Reactivity: what it is and how to deal with it
Definition: a dog’s over-reaction, good or bad, to an external stimulus. This can be from excitement or fear. Any strong behavior that puts a dog out of control when it is faced with a particular stimulus is reactivity.
|
Let’s take a moment and think about scenarios your dog might react to. Does your dog bark, start lunging to the end of the leash, growl, snarl, and/or whine intensely in any of these scenarios below? There are other places and reasons a dog might be reactive, but these are some of the most common scenarios!
On Leash: ☐ A strange dog approaching ☐ A known dog approaching ☐ A stranger approaching ☐ A known person approaching ☐ Other _____________________ At home: ☐ A strange dog approaching ☐ A known dog approaching ☐ A stranger approaching ☐ A known person approaching ☐ Other _____________________ In the car: ☐ A strange dog approaching ☐ A known dog approaching ☐ A stranger approaching ☐ A known person approaching ☐ Other _____________________ |
How to deal with reactivity: learning about thresholds!
When we are dealing with reactive dogs, we always want to work UNDER a dog’s threshold. Threshold is where the dog starts to show signs of problematic behavior, the point of no return. If your dog can get up to 10 feet from a strange dog before being reactive, start there! Work at 10 feet away.
Techniques to Help
Watch Me Command
'Watch me' is a strong tool in dealing with reactivity! We can use the ‘watch me’ command to keep the dog looking at us as we work just under threshold and then to expand that threshold. Have your dog look at you before problematic behaviors begin, and reward heavily for doing so! [LEARN HOW TO TEACH THIS COMMAND]
Fear vs. Excitement Reactivity
Fear vs. Excitement need different rewards. For a dog that is fearful of a stimulus (such as another dog), looking away and moving away from that stimulus is a reward. For a dog that is excited by that stimulus, looking away and moving away from it is a punishment. If a fear-reactive dog behaves calmly around another dog, reward it by calmly moving away from the other dog and rewarding heavily. If an excitement-reactive dog behaves calmly around another dog, reward it by giving access to the other dog AFTER giving a release command (e.g., Good boy, go great!"), but only if you know the other dog is also friendly and you have permission! It is best to work on these problems with the help of a friend with a calm, non-reactive dog! (Or a calm friend if your dog is human-reactive). We always want to have control over the scenario we are working on! If a fear-reactive dog is jumped on by a playful dog, we’ve just reinforced that fear, even though the other dog didn’t physically hurt the fear-reactive dog! If an excitement-reactive dog is jumped on by a playful dog, we’ve just reinforced that excitement by rewarding before the dog calmed down!
NEVER PUNISH
REMEMBER never EVER punish a dog for reactivity! This will make fear-reactive dogs have even more reason to fear the stimulus, and it will make excitement-reactive dogs frustrated and can possibly turn them into fear-reactive dogs!
BE PREPARED
Be prepared to tell people to not let their dog approach yours, to not come to near. Try to avoid areas where you are likely to run into your dog’s triggers in an uncontrolled manner until you have successfully finished dealing with the reactivity. Carry hard dog treats on walks to throw into the face of an approaching dog (distracts most friendly dogs, won’t work for approaching highly aggressive dogs). BE YOUR DOG’S ALLY.
'Watch me' is a strong tool in dealing with reactivity! We can use the ‘watch me’ command to keep the dog looking at us as we work just under threshold and then to expand that threshold. Have your dog look at you before problematic behaviors begin, and reward heavily for doing so! [LEARN HOW TO TEACH THIS COMMAND]
Fear vs. Excitement Reactivity
Fear vs. Excitement need different rewards. For a dog that is fearful of a stimulus (such as another dog), looking away and moving away from that stimulus is a reward. For a dog that is excited by that stimulus, looking away and moving away from it is a punishment. If a fear-reactive dog behaves calmly around another dog, reward it by calmly moving away from the other dog and rewarding heavily. If an excitement-reactive dog behaves calmly around another dog, reward it by giving access to the other dog AFTER giving a release command (e.g., Good boy, go great!"), but only if you know the other dog is also friendly and you have permission! It is best to work on these problems with the help of a friend with a calm, non-reactive dog! (Or a calm friend if your dog is human-reactive). We always want to have control over the scenario we are working on! If a fear-reactive dog is jumped on by a playful dog, we’ve just reinforced that fear, even though the other dog didn’t physically hurt the fear-reactive dog! If an excitement-reactive dog is jumped on by a playful dog, we’ve just reinforced that excitement by rewarding before the dog calmed down!
NEVER PUNISH
REMEMBER never EVER punish a dog for reactivity! This will make fear-reactive dogs have even more reason to fear the stimulus, and it will make excitement-reactive dogs frustrated and can possibly turn them into fear-reactive dogs!
BE PREPARED
Be prepared to tell people to not let their dog approach yours, to not come to near. Try to avoid areas where you are likely to run into your dog’s triggers in an uncontrolled manner until you have successfully finished dealing with the reactivity. Carry hard dog treats on walks to throw into the face of an approaching dog (distracts most friendly dogs, won’t work for approaching highly aggressive dogs). BE YOUR DOG’S ALLY.
Emergency U-Turn
Sometimes we can’t control the scenario no matter how we have tried. You’re on a walk with your dog-reactive dog, and someone is approaching with a dog you don’t know. Time to break out the emergency U-turn! If you can turn before your dog starts being reactive, reward heavily as you leave and once you get to a safe distance. If your dog has already started being reactive, simply turn and move away, no reward, no panic, not yelling. Once you are a safe distance away, ask for a known behavior (sit, down, high five, touch, etc.) and give a reward for it to help reset your dog!
|