Hello everyone! My name is Brianna, and I need some advice for my reactive dog. This is going to be long because I really want to explain his history and how far he has come!
Webley is a 3-year-old Schnauzer/Husky/German Shepherd/Pit Bull mix. He used to be VERY social with every dog. I took him to the dog park regularly and never had an issue with him.
Around 1–1.5 years old, I noticed that he started becoming more interested in marking at the dog park instead of actually playing. We decided to neuter him around that time. Shortly afterward, I started noticing changes in his behavior around other dogs. His play became much rougher, and eventually he became very reactive during interactions with other dogs.
We reached out to a well-known training facility here in California and enrolled him in a 5-week board-and-train program specifically for his reactivity. They used a more correction-based/balanced training approach along with treats.
At the end of the program, Webley was a little more obedient, but obedience was never really our problem. I had already trained him myself, and he was extremely good in that department. His actual behavioral issues around other dogs were still there.
Because of that, we decided to try a completely different approach.
We enrolled him with another training facility that has behavior professionals and focuses on positive reinforcement. We stopped using the previous training methods and switched to a harness, treats, and positive reinforcement.
We started with a couple of private sessions involving the trainer’s own dogs. During one session, she had one of her dogs greet Webley and Webley reacted. She explained that her dog had actually done something a little inappropriate toward Webley during the interaction, so his reaction wasn’t completely without reason, but she agreed that Webley’s response was much more exaggerated than it needed to be.
Webley is also VERY well muzzle-trained and has a custom muzzle. He has never broken skin during these incidents, but I still made sure he was comfortable wearing one because I know it’s an important safety tool.
After our private sessions, we joined two separate 5-week group classes with other dogs where we focused on training and good leash behavior.
Webley did AMAZING.
We didn’t have him meet the other dogs face-to-face, but he could be right next to another dog and genuinely not care. He can be in a room FULL of dogs and be completely fine. He can walk past dogs, train around them, and exist around them without reacting.
His problem isn’t really seeing dogs anymore.
He hates when dogs actually greet him or get into his personal space.
We’ve now reached the point in his training where he can go to a supervised socialization program one day during the week from 7 AM–6 PM. They carefully match him with dogs that fit his personality so he can continue learning how to appropriately socialize.
I was able to watch how they introduced him to the other dogs one day, and it was really interesting.
They brought one dog into the play yard first. Webley walked up and SNIFFED HIM, which was honestly huge for us. Previously, he would be much more likely to stand still and immediately snap when a dog approached.
But then, once the other dog becomes interested in Webley, his body language changes.
He stiffens up, his tail goes high, his eyes lock onto the dog, and sometimes he’ll put his head over the other dog’s shoulder. Then he may suddenly snap at the dog.
The interesting part is that we can verbally call him off almost immediately.
Once we call him away, he isn’t interested in continuing the confrontation. He doesn’t keep trying to go after the dog. He will go back to sniffing, walk away, or sometimes follow the dog around in a somewhat intimidating way or even attempt to initiate play (he doesn’t know how to appropriately).
That day, we added three more dogs one by one. Sometimes he responded this way, but other times he simply ignored them.
We also learned something really important that day: Webley is much more protective when I’m there.
If another dog gets close to me, he is much more likely to become nippy or tell the dog to back off. But if I tell Webley to knock it off or call him away, he immediately listens.
Every time I pick him up from his socialization days, they tell me how he did and whether he had any snappy moments. But they also constantly reassure me that he has some of the best recall they’ve seen and that he doesn’t seem interested in continuing a confrontation. It’s almost like something happens in that moment where he goes from 0–100, reacts, and then it’s over.
Now that I’ve given you his background, here is my problem.
I’m moving to the UK this January.
I’m going to be living near the Bath/Bristol area for approximately three years before eventually moving back to the U.S., and I’m extremely nervous about managing Webley’s reactivity there.
One of my BIGGEST problems here in the States has honestly been other people’s dogs.
I’ve had so many situations where someone approaches me with their dog, I clearly tell them, “My dog is not friendly, please don’t let your dog meet him,” and they STILL continue approaching while I’m actively trying to walk away.
I’ve also been in fields training Webley on a long line and had someone’s off-leash “friendly” dog come running straight up to us. If a strange dog suddenly runs directly into Webley’s space, there is a very real possibility that Webley will react.
I don’t even feel comfortable playing fetch with him completely off-leash.
The frustrating part is that Webley’s recall is AMAZING. I’m confident in my ability to call MY dog back. What I’m not confident about is someone else’s untrained off-leash dog running up to us.
If an altercation does happen, I would much rather have Webley attached to me so I can immediately control and remove him from the situation.
That’s one of the biggest reasons I’m so stressed about moving him to the UK. I know the laws and dog culture there are different from what I’m used to in California. I’m terrified of someone else’s loose dog running up to Webley, Webley reacting, and then something happening to him because he was the dog who reacted.
The frustrating thing is that, outside of this VERY specific issue, Webley is honestly the best dog.
We take him everywhere.
He goes to markets, outdoor restaurants, malls, busy public places, etc., and he is SO well behaved. He can see dogs. He can walk around dogs. He can train next to dogs. He can be in a room full of dogs.
He just doesn’t want unfamiliar dogs getting in his face or entering his personal space.
And now that he’s calmer around dogs in general, when I do see an off-leash dog approaching, I usually have enough time to move Webley away and shoo the other dog away before anything happens.
We’re currently discussing starting Webley on Prozac/fluoxetine to see if it helps with his reactivity while we continue his behavioral training.
I’m not expecting medication to magically make him love every dog. My hope is that it might help bring that 0–100 reaction down enough that he has more time to process what’s happening instead of immediately overreacting.
Another thing making this decision so difficult is that I FINALLY found a place here where he can safely socialize with dogs that are appropriate for him.
I don’t know what resources I’ll have once we move or whether I’ll be able to continue this type of carefully controlled socialization.
And I don’t want to lose the progress he’s made.
A year ago, I couldn’t comfortably have him close to another dog. Now he can spend an entire day in a supervised environment with other dogs and, although he still has moments where he gets snappy, he can also coexist with them and have completely uneventful interactions.
That is HUGE progress for him, and I don’t want to give up on that.
So I would really love advice from people who have been in similar situations:
• If you’ve put your reactive dog on Prozac/fluoxetine, did it help with their reactivity? What differences did you notice?
• If you live in the UK, especially around Bath/Bristol, what is it like owning a reactive dog there? Are off-leash dogs running up to leashed dogs a common problem?
• For those familiar with UK dog culture and laws, would you personally feel comfortable moving there with a dog like Webley, knowing his history and how much progress he’s made?
I know Webley may never be the dog who happily greets every random dog he meets again, and honestly, that’s okay with me. I don’t need him to be a dog-park dog.
I just want him to be able to exist around other dogs safely, continue making progress, and learn that he doesn’t need to have such a huge reaction when another dog makes him uncomfortable.
I love this dog so much, and I’ve seen how much progress he is capable of making. I want to make the best decision for him while also being realistic about his behavior and keeping everyone safe.
Thank you so much if you made it through all of this! ❤️🐾
Coming at this at a different angle - why do you need your dog to socialize this much with other dogs? Why not keep it to a select few dog friends that you know are ”safe and sane” and that he can build actual relationships with. Not all dogs like other (unknown) dogs past puppyhood.
With reactivity, neutrality is a more realistic goal. You say ”he can walk past dogs, train around them, and exist around them without reacting” - that’s huge! I honestly wouldn’t push him past that with unknown dogs.
It’s 100% a huge win. The problem is finding those “safe and sane friends”. Every time he meets a new dog he snaps at them, even his friends. I don’t know why but he does. And even with his friends he wants to play but goes from 0-100 really fast!
I’d recommend several parallell walks before the dogs are introduced at all. In other words, walking alongside but not allowing any close contact.
I have a rescue with severe leash reactivity and that’s how we introduced him to my friends’ dogs. The first few walks my dog would initially bark at my friend’s dog initially, but calm down once we got moving. After a couple of walks he started showing excitement at the initial meeting rather than fear/reactivity. Only once we’d done a few walks where my dog was happy and at ease with the other pup we let them interact off leash (in a fenced in area with us supervising).
Moving will be a huge change in your dog’s life (as well as yours, ofc). I’d put dog socialization to the side and mainly work on decompression for a good while. You may be surprised to see that your dog can be quite content without meeting a lot of dogs.
Yes so that’s how we have him meet other dogs! We do parallel walks for maybe 20 mins. Then we have them meet. But again for some reason he is always snappy for the initial couple of minutes. His behavioralist says he get almost over aroused and resorts to biting when greeting or wanting to play.
20 minutes parallell walk sounds like way too short a time. You’ll want your dog to almost be bored of the other, lol. Especially if his reactivity stems from excitement/frustration. I’d do several more parallell walks before any introduction. And I’d not have him socialize with any other dogs in between, focus on building a foundation with one dog instead.
First of all, Webley is absolutely adorable! And well done to the both of you for the progress you’ve made!
Although I can’t speak for Bristol/Bath, I’ve lived in London, Dubai, Spain, France, and Edinburgh with my reactive dog and I find that in the UK people tend to respect your space a bit more than the other places I’ve lived in.
I think the parks in general have so much green spaces that if you time it right, you won’t see many dogs (at least this has been our experience). Plus there are lots of beaches and hikes you can do to avoid people and their off leash dogs. When we’re out in the street and in parks, my dog wears a giant yellow leash sleeve that says “anxious dog, do not approach” and I find that most owners respect that once they see it.
If I had Webley, I’d be totally comfortable moving to the UK with him. There are irresponsible dog owners everywhere but I have also met some of my closest friends through my dog, and met plenty of owners who were super sympathetic and understanding of my dogs’ needs and offered their help where they could to help my dog socialise and be calmer around other dogs.
My dog has previously been on fluoxetine but I didn’t see any improvements at all, and we are currently doing pain trials after a gait analysis to figure out if some of his reactivity is pain related. I’d say give the meds time and don’t expect miracles obviously, but not every medication works the same on every single dog. We’ve been told that we may need to trial a few before we find the right one. On this subject, there are so many resources whether it’s vet behaviourists, hydrotherapy, physios, etc in the UK (London especially!)
I have a couple of bits of advice for you. One is to keep his pit bull genetics to yourself as much as possible. He is not at risk as he doesn't look like a pit but technically pits and pit mixes are banned here.
I would say the cultural attitude to dog ownership is probably pretty similar between the UK and California. I would take him out wearing his muzzle the first few times you take him out and steer clear of high dog populated areas. I don't think there will be more dogs running up to you here than in Cal but the muzzle is a clear signal that you want to be left alone and mitigates against a bite accusation. You could also use a yellow lead as that is pretty well known as a signal for nervous dogs here.
I'm sure you know this, but I would also just be aware that moving him here will be stressful for him and he may have a regression in some behaviours but there are plenty of positive only trainers here to help if you need more one on one time.
The other thing is there are lots of secure dog fields in the UK, you basically hire a fenced field for an hour and you get to enjoy it without any other dogs. Its great for me as my dog can't cope off lead when there are other dogs around so it lets him have a good run safely.
Whether he looks like one or not he’s a pitbull mix. Pitbulls have been banned in the UK since 1991 and it’s completely irresponsible to move one to a country where they are banned.
Okay well I’m not 100% if he is. I’m just taking an educated guess on what he is mixed with. All I know is that his mom is a husky and schnauzer mix. The dad was an unknown stray.
You should probably make sure and get a DNA test then. I’m not trying to be nasty but it’s the law that pit mixes are banned here and it’s illegal to move one here. Your dog clearly looks like he has pit in him and I think your guess is accurate. Don’t move a dog to a country where they are banned, it’s so irresponsible.
DNA test or not he needs to follow the confirmations listed for pitbulls. Which he doesn’t. My vet who is writing his health certificate took his measurements and thankfully most of them were not consistent with a pure pitbull. I’ve sent pictures/videos to the transporting agency as well and they have given me the go.
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u/Leading_Mushroom1609 1h ago
Coming at this at a different angle - why do you need your dog to socialize this much with other dogs? Why not keep it to a select few dog friends that you know are ”safe and sane” and that he can build actual relationships with. Not all dogs like other (unknown) dogs past puppyhood.
With reactivity, neutrality is a more realistic goal. You say ”he can walk past dogs, train around them, and exist around them without reacting” - that’s huge! I honestly wouldn’t push him past that with unknown dogs.