Why Is My Dog Reactive? (AND how to fix it!)

Sarah Prelle
Dec 15, 2023
2 min read

Updated: Jan 2, 2024

As a professional dog trainer, this is easily one of the biggest frustrations of the modern day pet owner. While we could dive very deep on this topic, I'm going to sum up causes and their remedy in as neat and helpful of a package as I can. Instead of (like the other 5 million blogs on reactivity) telling you that it's all your energy and you have to maintain a positive attitude (not untrue), we're going to give you actual concrete things you can do to slow down the likely regular "bad" training your dog is getting while out in the big, scary world.

First start by thinking about potty training. If you have a puppy and they begin peeing inside, the more they pee inside, the more that habit is ingrained. Or if they are being constantly frightened and living in a situation that frequently scares them, they're more likely to be skittish, fearful adults. In a similar fashion, the more your dog barks, screams and goes bonkers at other dogs, skateboards, cars etc, the more it will become ingrained. For this reason, when fixing a dog's reactive behavior, preventing the behavior from happening is the very FIRST and most straightforward advice I can give you.

How to do this?

A Longer Line

Walk in areas you can have your dog on a 10-15' line SAFELY. The inability to experience can cause frustration in a dogs and a short, tight leash really fast tracks this.

PLAY with Your Dog

Play frequently while out on walks while there aren't any dogs/skateboards around. Learn how to PLAY with food by watching our Food 101 video, and slowly begin incorporating play when dogs are at a distance.

Massage

Light at first and deeper as your dog begins to enjoy it. I've used massage to help stressed out dogs at the vet or while on walks. When conditioned properly (inside your home for the first 4 weeks), your dog will instantly relax (as you or I might on a massage table). Massaging deeply as the dog watches from a distance the thing that makes them bonkers can fast track their emotional change when the "thing" is around.

Stay Away

All experts can agree any attention to this issue should begin from a distance, not up close. Remember, every time your dog has a reaction, the behavior and emotion is becoming more solidified. The closer you are, the more likely a reaction. If you put in good work that INCLUDES solid obedience, this distance will be able to quickly reduce as your dog's threshold becomes more tolerant. But for now, Stay Away.

Steak or Chicken

While we prefer to do lots of training prior to having a reactive dog around the things that make them reactive, we know lots of you live in the city and unfortunately come face to face with the same situations that CAUSED your dog's reactive behavior in the first place. Because the more reactions, the more engrained the behavior, use a high value food chunk, to toss AWAY from the scary or exciting thing, distracting the dog as much as possible, and continuing to throw chunk after chunk that the dog has to chase. You MUST also play this game outside of when other dogs are around, otherwise the dog may start to associate the bad feeling of the other dogs with the game, subsequently "poisoning" it.

Training Your Dog's Obedience

The more obedience you have, the more your relationship and trust with the dog will grow. Work especially hard on your "Come" cue and slowly work that cue while other dogs are at a distance. Because we RUN from the dog when we recall them, the chase helps refocus and motivate them to engage with YOU and stop worrying about the thing.

Lastly, be sure to watch the full video tutorial for a better picture of what you're dealing with. Want the full, massive, step-by-step course on how to fix it? Here you go!

***ATTENTION*** If your dog has the propensity for aggression towards you or other humans, seek in home help immediately. Go to the IACP for local resources.