Reactive dog training methods can help you and your dog enjoy time together by teaching them to stay calm. When you can help your dog see their triggers differently and anticipate rewards for good behavior, they will often choose good behavior over time.
In addition, regular exercise and mental stimulation can help on many levels.
Hello and welcome to Dog Works Radio. I am your host, Michele Forto, and I am the lead trainer of Alaska Dog Works. Here, we help humans and their dogs have better relationships. Today, we are talking about one of the most common training questions we get: How can we help a reactive dog?
Standard disclosure: There may be medical reasons for your dog’s reactive behavior, especially if the behavior starts suddenly or intensifies. Many dog trainers work specifically with leash-reactive dogs. Always ask for help if you need it.
- Always consult your veterinarian to rule out any medical reasons for changes in behavior.
- Always consult a dog trainer or behaviorist if the behavior is beyond your ability to handle on your own. We recommend the APDT, Association of Professional Dog Trainers.
What is a Reactive Dog?
- If your dog is reactive, it means that it overreacts to certain situations, people, objects, or other stimuli.
- If your dog is aggressive, it means it is hostile or destructive toward another person or animal.
Aggressive dogs often have other underlying conditions, and it is always best to consult with a professional if you believe your dog is aggressive or if you have a very bad case of reactivity.
Dogs can become reactive for many reasons, from overstimulation to previous bad experiences. A reactive dog is any dog that reacts strongly to specific triggers – often common or daily triggers.
Why is my dog reacting like this?
Dogs always have a reason for being reactive, but it can be frustrating for humans to try to find the root cause of a behavior.
Some dogs are happy-reactive, leading to jumping up on people, happy barking, and fence-running. Some dogs are scared or anxious reactors, responding with fear or even aggression to triggers they’ve had a bad experience with or don’t understand.
A reactive dog may bark, jump, lunge, pull on the leash, fight the fence, or show other inappropriately energetic behaviors in response to their reaction trigger.
Remember, this is a reaction to an outside stimulus. Reshaping your dog’s relationship with that stimulus will help him or her react differently over time.
How can I help my reactive dog?
As a loving dog owner, we know you want to help your dog be a good boy or girl and to be able to meet people and go for walks without struggle. With patience and a little training, you can reshape your dog’s reactive behavior and/or learn coping mechanisms.
How to Calm Your Reactive Dog When They React
- Keep your cool
- Block them from the trigger (block their line of sight or turn around and walk in the other direction)
- Use calm commands and reassuring words, reward them for looking away from the trigger or for calm behavior
- Redirect to a positive activity with rewards
The first step is to know how to respond when your dog is reacting. It likely happens often, so you’ll get plenty of practice. To calm a reactive dog, start by keeping your cool. Project a calm exterior. Then, block your dog from the trigger as soon as possible. Use calm commands, asking them to sit and be quiet. If you have commands that mean bed or relax at home, use these. You can block your dog from outside triggers like scary other dogs or big truck noises by putting your body between your dog and the trigger to block their sight and occupy their focus with familiar, loving attention.
Reactive dogs are often scared or nervous about something, so being calm and reassuring is the most helpful thing you can do.
Use Routine to Create Stability and Safety
Reactive dogs often feel unstable or unsafe about something. The trigger might be unfamiliar or related to a previous bad experience. The best way to help your dog become a calm, cool animal all the time is to offer it a predictable routine that reinforces stability and safety. Walking your leash-reactive dog at the same time every day can also reduce unexpected encounters with scary things like trash trucks and school buses.
Learn Your Dog’s Reactivity Triggers
What causes your dog to spiral into reactive behavior? Triggers can be good or bad. For example, a dog barking at the window may think he “chased off” a squirrel intruder, or he may be asking the squirrel to play.
Your dog might react to people, to certain traits of other dogs, or to certain situations. Oversee them and pay attention to what they notice right before your dog reacts.
Learn their triggers, make plans to minimize those triggers, and be ready to practice the tools above when you encounter a trigger.
Minimize Exposure to Reaction Triggers
The first step in helping your dog reduce reactivity is reducing its exposure to triggers. If your dog barks at the window or fence, keep it away from the trigger area.
You may put a leash on a reactive dog when it’s outside or set up a dog run so it can’t get to the outer fence. You may also use baby gates or even an indoor tether to keep your dog from barking at the window.
If the reaction is to sounds – like a truck going down the street – use white noise indoors or possibly a DAP diffuser while training your dog to be calm and to calm down on command.
If it’s other dogs on your walk, try a new route that doesn’t pass the trigger houses.
Avoid Punishments
Keeping your dog away from their triggers is all the adverse reactions you need to have. Dogs don’t respond as well to punishment as they do to reinforcing positive behaviors – and punishment can sometimes make reactivity worse when related to your dog’s anxiety. Instead, try reconditioning how your dog responds to their reactive triggers.
Recondition Your Dog’s Reaction to Triggers
The key to reactive dog training is to help your dog respond differently to their triggers. You want to help your reactive dog associate triggers with a chance to be good and get treats. Instead of barking at the mailman, you want your dog to sit pretty and wait to be rewarded for not barking. To do this, you want to learn your dog’s body language.
Recognize Your Dog’s Moods and Reactions
Learn to spot when your dog is about to react. Their body language will tell you when they are alert, nervous, or getting excited. A forward-leaning or tense pose is anxiety, and tail wagging can be an attempt to say “Hey, I’m not dangerous” to whatever is scaring them.
In addition, give them activities, stimuli, or walks to tire them out and improve their overall mood (which may decrease reactivity). For example, a dog who reacts strongly when people come to your home may be able to resist triggers if he has a good walk before the company arrives.
If your dog is fearful or reactive to strangers, you might use an “I Need Space” vest, collar, or leash.
Distract Before They React
When you see your dog becoming tense in response to a trigger, redirect it immediately. Before your dog can express a bad behavior, reinforce good behavior. Use calming “sit” and “be good” commands and give them a treat for focusing on you instead of on the trigger. Each time a trigger presents itself, try to catch that exact moment between notice and reaction. This will help you recondition your dog’s response to those triggers – so they expect treats for good behavior instead of needing to bark or jump.
Help Your Reactive Dog Learn to Stay Calm
Reactive dog training methods can help you and your dog enjoy time together by teaching them to stay calm. When you can help your dog see their triggers differently and anticipate rewards for good behavior, they will often choose good behavior over time.
In addition, regular exercise and mental stimulation can help on many levels.
With the right equipment, such as pet gates and no-pull harnesses, you and your overexcitable doggo can find a happy peace where only balls and frisbees need to be chased and only real danger needs to be barked at.
Did you know that Alaska Dog Works trains service dogs, therapy dogs, and K9 buddies? We offer a FREE Discovery Call. Schedule yours today.
So, what do you think? Did you learn anything new about your K9 buddy?
Before we end the show, let’s pause for a second…maybe ask yourself, why did this resonate with me? What aspect of my relationship with my K9 buddy could I apply this to? And what am I going to do differently this week to make my dog’s training a little easier? So, take time to mull it over, talk it out with a family member or trusted friend, put some ideas down in your training journal, and then check back next week for our next episode.
As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this episode. So, reach out on X at firstpawmedia, and let’s spark a conversation. Until then, keep going! You are doing great! It is time to create the relationship with your dog that you always dreamed of.
Thanks for listening to Dog Works Radio. Find the show notes for this episode and all others on Alaska Dog Works (dot)com. Know someone in your life who needs help with their dog’s training? Be a hero and share our podcast with them, and we will see you next time.
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At Dog Works Radio, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by a team with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts.
For this piece on reactive dogs, Michele Forto tapped her experience as a longtime dog trainer, podcaster, and dog owner. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions and our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing, and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and current. Read more about our team, our contributors, and our editorial policies on our website, Alaska Dog Works.com
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