Can a leash reactive dog be cured?
Linnea Bechtelar
2025-07-10 10:23:16
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Can a reactive dog be trained.
Absolutely.
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
reward calm behaviour
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.
Emanuel Erdman
2025-06-29 12:56:44
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Has anyone's reactive dog ever been cured.
I haven't really seen any stories online where a dog was cured from fear based reactivity.
I am wondering if I am ever going to be able to bring him around family pets or if it will always been an issue.
I will not use any aversive methods.
The behaviorists can't seem to give me any estimation of the likelihood that the training will reduce or eliminate his fear of dogs over time.
I know some dog hotels won't even take aggressive dogs.
I'm not sure how I would manage this long term and would love to hear your experiences as to whether reactivity will be a lifelong/very long term issue.
Hope Hermann
2025-06-20 02:08:37
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Many dogs don’t want to fight, so they display a number of behaviors designed to prevent it. These distance-increasing behaviors includes barking, lunging, or growling — anything to make the threat go away. Adult dogs, while patient with puppy antics, will usually start to discipline puppies once they reach 5-6 months. The discipline isn’t violent and usually takes the form of a bark or growl. If a puppy never experiences these corrections, he may continue this inappropriate behavior in adulthood. When an adult dog inappropriately greets another one, the other dog will react with a loud bark or growl.
Ramon Grady
2025-06-19 22:44:05
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Reactivity isn’t something to be cured. You cannot just “fix” this. There is no cure for reactivity. Your dog is not broken therefore there is nothing to “fix.” Your dog is only behaving in a way that they feel is entirely necessary. Some dogs develop reactivity as a phase through adolescence and mature through it quite well. Other dogs are just highly sensitive and will always need you to advocate for them. If we want reactivity in dogs to decline then every single human with a dog needs to do a better job at following leash laws and teaching dogs to feel safe around other dogs.
Read also
- What is the difference between leash reactive and leash aggressive?
- Why does my dog listen better off leash than on leash?
- Why is my dog aggressive on leash but not off leash?
- How to manage leash aggression?
- Do gentle leaders help reactive dogs?
- Are dogs more aggressive when on a leash?
- What to do if an off-leash dog attacks your on-leash dog?