How do I train my dog to stop being reactive?
Christina Kuphal
2025-06-27 08:45:43
Count answers: 6
To train your dog to stop being reactive, consistently use reward-based training methods and keep them on a lead when needed. Choose quiet places and times for walks, when possible, to avoid triggers while you’re working on changing their emotions. If you encounter a trigger, calmly move your dog away, avoiding adding extra tension to the lead. Try luring them away with a tasty treat or favourite toy to play with. Reward calm behaviour and practice focus training to help them pay attention to you. Learn to recognise your dog's body language, this will help you understand when they're feeling worried or frustrated. Speak to your vet to rule out any underlying medical conditions.
Bart Satterfield
2025-06-27 07:15:43
Count answers: 7
To train a reactive dog, it's essential to understand that reactivity is a symptom, not the root issue, and dogs react because they feel the need to, which is generally related to fear, insecurity, over-excitement, and frustration. You need to figure out where it's stemming from in order to address the cause. Take inventory of the day-to-day interactions with your dog to consider what behavior you reward, for example, do you feed, leash or let your dog out when they're excited. We can't help a dog if we're not clearly communicating what we want and what we don't want, which includes teaching proper pressure and release with a leash and using a marker word. You can condition dogs to only get what they want when they're more relaxed by doing that in every single situation. Everything needs to be on your terms for a period of time. You can't let your dog react to other things in the home where they spend most of their life and then expect them to ignore things outside. Confidence building fixes 95% of my reactivity cases, and dogs just want to feel safe with their handler and they want to know what's coming next. Take note of the things at home that make your dog even slightly uncomfortable and get them comfortable with them. Start adding in structure, rules and consistency in your message to build your dog's confidence. Reactivity is hard but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it comes from you addressing your day to day interactions with your dog and changing how you make them feel in the world around them.