Does your dog bark, growl or lunge at other dogs? Are you always apologizing to neighbors or passersby for your dog’s behavior, leaving you feeling embarrassed? Or you try to walk your dog when no one else is around? Avoidance may work for a while, but it is not a long-term solution for the problem of reactivity.
Reactivity affects 1 in 3 dogs. This is not an uncommon problem, just one that people avoid rather than solve.
When I got my puppy, I was diligent about socializing him with people and other dogs. We even certified as a Canine Good Citizen. Puppy training was going well. Until slowly but surely things started to change. Something had gone wrong in my training and I didn’t know it. Yes, he would pull on the leash to greet other people and dogs, but at least he was friendly right? Wrong! His excitement levels continued to rise the more we encountered other dogs. Soon, he was barking excitedly in the hopes of getting to play. With his excitement levels rising even higher, if he greeted another dog who was also excited about the greeting, his excitement levels would overflow into what was becoming aggression and sometimes even snapping at the other dog. It was inconsistent and unpredictable. What happened to my well socialized CGC?
I had to find a solution fast!
I began to play the games and follow the easy steps in Spirit Dog’s Tackling Reactivity course and started to become aware of the signs my dog was showing as his anxiety levels started to escalate. I was ashamed of the situations I had been putting him in that I had failed to teach him the skills he needed to cope with.
We were making great progress. I had mastered two elements of tackling reactivity: I knew what treats had extremely high value for my dog; and I could tell where his threshold was in terms of the distance at which he felt calm enough to still be able to take treats from me. But it is the third element that I often failed in: the rate at which I needed to deliver treats. High value treats had to be delivered at a constant, rapid rate, while keeping my dog at a distance that was just close enough to the other dog that he noticed it but wasn’t stressful.
As I continue to work on imprinting a new conditioned emotional response in my dog’s brain through these games and exercises in just ten minutes a day, it’s important to be consistent and progress at the right pace and of course to celebrate every little victory.
Although reactivity in dogs is common, it is a serious behavioral issue that can easily escalate. If your dog’s behavior is dangerous, contact a professional dog trainer in your area for in-person assistance as soon as possible. Every dog is unique, every situation is different and every environment has many different elements, but I have found this course to be so easy to follow and adaptable to all situations.
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