Reactivity is a subject close to our hearts. Between us we have both owned and lived with 'reactive' dogs, so fully understand the challenges of daily life and walking a dog that struggles with the outside world. Indi, April's English Springer Spaniel would bark and lunge at other dogs and people. When he got extremely distressed he would also redirect (bite) people. April spent many years researching reactivity and working out the best training methods to help him feel safe and secure on walks. We now know that he had hip displacia and joint issues that almost certainly contributed to his behaviour issues. However, even when we got him at 8 weeks old he was anxious and would yelp on sight of another dog. April was a teenager at the time and it was a whole new world living with and walking a dog who would bark and lunge at every dog/ person he saw. Being a spaniel everything he did was fast and rushed, which meant slowing him down was hard! He started off a journey and without him this business wouldn't exist.
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Kez, April's crossbreed was also reactive. However, instead of going forward she would choose to run away from the trigger given the opportunity. For her, the trigger was always dogs. We rehomed her at 18 months of age and in her previous home we know she was chased by 2 German Shepherds over a large distance. Her coping mechanism when she saw a dog was to run away. This was dangerous, so we had to keep her on a long line. However, being on a lead restricted her choices. Because she could no longer run away, she would then bark instead to try and increase that distance from the other dog.
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Kez was suspected to be a collie cross lurcher cross terrier. She was intense! We channeled that intensity into agility. She became a very successful agility dog competing at championship level. Agility was a safe context for her and something she loved so we were able to use that to expose her to her triggers in a safe and controlled way. She came a long way and eventually was able to be let off-lead around pretty much any dog. She became an amazing stooge dog as she was an amazing example of what can be achieved. We very sadly lost Kez in 2022. Her legacy certainly lives on.
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Lorraine has Hux the Portuguese Water Dog who at an early age showed reactivity to other dogs and traffic. He is still very anxious of traffic in particular but has come a long way in the past 4 years.
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The most important thing about reactivity is that it is a label. We may label a dog as reactive, but actually they could be displaying completely different behaviours and need different training approaches. I always recommend getting a trainer/ behaviourist involved for reactivity because of this. And ALWAYS rule out medical conditions and pain. Only use trainers/ behaviourists that use force-free reward-based methods, and ideally use one that has experience in reactivity. When April had Indi 10 years ago got it was a huge struggle to find someone to help that didn't use aversive techniques. Indi did have some negative experiences and April knew straight away that aversive training was not the way forward. Luckily dog training is changing (thank goodness!) so there are many more force-free trainers now, but it is definitely still so important to do your research. Ideally, they should have a science-based qualification at degree level and be a member of a governing body (or at least working towards being a member). If you hear the word 'dominance' or 'pack leader' being mentioned anywhere... our advice would always be to run as far as you can!
It can seem like such a huge part of them because it can make walks so stressful, but it isn't. So often we have clients tell us that their dog is so lovely... apart from when on walks. And its true, these dogs are such lovely dogs. Indi was extremely loving and cuddly. The reactivity is the way they communicate in that specific moment. It is not their personality (although their personality may impact how they react)... just a form of communication. Once the trigger has gone, they then go back to playing, cuddling and doing all the things we love them for.
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Our job is to help them relax, feel safe and deal with triggers in a better way. There are lots of different ways of doing this which differ depending on each individual dog. But, the most important thing is that all the training is dog-focused and teaches the dog to make their own choices. We can then reward that choice so that it is more likely to be repeated. We can then begin to change that dog's habits and teach them how to cope with the human world that we force them to live in. It is all about going at the dogs pace, learning to listen to what our dogs are saying and ultimately building up that trust. Owning a reactive dog is not easy, and can be isolating. However, it is an incredibly rewarding journey and we will always be with you every step of the way.
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