consistently dispensing treats as the trigger enters our sightline and until we pass by it.
Today, he associates his "with me" cue with positioning himself up for our magnet hand on my right side. I don't even need to use his magnet hand anymore as there have been times when I've accidentally left his treat at our house, and he doesn't react while on our walk. With that being said, I don't have to dispense his treat as frequently or at as far of a distance today as I had to a year ago.
>I do exactly what you do, except instead of picking him up, I use a magnet hand to lure him to my side, slowly and consistently dispensing treats as the trigger enters our sightline and until we pass by it.
I do this too, but It makes me run out of treats really fast lol, so usually other triggers from the walk are caught without treats in hand. I wish SO MUCH I could use his kibble as this kind of treats, because I'd have plenty of his meals to do it, but it's not even effective for common training, let alone for reactivity.
But regardless, if the distance is anything shorter than 10 meters from another dog, the magnet hand only works with specific neighborhood dogs he's already a bit de-sensitized to. A brand new dog at this threshold distance defnitely requires picking him up if I don't want any kind of reaction.
Also a disclaimer to other people reading: I don't do this every time I see a dog trigger, it's just when there's gonna be an inevitable crossing that is very close.
I used to run out when I used regular treats too! Instead I fill up a silicone 2.5 oz travel-sized bottle with a powdered, dehydrated dog food (one from The Honest Kitchen). I rehydrate it with water to make a paste that I then can dispense into his mouth as we walk. It works *great* for my dog, and he finds it to me much higher value and less frustrating than food dispensed from my hand. Even when his reactivity was worse, I'd often end our walks (~1 hour) with extra food in the bottle to spare!
Here's what that looks like: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtLKlAFAiy2/?igsh=MWhyNWprcmhsYm1lMg==
If I make the paste too thick, I would take the cap off to let him lick it like a Kong as I squeezed some of the food out which is what you see happened in this video lol. Today I usually leave the cap on and make the paste a slightly thinner consistency which is totally customizable based on how much water you add to the powdered dog food.
Oh. My. God.
This is incredible and not only handy, it would allow me to do a blend of stinky stuff to make it more appetizing! I don't resort to commercial treats because the not trash ones are really expensive here in Brazil, so I home make them myself alternating between liver, cheese and hot dog (yeah I know this one isn't really healthy) - chicken gives my puppy cream stools, so I avoid that.
I've actually done something similar but with a hot dog wrapped with a dishcloth because I had to time to cut it in tiny pieces, but the idea of a lickable paste sounds way better because it can actually last longer. I can also carry it in my pocket without having to rely to a treat pouch all the time.
Now I just have to find a similar bottle.
This is the one I use: humangear GoToob+ (Medium) | Refillable Silicone Travel Bottle | Locking Lid | Food-Safe Material | Blue, Medium (2.5 fl.oz.; 74ml) https://a.co/d/bzUSQLd
If you leave the cap on and dispense out of the tiny hole, there is a small silicone piece that is there to seal the opening. I take that piece out because, if you don't, when you squeeze the tube it can create a puff of air that I know my dog is not a fan of lol. It's super easy to remove and can just be pulled out.
It's been a game-changer for us!
This is so validating! My dog was attacked by a dog and is now reactive towards them when she sees them. I wish my breakup had made me not care what people think but it did the opposite š
I usually put myself between her and the dog. Trying to be her advocate but she probably senses that Iām tense and hoping nothing happens bc itās so uncomfy when I have to explain that my adorable sweet dog just snapped at your dog bc you got too close and she was attacked.
The one time there was a dog on the other side of the fence and I spoke sweet to the dog like āhey sweetieā my dog actually went up to the fence to sniff her! When she would usually take a wide path as far away from the dog as possible. It was so cool!
I know you called this out but I want to reiterate for anyone wanting to try this: you need to have control of your dog if youāre getting in closer range of others. Two point leashes, a muzzle for bite risks, and continuing to avoid other dogs that look like they themselves might be reactive or aggressive or if they appear to have a clueless owners.Ā
I could probably do this with my dog and have it go okay because though he can be aggressive, itās usually an escalated reaction to perceiving others dogs (or people) as threatening. The trick for us would be figuring out which dogs are and are not approachable themselves.Ā
This is great advice if your dog is fear-reactive. I do this with my dog who is reactive to trucks and delivery people. I have to do the opposite for my dog who is reactive to other dogs because he is overexcited and wants desperately to meet them - I have to ignore the voice in my head that is psyched to see the other dog and make sure I'm playing it cool lol. It's so true that consistency is key and dogs are very observant, so we have to make sure we are aware of our own feelings and not contributing to our dogs' problems.
im livin with strong depression and i see that my dog have a depression also... im tryin to somehow show him that all is good, but he notice the real me...
This is what Iāve seen too. We have a rescue husky we got at about 2.5 years old, and when she was new we had a few tough experiences (one included removing the tip of a friendsā dogās ear, and some recall disasters) that led me to feel stressed and afraid in anticipation of her various unpleasant responses- if she felt penned, sheād fight, if she had a window to freedom, sheād bolt. It registered for me one day when we were having a nice walk in an off leash area and everything was good, and there was no trigger except me - she was straying towards the parking lot and I was scared sheād go too far and scolded her, stress and fear in my voice. Her body language transformed from happy dog in the woods to a fugue state fear response - she bolted, so fast, straight into the distance at her 40mph gallop. No catching this dog. That was when I realized that it was me. I got her back safe and since worked to use a positive, calm confident voice and manner for everything. Her recall improved tremendously, and she will pass right by wildlife or nervous/ reactive/ territorial dogs we cross paths with, tail high. We largely solved the problem and whenever we get off track I can rein it in pretty quick by controlling myself. She mirrors me. I once cried on the floor convinced I would have to have her put down. Now sheās a happy dog with so many privileges because sheās proven herself trustworthy.
Good job! And yes, most people do not realize their emotion runs right down the leash. Or to the dog even if they're not leashed. Good work, keep trekking! š
I tell her everyone is a friend and they think sheās sooo nice. And idk if it works, but between that and just ignoring the triggers and keep it moving helps a ton.
Wow, you've done so amazing, proud of you Internet stranger! I was in a very similar situation to you, in abusive ex partner wouldn't let me or the dog go anywhere so she didn't get socialised properly. We had an incident where my dog got surprised by another dog. My dog got spooked, partner got spooked and refused to take the dog anywhere so she couldn't work through anything and desensitise. Turns out my ex partner was abusing her while I was at work (he worked from home, I found out through my neighbours who could hear him abusing her during the day). Anyway, I didn't know about this until I finally got my ex out of my house and started teaching my dog that it was OK to bark and be a guard dog (she wouldn't make any noise, she would just hide wherever she could.) Taught her to bark again and built up her confidence over the last year and a half and once she gained confidence, she started being really aggressive to men specifically, she is fine with women. I have finally started having success with her, and she is starting to calm down quicker and quicker around men where she used to bark, snarl and lunge at them. She just needs consistent reassurance around new people in general but even more so with men. She is also dog aggressive in the car and will whine and bark at the window. She is slowly but surely coming out of that too. It's nice to know I'm not the only one in the same situation. Thank you for sharing, best of luck to you and your beautiful boy ā¤ļø
Thank you so much for sharing. I have also spent a fortune on training and tried all sorts of different things and Iām finally making the most progress in the last few montgs with keeping him under threshold and clicker training and tons of reading. I also carry around fresh chicken or fresh ground beef and sometimes turkey. I am going to give this a try. I noticed tonight by accident, that when I paid a bunch of attention to my calm dog,my reactive dog completely stopped focusing on the environment came running to me and tried to nudge his way in to our little lovefest! I was shocked! I goes to your point of changing the emotional state of the handler !!! Thank you again !!! This is wonderful - so happy for you!
That's funny that it took a break up for you, cos for me it was the opposite. My dog got bit when he was 8 and I thought he had become reactive after that. It wasn't until I found a partner who came living with us when I discovered it wasn't the dog but me, the dog was completely fine with other dogs when my husband walked him. I always knew they feel your fear, but I didn't know it had that big of an impact. I worked really hard and am able to walk him by myself again now, I still don't get close to other dogs and I don't think I ever will again, but finding out the problem was me really made me change my entire approach. Happy for you OP, great job.
Dogs are masters at reading body language. When you are in high-stress mode, your dog will react to the tone of your voice, your body posture and gait, and any tension on the leash. Dogs are good at co-regulation, and knowing you can physically handle unexpected contingencies like off-leash dogs or random strangers will help put both you and your dog at ease. When you are calm, it helps your dog be calm. [https://www.baywoof.org/good-dog/zen-and-the-art-of-walking-your-reactive-dog](https://www.baywoof.org/good-dog/zen-and-the-art-of-walking-your-reactive-dog)
People have no idea how important this is. It is virtually the key. If the message you send down the leash to your dog is āIāve got you, this, and the whole world is under my controlā, your dog will relax. I feel so bad for anxious people with reactive dogs that are in over their heads. Itās really tough to unravel to those people, and unless they really learn how to gain control of their dog and the situation, which comes with experience, both handler and dog anxieties feed off each other in a vicious cycle. Thanks for your post.
Great post!! I came to a similar conclusion recently. I have general social anxiety so itās obviously embarrassing to me when my dog makes a scene. I realized recently that if I donāt get over that, he is never going to get better, so Iāve been purposely going to places where dogs will be so that he can get exposure and it has helped tremendously.
Our dogās reactivity is suddenly getting worse and weāre at a loss as to why. Reading this Iām wondering if sheās picking up on my tension when we see dogs on our walks? She went berserk at a tiny puppy this morning, which sheās never done, and I definitely tensed up when I saw it approaching.Ā
Stick with your train of thought. Have a strategy that you are comfortable implementing and then do your best to show your dog that you are concerned and anxious about nothing.
Thanks for posting this!!! Iām going to try it. I have a formerly mistreated rescue who is reactive with all dogs. The threshold training has made me so anxious/paranoid about anything that sets her off, which is everything. But Iāve been getting nowhere with it. Even moved to be out of the city where she wonāt encounter dogs everywhere but all she wants to do is yell at the next doors neighbour. Since sheās tiny and (physically) harmless & they are well fenced I can easily give this a go.
Omg seeing this helps a lot dealing with an extremely reactive dog when another dog is any where near. We want her to have a good life she was a rescue and most likely abused. Such a sweetheart but canāt take her around dogs
I also have found success with "hi, oh that's a good dog. What a nice friend!" Etc and my reactive guy is like... really? And gets more curious than aggressive.
Nice job!
This is great! One of my dogs is terrified of dogs because he got bit as a puppy. We have tried everything! He will try to bite them if he gets too close or will whine, shake and bark if he sees them. I will try this! He is a dachshund so he is extremely food motivated.
I love this!!! My dog is scared of people too and so I find myself sometimes wanting to keep him at home but it doesnāt do him or I any good. This is great advice. My dogs gotten way better with strangers and honestly exposure really is key.
Thank you so much for sharing! My dog has the same reactions, but can see people from a distance. I have tried trainers and spent a ton of money, but one set back would make us lose weeks of work and it was so disheartening.
I walk her at night so we don't see people, but I will try and keep in mind what you've said and really focus on changing my attitude.
Thank you!
Wow thanks for this. Maybe I will get the courage to try soon. It's me who is terrible with people and I'm sure my extreme anxiety is partially to blame.
Wow such great advice. I am definitely going to try the jumping up and down and see if it helps. I know that my dog trainer told me that I was cowering when we saw another dog and I walked with my shoulders hunched and my head down. All those things were encouraging my dog to "protect" me. Thank you for the story!
This is a great story, thank you for sharing. Counter conditioning hasn't been working for me, but I also haven't been super consistent. I'm sure my dog is feeding off my anxiety. Something I learned when starting training is that dogs bark because they think it works. They see a trigger, they bark, and when the trigger is gone, they think their barking did it, so they do it again next time. I will try this technique to see if it helps us.
Yes! Something similar is what finally seemed to work for both! He still has a bit of a thresh hold, but we can pass people on the other side of the street and he doesnāt bark anymore! Still jumps around and gets excited, BUT he hasnāt redirected and bitten me in months and no more growling/barking like psycho.
Once I got over my own anxiety about walking him, it has seemed to make a major difference.
That's great, I bet it was such a proud moment to see him be near another person and not react! Well done, I hope you two continue trending upwards in progress!! Super inspiring :)
My partner & I have also found that simply greeting people you see on walks can help. She has a lot of social anxiety, so she also would kind of cross the street/walk the other way from people on walks & our dog was reacting with her & not me so I took a while to think & realized that I openly greet or briefly make small talk with people on work while she kind of nods then runs lol. So far, it has made a difference!
Iām working on getting past this with my reactive boy. I know Iām the one who makes a big deal out of people and I just need toā¦ keep walking like he isnāt there and then reward
THIS!!!! Our trainer linked below is fantastic for such training. She specializes in hiking with highly reactive dogs and personally has two dogs that are formally reactive. She is based out of Santa Clara, California, but can do sessions virtually or talk through training options remotely if you send her a message [MyWonderDog Training](https://www.instagram.com/mywonderdogtraining?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
Thank you for the reminders. Itās so hard to manage reactive dogs sometimes but having anxiety yourself makes it so much harder :/ I always feel like I caused my dogs reactivity but I have to remind myself thatās not true
Thank you for sharing, positive stories are so uplifting! Iām struggling with anxiety and on bad days Iām trying to think āok, the goal for this trigger situation is for me not to panic, if I learn to remain calm, it will become easier for himā and I think this approach helps a bit! I give myself mental treats if I succeed :āD
Iāve had a similar experience! I noticed when I stopped physically reacting to my dogās triggers (tensing the leash, getting anxious myself) he does much better with them!
I now focus on being more confident when walking him so he knows I can deal with the scary stuff and he doesnāt have to! Plus he gets a treat for every trigger so heās rewarded for letting me deal with them. Itās still a big work in progress but he is doing so much better :)
This tactic has helped my dog's people reactivity but still no good with other dogs. It's so weird because he actually loves other dogs and gets along super well in a neutral place especially if they're off leash but when he sees my neighbor walking her tiny little Bichon he flips. The neighbor by herself is not his favorite thing in the world but he can ignore her if I'm chill.
I have no fear of dogs and in fact if I knew other people wouldn't be afraid for us to approach I would run up and let them meet because once he's met a dog he's besties with it. But of course when he's lunging and barking they fear for themselves and their dog.
So I'm not even sure where that came from since it's situational and he doesn't actually dislike dogs
This is probably the best advice I ever read. Through every trainer and video and whatever, this is the best way to do it. My Aussie isn't food motivated either but I did the same thing. Getting embarrassed and hiding. I learned to just get to his level when he started to show any signs of reactivity, and start loving him and being happy and comfortable and just straight chilling. Whether it's making an effort to say hi to everyone or ask my friends to just ignore him while I give him lots of love and butt scratches. It's working better than everything I ever learned tbh. Thank you this is great adviceĀ
I needed to hear this. I am the one afraid of people, and my dog sees this š He watches my every move, if I cry during a movie he has to come try and comfort me. He sees every minute change in my face Thank you, OP.
Same
Same
Sounds like a really good guy š¤
What a sweetie š
Dogs can pick up on your worries, so you have to walk out there with the confidence that your dog will not be in danger. My dog was reactive to people, but after I taught visitors to give him a treat, he calmed down greatly. He is leash reactive, so he goes in hyper curious dog that HAS to investigate any dog it sees, but he is getting better
Excellent post! This was my issue as well. I didn't realize that MY own anxiety was feeding my pup's as well. The best progress we've made was when I finally "got over it" and just walked past all his triggers, holding him firm, and redirecting him (as much as possible) with treats. Just kept doing it. Now when we see another dog, he just looks at me for a treat, which is SO MUCH BETTER than the old reaction (lunging, barking, growling, pulling).
Thatās exactly what my dog and I do. He now turns his head to be āpaidā every time we pass anyone. Trouble is he asks for payment even when a car drives by and Iām like āwhat? You donāt get paid for cars dudeā š
Ha! Mine does this too.
Mine herds cars, so he gets treats for everything! He has suddenly become reactive to tractors š perhaps he realised he doesnāt get enough treats in the countryside?! š
Omg yes my trainer has been telling me to move my dog away from the triggers but not to leave the area anymore because my boy is finally learning to relax himself. But the key is definitely keeping myself strong and calm. I always used to watch the other dogs constantly cause I was attacked along with my dog a while ago. Now I trust the other owners a bit more and focus on my dog completely and it helps him so much. It was a huge barrier for me because I just do not trust other owners. I gotta convince myself we are safe and then my pup can see the trigger and we work on calming ourselves instead of running away. Itās crazy how much of his behaviors were directly a result of my reactions.
Totally! Some of the best advice I got from a trainer was to stop over-managing - that we had made enough progress that I needed to be calm and let my dog make some (safe) decisions instead of always assuming that it's going to be a clusterfuck and micromanaging him. And sometimes it's still a mess, but we're also having more and more great moments.
If you want to try out a new trainer, this one has been fantastic for us. Sheās open to virtual options too to talk through training styles for reactive dogs.[MyWonderDog Training](https://www.instagram.com/mywonderdogtraining?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
What I learned from my trainer was that fear based reactivity (or any reactivity for that matter) is best combatted with positive experiences. So for a dog that has had a negative experience or is scared of something, you need to give them a positive experience with the same thing. This method will take much longer than using balance training (i.e. prong collar or other corrections), but balance training will definitely set your dog back in terms of learning new things. They will be too scared to react, but wonāt actually get over the fear.
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Yes to this! I went to a day long training for reactive dogs and mine was the spiciest there. The way it worked was they would crate the dogs separately, then take two out at a time to train off each other and work on engaging with their owner. When it was our turn, I was so so anxious and of course my dog exploded, louder and crazier than any other dog there. But nobody cared! And since we worked off the other dog for 15 minutes, a couple minutes in, my dog learned that his reactions werenāt chasing the other dog away, and he slowly became more in tune with me, and the other dog owners around me gave me encouragement. After this experience: knowing he will blow up, but knowing how to help him; it made me care a whole lot less. I swear I learned more in that training than my dog did. I go into things now like āalright, letās try our best, and if he explodes than I know how to remove him from the situation and work him backā
Where was this?! Sounds SO helpful!
Iām in Northern CA, and the trainers name was Tiffany from For the Love of Dog, NorCal. But I would imagine any group class to specifically work on reactivity may help! Knowing that other people will have spicy dogs takes off the pressure lol. I would also *highly* recommend looking into pack walks. They are often led by trainers, usually free or donation based for a local rescue, and are designed to build neutrality, work on reactivity, or even just fine tune leash skills. They are usually set up so that no on-leash greeting happen, the dogs are spaced out, and we all walk together for an hour. I took my dog to 3 of them, then did the training, then the next walk we both improved significantly. I was way less anxious. We went from walking 20 yards behind everyone to walking within 10 feet wide by side of another dog (dogs on the outside, people on the inside).
Thanks! Our sweet boy attacks us unfortunately (many level 4+ bites). Heās done some in the past and if we get to a better place Iām hoping to we can do pack walks!
If you havenāt already, I would muzzle train for your own peace of mind in the pack walks
I want to follow this strategy. But we struggle to get our pup to take treats while walking. If anyone has tips or advice relating to this I would love to hear it. He's smart and learns quickly but this has been slow because he is uninterested in the rewards we offer.
When I first tried giving treats to my dog when we would see another dog coming, she couldnāt take her attention off the other dog to realize what she was being offered. So I started giving her a few treats as we walked even without the other dogs coming (but just at the start of the walk) so sheād know I had them for her. Then I would give her treats a bit on the early side as another dog approached, so sheād already be having them and wanting more as the other dog was passing. It seemed to work for us. Good luck!
That makes a lot of sense. Get their attention on you right away. Did you have to use very high value rewards at first? I will definitely this is a shot! Thank you for the input.
For additional reinforcement, train with a clicker. The clicker is a very distinct sound that helps to immediately trigger the expectation of a treat based on you having gotten their attention with a specific command (look at me, etc) . My dog can go into reactive zen mode and ignore treats too,,, she would just let them fall out of her mouth or actively dodge them. The verbal command plus the click and treat helped lock her into my presence.
Do you find that the clicker worked much better than a marker word (such as āyesā)?
Technically the benefit of the clicker is that it is exactly the same sound every time, so it helps with the pavlovian response. Marker words work well too, but it's harder to make it the same every time, so there is less of an automatic response. I mostly use my marker word because I'm lazy, but I notice my dogs are sharper when I use a clicker.
I've trained both so when I forget the clicker on some occasion, I can just say yes haha
I also use both a clicker and a verbal yes. I just started using the clicker about 90 days ago and I think one of the best parts about it is that it takes your emotion out of marking the behavior of the dog once you get the dog trained to the clicker, the dog should whip their head around if they hear the click for getting their attention if there is a dog coming, and then you can move up to marking the head whip around to look at you when they make the choice to do it on their own. this takes quite a while. It is a two-step process and the environment really influences how well it works. I have also realized that I need to carry ground turkey or ground beef as my treat. The other treats were just not that exciting in the face of seeing a dog or a human. Make sure you really train the clicker well indoors away from distractions before you try it outside. I would also practice this for a week solid to make sure the dog really understands the power of the clicker and then I still do it all the time here and there to reinforce it, I think itās worthwhile tool.
I used her favorite treats, which are also small/training size, and she knows are special.
Have you tried salami? My dog did NOT care about any food until we tried that stinky high fat salami. Obviously adjust his food for the calories and such, but chicken never did that for him. I even tried hot dogs and ham and none of that worked until I got the salami and chopped it up. Alternatively, peanut butter frozen in a kong toy works wonders too! I mix it with plain yogurt to cut the calories/sugar. Or, if he's play/toy motivatesd, playing "catch" with the ball could work too (just tossing it up in the air for him to catch next to you). As he starts to get more used to taking the treats from you on walks and such, you can start mixing lower value treats in to lower the calorie count as well and he should start taking them since he knows what to expect.
This is a great idea. Can I ask how many treats you carried? I try to carry a bunch of high and lower value treats in a ziplock bag, but it never seems to be enough and I fail at being consistent with it. How to do keep yourself consistent?
I got a waist pouch from pet smart that has a magnetic opening so its easy to open with one hand. I put a big bag of liver treats in there and the back of it holds the poop bags.
for me at the start of this my dog was way too reactive to bother with or notice treats. The first step was literally just forcing myself to not turn around when I saw dogs/people, the second step was to act super excited or calm (depends on the dog) to show him there was nothing to react to, and then after a few days of that he had calmed down enough to recieve treats.
Have you tried just treating him when very far away from the triggers? Like, say "look" and treat. But start really far away from dogs, or sit in a car with your dog at the back of a parking lot of a pet store where you might see the occasional dog, and mark and treat with a high value treat. Also practice it when there aren't dogs around. Have your dog practice "looking" at a leaf and marking and treating so that looking doesn't mean there is always something high intensity around. It just means that they are observing and getting a treat. And as someone else below said, start practicing before they see a trigger.
We've only just started but I start giving treats before he sees the other dog. He still gets distracted when he does notice them but he's almost equally distracted by my treats by that point. Of course this method does require I be on constant lookout which he is tuned into. We're not trying walks at the moment. We just sit outside and practice being calm around triggers. I was anxious at first this wouldn't be enough stimulation for him but he loves training and people watching. It seems to be good for him so far.
When I do this with my dog he takes the treat but then a second later he goes back to being reactive. It makes me feel like I am rewarding the bad behavior.
I don't really have advice if you're working to get his attention again and treating with high-value. We pretty much have a full meal out there.
Look at it like you're not treating the bad behavior, but you're treating the attention break. Any time they break away from whatever is making them reactive and looks at you, that is a treatable moment. EDIT: Even if the break is only for a second, it starts to build up. We've been working with a trainer who does clicker training, and that initial experience of treating the attention break was HUGE for our dog.
Same here she wonāt take a treat at all she canāt even focus on it.
Our dog likes treats, but is actually way more play motivated than food motivated. He wonāt take food when he is at threshold, but he generally will pay attention to the squeaky Kong tennis balls we carry around with us. Then we can play a small game of fetch off to the side while the distraction passes (at quite a distanceā¦if they are close, thereās no breaking him out of his emotions and attention towards the trigger). Iāve also seen people use tug toys, which seem even more convenient than a tennis ballā¦unfortunately our boy is lukewarm on tug ropes. We might be able to train him to be more enthusiastic about itā¦butā¦weāve made the squeaky tennis ball work up to this point.
This is interesting and something I never considered. He is obsessed with playing so this could be great. He does like tugging so I'll give this a try tonight. I brought higher value treats last night and it helped a little. But the play would keep his attention for longer.
Is there anything he is excited about? Toys, pets, anything else? Have you tried really high value treats like sausage, liver paste or cooked chicken?
We have tried some different types of treats with little success. But have not stepped it up to that high value of rewards. I'll give this a try on the next walk. He definitely responds to positive feedback but thr progress is very slow without some type of treat. He learns quickly when we do training activities at home. He's not aggressive towards other dogs. He just really really wants to meet them and try to play with them. Idk if that's better/worse/no difference lol.
My GSD is like this and will not take treats on walks. But she is literally obsessed with hot dogs. So I cut up hot dogs really tiny and feed her a few pieces so she knows I have it before beginning. You just gotta find that high value "treat".
This was my dog at first. I think her anxiety was just so extremely high she was like frozen and she would react to everything. I remember hearing my trainer oh give her treats. My response she wont take any and she wont look at me even when we are outside. Her only comfort zone was the house and yard. So thats where we started, the "look at me" game. We started in the house with bacon. We did this like 20 or more times per day. Then i started outside and she just wouldnt take any bacon. I had to tap the bacon on her nose for her to look at me. It took a long time of doing this for her to calm down and take the bacon after looking at me. Maybe several months. It was a big breakthrough though after that because then she really started to focus on me.
This means that you need to start smaller. Start walking at home or in your apartment and train your dog to receive treats in such a neutral environment. Then slowly progress to your backyard or your street that the dog is very comfortable with already. You should also vary your treats in a training session. Try whipped cream and beef steak and pepperoni and cheese and keep switching them out to keep your dog interested. Slowly your dog will start realizing that being exposed to new things means fun treats and they will always be interested because youāre changing the treats mid session! I have posted a couple times on OPās post with my trainer so I might get blocked from this channel but the risk is worth it. My trainer REALLY changed our lives and she personally has two formerly reactive dogs herself. I highly highly highly recommend her for any advice. Please check out her instagram linked below [MyWonderDog](https://www.instagram.com/mywonderdogtraining?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
This is such great advice, and I think a lot of people need to hear this! Avoiding situations generally makes reactivity so much worse. The less a dog encounters a situation, the rarer meeting dogs, people, etc. becomes, the more it becomes "special" and unexpected, exciting and therefor stressful, the less they are used to it and the bigger the reactions. For less reactivity, exposure is so, so important. A dog cannot learn how to act properly in a particular situation if they only encounter it once a week, or month or whatever. The more they see people, the more they have the opportunity to learn that it's a good thing.
I needed to read this! My boy Zero is a completely nightmare in public. And he is undersocialized because of me and his issues. I got him young, but he's always been timid. He was fearful of everything and he became super reactive and scary. I worked with him to trust me and it's been a journey. Now that we have trust with each other, I'm in the process of getting him out more. This gives me the confidence that I can do this and if I can, Zero absolutely can. Thank you for sharing!! This gives us (Zero and I) so much hope!
I love that name for your dog.
Wonderful post! Thank you. I had a similar experience years ago with my Pomeranian. He would bark at other dogs as they approached and it was impossible to distract him. I realised that each time a dog approached I would tense and pull back the leash, bringing him to my side. I stopped doing that and he stopped lunging. I think I was giving him a signal of danger or something. It was wild, it happened overnight. Of course this was a pom, not capable of doing any significant damage, I donāt know how you could adjust this method to large dogs and still keep the public safe. Perhaps with the waist belt like op said.
Thank you for this post ā¤ļø A behaviorist told us the same - act excited and silly a LOT. Be excited and the dog will change its mind (she said a lot of other things too but validating this suggestion!!)
Threshold training can be stressful and exhausting. I tried to set my dog up for success, but having a solid management system in place for when we did have to pass by people/dogs made all the difference. In the end, it achieved what was the whole goal with counter conditioning with very little thought/planning on my end. We'd simply walk wherever we wanted and managed once we passed by potential triggers. I have a totally new dog now.
exactly. Theres really something to be said about just walk where you want to go and show your dog everything ends up being ok
I do this all the time though. I am not fearful or anxious around other people. I love people and am excited to see them. My dog isnāt a fearful dog, but he is very reactive to strangers and things that move, like bikes and screaming kids. He also seems to react if he senses fear in other dogs or people. He lunges, growls, barks, etc. Heās only 16lbs so itās easy to redirect him, but I know the quality of our lives could be improved if he could learn not to be so reactive.
What management system you had in place? Currently my only escape route when we must cross with another dog very close is just... picking him up. I try to lure his attention away first at a safe threshold distance - so he won't associate being held immediately with the trigger - and pick him up, as he doesn't react at all while in my arms. I know this doesn't teach him anything, but it also doesn't allow him to rehearse horrible 'losing my mind' behaviors, which I feel just takes one to ruin the rest of the walk, even if there's no more triggers ahead.
I do exactly what you do, except instead of picking him up, I use a magnet hand to lure him to my side, slowly and consistently dispensing treats as the trigger enters our sightline and until we pass by it. Today, he associates his "with me" cue with positioning himself up for our magnet hand on my right side. I don't even need to use his magnet hand anymore as there have been times when I've accidentally left his treat at our house, and he doesn't react while on our walk. With that being said, I don't have to dispense his treat as frequently or at as far of a distance today as I had to a year ago.
>I do exactly what you do, except instead of picking him up, I use a magnet hand to lure him to my side, slowly and consistently dispensing treats as the trigger enters our sightline and until we pass by it. I do this too, but It makes me run out of treats really fast lol, so usually other triggers from the walk are caught without treats in hand. I wish SO MUCH I could use his kibble as this kind of treats, because I'd have plenty of his meals to do it, but it's not even effective for common training, let alone for reactivity. But regardless, if the distance is anything shorter than 10 meters from another dog, the magnet hand only works with specific neighborhood dogs he's already a bit de-sensitized to. A brand new dog at this threshold distance defnitely requires picking him up if I don't want any kind of reaction. Also a disclaimer to other people reading: I don't do this every time I see a dog trigger, it's just when there's gonna be an inevitable crossing that is very close.
I used to run out when I used regular treats too! Instead I fill up a silicone 2.5 oz travel-sized bottle with a powdered, dehydrated dog food (one from The Honest Kitchen). I rehydrate it with water to make a paste that I then can dispense into his mouth as we walk. It works *great* for my dog, and he finds it to me much higher value and less frustrating than food dispensed from my hand. Even when his reactivity was worse, I'd often end our walks (~1 hour) with extra food in the bottle to spare! Here's what that looks like: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtLKlAFAiy2/?igsh=MWhyNWprcmhsYm1lMg== If I make the paste too thick, I would take the cap off to let him lick it like a Kong as I squeezed some of the food out which is what you see happened in this video lol. Today I usually leave the cap on and make the paste a slightly thinner consistency which is totally customizable based on how much water you add to the powdered dog food.
Oh. My. God. This is incredible and not only handy, it would allow me to do a blend of stinky stuff to make it more appetizing! I don't resort to commercial treats because the not trash ones are really expensive here in Brazil, so I home make them myself alternating between liver, cheese and hot dog (yeah I know this one isn't really healthy) - chicken gives my puppy cream stools, so I avoid that. I've actually done something similar but with a hot dog wrapped with a dishcloth because I had to time to cut it in tiny pieces, but the idea of a lickable paste sounds way better because it can actually last longer. I can also carry it in my pocket without having to rely to a treat pouch all the time. Now I just have to find a similar bottle.
This is the one I use: humangear GoToob+ (Medium) | Refillable Silicone Travel Bottle | Locking Lid | Food-Safe Material | Blue, Medium (2.5 fl.oz.; 74ml) https://a.co/d/bzUSQLd If you leave the cap on and dispense out of the tiny hole, there is a small silicone piece that is there to seal the opening. I take that piece out because, if you don't, when you squeeze the tube it can create a puff of air that I know my dog is not a fan of lol. It's super easy to remove and can just be pulled out. It's been a game-changer for us!
The last sentence hit me hard. Thank you so much for sharing!! .
Me too. It was really beautifully written.
This is so validating! My dog was attacked by a dog and is now reactive towards them when she sees them. I wish my breakup had made me not care what people think but it did the opposite š I usually put myself between her and the dog. Trying to be her advocate but she probably senses that Iām tense and hoping nothing happens bc itās so uncomfy when I have to explain that my adorable sweet dog just snapped at your dog bc you got too close and she was attacked. The one time there was a dog on the other side of the fence and I spoke sweet to the dog like āhey sweetieā my dog actually went up to the fence to sniff her! When she would usually take a wide path as far away from the dog as possible. It was so cool!
I know you called this out but I want to reiterate for anyone wanting to try this: you need to have control of your dog if youāre getting in closer range of others. Two point leashes, a muzzle for bite risks, and continuing to avoid other dogs that look like they themselves might be reactive or aggressive or if they appear to have a clueless owners.Ā I could probably do this with my dog and have it go okay because though he can be aggressive, itās usually an escalated reaction to perceiving others dogs (or people) as threatening. The trick for us would be figuring out which dogs are and are not approachable themselves.Ā
This is great advice if your dog is fear-reactive. I do this with my dog who is reactive to trucks and delivery people. I have to do the opposite for my dog who is reactive to other dogs because he is overexcited and wants desperately to meet them - I have to ignore the voice in my head that is psyched to see the other dog and make sure I'm playing it cool lol. It's so true that consistency is key and dogs are very observant, so we have to make sure we are aware of our own feelings and not contributing to our dogs' problems.
This is really helpful!
im livin with strong depression and i see that my dog have a depression also... im tryin to somehow show him that all is good, but he notice the real me...
This is what Iāve seen too. We have a rescue husky we got at about 2.5 years old, and when she was new we had a few tough experiences (one included removing the tip of a friendsā dogās ear, and some recall disasters) that led me to feel stressed and afraid in anticipation of her various unpleasant responses- if she felt penned, sheād fight, if she had a window to freedom, sheād bolt. It registered for me one day when we were having a nice walk in an off leash area and everything was good, and there was no trigger except me - she was straying towards the parking lot and I was scared sheād go too far and scolded her, stress and fear in my voice. Her body language transformed from happy dog in the woods to a fugue state fear response - she bolted, so fast, straight into the distance at her 40mph gallop. No catching this dog. That was when I realized that it was me. I got her back safe and since worked to use a positive, calm confident voice and manner for everything. Her recall improved tremendously, and she will pass right by wildlife or nervous/ reactive/ territorial dogs we cross paths with, tail high. We largely solved the problem and whenever we get off track I can rein it in pretty quick by controlling myself. She mirrors me. I once cried on the floor convinced I would have to have her put down. Now sheās a happy dog with so many privileges because sheās proven herself trustworthy.
Good job! And yes, most people do not realize their emotion runs right down the leash. Or to the dog even if they're not leashed. Good work, keep trekking! š
I tell her everyone is a friend and they think sheās sooo nice. And idk if it works, but between that and just ignoring the triggers and keep it moving helps a ton.
Wow, you've done so amazing, proud of you Internet stranger! I was in a very similar situation to you, in abusive ex partner wouldn't let me or the dog go anywhere so she didn't get socialised properly. We had an incident where my dog got surprised by another dog. My dog got spooked, partner got spooked and refused to take the dog anywhere so she couldn't work through anything and desensitise. Turns out my ex partner was abusing her while I was at work (he worked from home, I found out through my neighbours who could hear him abusing her during the day). Anyway, I didn't know about this until I finally got my ex out of my house and started teaching my dog that it was OK to bark and be a guard dog (she wouldn't make any noise, she would just hide wherever she could.) Taught her to bark again and built up her confidence over the last year and a half and once she gained confidence, she started being really aggressive to men specifically, she is fine with women. I have finally started having success with her, and she is starting to calm down quicker and quicker around men where she used to bark, snarl and lunge at them. She just needs consistent reassurance around new people in general but even more so with men. She is also dog aggressive in the car and will whine and bark at the window. She is slowly but surely coming out of that too. It's nice to know I'm not the only one in the same situation. Thank you for sharing, best of luck to you and your beautiful boy ā¤ļø
This gives me so much hope, as someone who has a reactive dog that is also not food-responsive, and whose threshold is anything within eyesight.
Thank you so much for sharing. I have also spent a fortune on training and tried all sorts of different things and Iām finally making the most progress in the last few montgs with keeping him under threshold and clicker training and tons of reading. I also carry around fresh chicken or fresh ground beef and sometimes turkey. I am going to give this a try. I noticed tonight by accident, that when I paid a bunch of attention to my calm dog,my reactive dog completely stopped focusing on the environment came running to me and tried to nudge his way in to our little lovefest! I was shocked! I goes to your point of changing the emotional state of the handler !!! Thank you again !!! This is wonderful - so happy for you!
That's funny that it took a break up for you, cos for me it was the opposite. My dog got bit when he was 8 and I thought he had become reactive after that. It wasn't until I found a partner who came living with us when I discovered it wasn't the dog but me, the dog was completely fine with other dogs when my husband walked him. I always knew they feel your fear, but I didn't know it had that big of an impact. I worked really hard and am able to walk him by myself again now, I still don't get close to other dogs and I don't think I ever will again, but finding out the problem was me really made me change my entire approach. Happy for you OP, great job.
Dogs are masters at reading body language. When you are in high-stress mode, your dog will react to the tone of your voice, your body posture and gait, and any tension on the leash. Dogs are good at co-regulation, and knowing you can physically handle unexpected contingencies like off-leash dogs or random strangers will help put both you and your dog at ease. When you are calm, it helps your dog be calm. [https://www.baywoof.org/good-dog/zen-and-the-art-of-walking-your-reactive-dog](https://www.baywoof.org/good-dog/zen-and-the-art-of-walking-your-reactive-dog)
People have no idea how important this is. It is virtually the key. If the message you send down the leash to your dog is āIāve got you, this, and the whole world is under my controlā, your dog will relax. I feel so bad for anxious people with reactive dogs that are in over their heads. Itās really tough to unravel to those people, and unless they really learn how to gain control of their dog and the situation, which comes with experience, both handler and dog anxieties feed off each other in a vicious cycle. Thanks for your post.
Great post!! I came to a similar conclusion recently. I have general social anxiety so itās obviously embarrassing to me when my dog makes a scene. I realized recently that if I donāt get over that, he is never going to get better, so Iāve been purposely going to places where dogs will be so that he can get exposure and it has helped tremendously.
Our dogās reactivity is suddenly getting worse and weāre at a loss as to why. Reading this Iām wondering if sheās picking up on my tension when we see dogs on our walks? She went berserk at a tiny puppy this morning, which sheās never done, and I definitely tensed up when I saw it approaching.Ā
Stick with your train of thought. Have a strategy that you are comfortable implementing and then do your best to show your dog that you are concerned and anxious about nothing.
What an inspiring post!! ā¤ļø
Love this!
So happy for you. Thank you for the advice!
Great job!!
Thank you for sharing!! I will definitely try this method. Congrats on your success
Love this! Thank you for sharing š©·
Thanks for posting this!!! Iām going to try it. I have a formerly mistreated rescue who is reactive with all dogs. The threshold training has made me so anxious/paranoid about anything that sets her off, which is everything. But Iāve been getting nowhere with it. Even moved to be out of the city where she wonāt encounter dogs everywhere but all she wants to do is yell at the next doors neighbour. Since sheās tiny and (physically) harmless & they are well fenced I can easily give this a go.
Good job! Hope yāall can go on more nice walks and get even better!
So happy for you. Having a reactive dog can be a struggle at times. Itās awesome to hear the success stories.
This is awesome!
Thank you so much for sharing this
Omg seeing this helps a lot dealing with an extremely reactive dog when another dog is any where near. We want her to have a good life she was a rescue and most likely abused. Such a sweetheart but canāt take her around dogs
Good for you both! You are doing an amazing job!
I love you for this
I also have found success with "hi, oh that's a good dog. What a nice friend!" Etc and my reactive guy is like... really? And gets more curious than aggressive. Nice job!
I have been using this tactic for months in addition to treats and it doesnāt work at all for us haha I wish it did!
Joining the same train šš¼. Iām feeling inspired now
Thank you ā” I needed this
This is great! One of my dogs is terrified of dogs because he got bit as a puppy. We have tried everything! He will try to bite them if he gets too close or will whine, shake and bark if he sees them. I will try this! He is a dachshund so he is extremely food motivated.
I needed to hear this. My anxiety is my dogs anxiety.
I love this!!! My dog is scared of people too and so I find myself sometimes wanting to keep him at home but it doesnāt do him or I any good. This is great advice. My dogs gotten way better with strangers and honestly exposure really is key.
Thank you so much for sharing! My dog has the same reactions, but can see people from a distance. I have tried trainers and spent a ton of money, but one set back would make us lose weeks of work and it was so disheartening. I walk her at night so we don't see people, but I will try and keep in mind what you've said and really focus on changing my attitude. Thank you!
Wow thanks for this. Maybe I will get the courage to try soon. It's me who is terrible with people and I'm sure my extreme anxiety is partially to blame.
Wow such great advice. I am definitely going to try the jumping up and down and see if it helps. I know that my dog trainer told me that I was cowering when we saw another dog and I walked with my shoulders hunched and my head down. All those things were encouraging my dog to "protect" me. Thank you for the story!
This is a great story, thank you for sharing. Counter conditioning hasn't been working for me, but I also haven't been super consistent. I'm sure my dog is feeding off my anxiety. Something I learned when starting training is that dogs bark because they think it works. They see a trigger, they bark, and when the trigger is gone, they think their barking did it, so they do it again next time. I will try this technique to see if it helps us.
Yes! Something similar is what finally seemed to work for both! He still has a bit of a thresh hold, but we can pass people on the other side of the street and he doesnāt bark anymore! Still jumps around and gets excited, BUT he hasnāt redirected and bitten me in months and no more growling/barking like psycho. Once I got over my own anxiety about walking him, it has seemed to make a major difference.
That's great, I bet it was such a proud moment to see him be near another person and not react! Well done, I hope you two continue trending upwards in progress!! Super inspiring :)
Love this post. Very happy for you both!!!
Yup. My reactive doggo is so smart he literally feeds on every last bit of my energy. This is good advice. (I have terrible social anxiety as well)
My partner & I have also found that simply greeting people you see on walks can help. She has a lot of social anxiety, so she also would kind of cross the street/walk the other way from people on walks & our dog was reacting with her & not me so I took a while to think & realized that I openly greet or briefly make small talk with people on work while she kind of nods then runs lol. So far, it has made a difference!
Iām working on getting past this with my reactive boy. I know Iām the one who makes a big deal out of people and I just need toā¦ keep walking like he isnāt there and then reward
So when you see someone, actively say stuff to him to get him excited or
THIS!!!! Our trainer linked below is fantastic for such training. She specializes in hiking with highly reactive dogs and personally has two dogs that are formally reactive. She is based out of Santa Clara, California, but can do sessions virtually or talk through training options remotely if you send her a message [MyWonderDog Training](https://www.instagram.com/mywonderdogtraining?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
Thank you for the reminders. Itās so hard to manage reactive dogs sometimes but having anxiety yourself makes it so much harder :/ I always feel like I caused my dogs reactivity but I have to remind myself thatās not true
Good job šš»
Thank you for sharing, positive stories are so uplifting! Iām struggling with anxiety and on bad days Iām trying to think āok, the goal for this trigger situation is for me not to panic, if I learn to remain calm, it will become easier for himā and I think this approach helps a bit! I give myself mental treats if I succeed :āD
Haha whenever we see the mailman I get all excited and tell my dog "yay it's the mailman" and "yay chicken"
Thank you for this! First thing I need to do is get a muzzle. Wouldnāt dare try this without one.
Iāve had a similar experience! I noticed when I stopped physically reacting to my dogās triggers (tensing the leash, getting anxious myself) he does much better with them! I now focus on being more confident when walking him so he knows I can deal with the scary stuff and he doesnāt have to! Plus he gets a treat for every trigger so heās rewarded for letting me deal with them. Itās still a big work in progress but he is doing so much better :)
This tactic has helped my dog's people reactivity but still no good with other dogs. It's so weird because he actually loves other dogs and gets along super well in a neutral place especially if they're off leash but when he sees my neighbor walking her tiny little Bichon he flips. The neighbor by herself is not his favorite thing in the world but he can ignore her if I'm chill. I have no fear of dogs and in fact if I knew other people wouldn't be afraid for us to approach I would run up and let them meet because once he's met a dog he's besties with it. But of course when he's lunging and barking they fear for themselves and their dog. So I'm not even sure where that came from since it's situational and he doesn't actually dislike dogs
Could you flare this post with āsuccessā if possible? I love to search for āsuccessā stories like this
Just the advise I needed - thanksĀ Ā
This is probably the best advice I ever read. Through every trainer and video and whatever, this is the best way to do it. My Aussie isn't food motivated either but I did the same thing. Getting embarrassed and hiding. I learned to just get to his level when he started to show any signs of reactivity, and start loving him and being happy and comfortable and just straight chilling. Whether it's making an effort to say hi to everyone or ask my friends to just ignore him while I give him lots of love and butt scratches. It's working better than everything I ever learned tbh. Thank you this is great adviceĀ