How to stop fence reactivity?

You will need to cover windows and/or any breaks in the fence line to ensure that your dog is unable to see through them, attempting to eliminate their need to react in the first place. You may also want to keep your dog’s leash clipped to their collar, but let them drag the handle so you are able to grab it and safely redirect them if they do become reactive. Be sure you are always present when your dog has access to the barriers they’re reactive to; this may mean restricting access to certain rooms or areas when you aren’t home. Cut up tiny pieces of high value food, like hot dogs or bits of their favorite smelly treats, and approach the barrier with your dog on leash. Remove the covering so they can now see through the window or fence line. The moment that they notice the trigger, begin to feed them constantly. Feed them for 10-30 seconds, put the visual barrier back in place, and stop feeding them. If your dog begins to bark or react and is too distracted to take the food, don’t panic, that simply means that your dog is over their threshold. If you find that being up close to the barrier is too difficult for your dog, move further away and try again once they have had the chance to calm down. Be sure to keep these sessions short, this work is difficult for our dogs and you will want to train for a few very short sessions per day when you begin, rather than working for longer periods of time. As this work becomes easier for your dog, you can work with them for longer and longer periods of time.

To manage barrier reactivity, first, to figure out exactly what your dog’s trigger is — what she is reacting to — observe what happens just before she becomes reactive. Next, you will want to arrange your dog’s environment so she won’t have the chance to react. If your dog is barking through a fence or at a window, for example, try covering up her view by putting up visual barriers along the fence line or closing the curtains. If she becomes very reactive when someone comes to the door, try putting her in another room before guests arrive. Remember, your dog is learning through every experience and interaction she has. Therefore, every time she gets a chance to react to the trigger, she’s practicing — and getting better at — her reactivity. Your goal when working on management is to set her up for success, which translates to her not reacting to the trigger. If Halloween is a particularly stressful evening for your dog, keep her inside and pull the blinds so she doesn’t see the scary people walking by in costumes. If she’s reactive to people ringing the doorbell, and you’re expecting trick-or-treaters, put her in a room with the door closed, turn on some soothing music and give her a super-delicious, long-lasting treat.

To stop fence reactivity, we want to shift that trigger into a cue to check-in with you. We are going to utilize the Thank You Protocol. To start this protocol, our first step is management. We want to eliminate rehearsal of the behavior when we are not present to actively train it. For dogs who are stimulated by the sight of a passerby, add window screens to block the visual or keep the dog indoors. If your dog is stimulated by the sound, play white noise. Try to use x-pens or baby gates to block access to any doors or windows where your dog usually goes to bark. We need to reframe our own narrative around barking. Instead, we want to tell our dogs “Thank you for letting me know, I’ve got this from here.” To do this, we teach the dog to come find us and receive reinforcement when we give a verbal cue that signals they can stop barking, we have heard them and will take care of whatever may be present. Next, we want to begin loading the cue we will say to our dog to interrupt the reactivity. Select a word that doesn’t have a strong history of not working, so their name or “come” may not be effective. Once your dog has a solid response to your verbal cue, we want to start using that cue when your dog begins barking. Say your cue right when your dog begins barking, or right before. If your dog doesn’t look at you when you give them the cue, get closer to your dog before giving the cue again. If your dog even gives you a shred of a glance, start rewarding. The goal at this stage is for your dog to look at you for food after a few barks at the fence/door/window, so if they are unable to do that then we need to increase the value of our reinforcement and/or decrease the difficulty of the trigger. Eventually, as you practice this skill with your dog, we want them to turn to you or come find you when they see a trigger that they previously would have reacted towards.

Remove sights that set off your dog. Dogs are less likely to react to a trigger if they cannot see it. If your dog barks at your front window at passersby, try keeping the curtains closed or use a frosted decal on the lower half of the window. Reduce unsupervised yard time. Dogs who struggle with barrier reactivity in the yard practice self-entertaining by barking at dogs or people as they pass, making the behavior stronger! Keep your distance. If your dog struggles seeing dogs or people while on walks, it can be harder for them to maintain their composure if they are close to the trigger. Redirect your dog’s attention. If your dog begins to react or looks as if they may react, ask your dog to perform a skill they know in a cheerful, upbeat tone and redirect your dog’s attention back to working with you. Avoid punishment. Refrain from using verbal or physical corrections. Train! Take the time to teach your dog impulse control and basic manners utilizing positive reinforcement training. Whenever your dog performs a behavior that you like, be ready to reward your dog with a treat. With practice, your dog will be able to redirect themselves away from barking and lunging, and instead perform these rewarded behaviors.