Is your dogs reactivity your fault?

You see other people walking down the street with their dog walking nicely next to them, not a care in the world. And your wondering where did it all go wrong for you and your dog? You cross paths to avoid other people or dogs, walk really early or super late and pray for a rainy day where you will hardly see anyone. And thoughts may cross your mind "am I causing my dogs reactivity?". Short answer No. Reactivity in dogs in an emotional response to a stimulus. What ever that may be.

Long answer potentially. But not how you think.

Rachel sitting in a field with Bertie and Izzy by her side.

Starting points.

You may look at me with my dogs (still cant write dog yet, miss you Bertie) and think that I have never struggled in my life with them. But you would be wrong.

Bertie the dog who started it all, made being his owner a real struggle when I first got him. Rescued at 9 months and was previously a stray, we had everything to tackle. A few years later we added Izzy into the mix, a whirlwind of muscle who loved every person, but was extremely frustrated by not being able to get to other dogs when on a lead, but fine off the lead. Sound familiar? Yup I didn't get a dream dog either! Hence why I am now a dog trainer, they both required work to get them to the point where people complimented me on their behavior.

So from getting these two dogs, you could say they both came to me reactive, and was I making it worse?

Why is my dog reactive?

The reality is, our dogs are reactive, end of. Izzy will still look at a cat and get excited by it moving across the road. So is she still reacting to a stimulus? Yes! She is reactive. But it's when the emotions take over and they are unable to think in the presence of the stimulus that most people refer to as a reactive dog.

There can be many emotions that drive reactivity in our dogs, from anticipation of a perceived threat or physical harm to frustration and anxiety of not being able to get to something. They can all display different outcomes like stopping and freezing, tense mouth, ears back, or even growls and barks. Each thing is telling us how our dog is feeling about the situation, and its work with your dog trainer where you will learn how to read them and help them.

What breeds are reactive?

The truth is, all dog breeds can be reactive in some way or another. Some breeds can be more prone to reactivity around certain circumstances, think herding breeds not able to herd, or live stock guardians weary of strangers.

This is genetics, and what we have bred the dog to be good at. Sometimes without appropriate breed outlets, reactivity can spike.

You may also find that your dog only reacts to certain breeds of dogs? Common ones I come across my training are French Bull Dogs or Black dogs. With the French Bull Dog this can be due to the anatomy of them making them hard to read by other dogs, (pertruding eyes, short nose, no tail etc) Also the way in which they have been bred, means that have to get very close and personal in order to sniff something like another dogs behind, so they can seem quite aggressive/rude in its manors.

How to fix a reactive dog?

Reality is you will probably not "fix" them, as mentioned earlier if a dog is reacting to something it means they are alive. But to help your dogs reactivity the best way is to contact a professional dog trainer. One who has preferably worked with reactivity cases before, and uses science backed kind methods to your dog.

Most owners will get stuck at some point in their reactivity training. From always avoiding people and dogs and never being able to get close to anything, or even just using tools like food and long lines, without actually understanding what we are rewarding or communicating to or dog and how to help them. This is where most owners will go wrong with their training, and you could say in a way, yes causing their dogs reactivity.

But not the way you think, yes dogs will pick up on our emotions and it doesn't always help, but it is your dogs emotions that are also driving their reactivity not just yours.

Bertie and Izzy lying on the grass together after a training session with Rachel.

How I can help?

I'm launching an online 12 week program for you and your reactive dogs, which means, if you are not near me, I can still help you. Designed to take a look at every aspect of your dog and their lifestyle, figuring out what they like, triggers and their current threshold. And helping you reset their reactivity.

The online program will be open end of October, and will be only available for a certain time, so space is limited.

If you would like to join, and you are stuck with your dogs reactivity now is the time to book. Sign up here to be the first to know when the doors are open.

Thanks for reading! Rachel

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Did you know?

The Dog training Industry in the UK in an unregulated business. You wouldn't have anyone come round and install lighting in your home without proper qualifications, so you shouldn't just be getting anyone to help you with your dog either. Your dog is part of your family, and I am sure if you are reading my blog page, you would also not want to inflict harm or pain from training them. That's why I am part of the APDT, an organisation for dog professionals who under go an assessment process to ensure their methods are kind fair and effective in dog training. I have to commit to CPD each year, to continue my knowledge as a dog trainer.

With me being a member you can be assured that my methods are ethical, and i am held to a standard from the organisation.