How do I stop my dog from reacting to people?
Lempi Cartwright
2025-07-22 05:12:59
Count answers
: 8
To stop your dog from reacting to people, 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. 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.
Daphnee Reichel
2025-07-22 04:53:27
Count answers
: 16
Teach them a Watch Me exercise, do this randomly throughout the day, start where there are no distractions, and your dog isn’t doing something else. Say their name enthusiastically and when they look at you reward them with a high value treat. Once you can do this at home, you can progress to the garden where there are more distractions from sights, sounds, and smells. Once you’ve mastered that, you can start going out and about – but stick to quiet places where you can avoid other dogs until you and your dog are experts at this. Distract them when meeting other dogs, start off a long distance from them – beyond the point where your dog would usually react, all you want your dog to do is look at you, and you will reward this. Always use high value treats to reward them for paying attention to you and not the other dog. Practice is key, remember that patience is very important when training any dog and you shouldn’t expect instant results. If your dog has been barking at other dogs or being reactive for a long time, it will take time, patience, and consistency to break the habit or change the behaviour.
Read also
- How to get a dog to stop being aggressive towards people?
- How to fix frustration reactivity in dogs?
- How do I desensitize my dog to other people?
- How do I stop my dog from being aggressive towards visitors?
- How to stop dog aggression towards family members?
- How to build frustration tolerance in dogs?
- How do I desensitize my reactive dog?