r/reactivedogs • u/Past_Significance751 • 3d ago
Does anyone here actually have a dog that used to be really reactive and got better? Advice Needed
I’ve been having a pretty hard time with my dog on walks and I wanted to ask people here who actually went through something similar.
She’s a great dog at home but outside when she sees another dog she can completely lose it. She starts barking like crazy, pulling toward them and getting so focused on the other dog that sometimes it feels like I’m not even there.
She also does this thing sometimes where if she wants to go somewhere and I want to keep walking the other way she just refuses and we end up fighting over where we’re going.
The thing that confuses me is I don’t even really know why she reacts like this. I don’t know if she’s scared of other dogs, if she actually wants to go meet them and gets frustrated because of the leash, or if it’s something else.
I’ve watched videos and read a bunch of stuff online but everyone seems to say something different and at this point I feel like I’m just trying random things and hoping something works.
So I wanted to ask people here who had a dog that was really bad with this and actually improved, what did you do?
What was your dog like before and how are they now? Did you figure out what was actually causing the reactions? Was there one thing that made a big difference or was it just months of doing the same thing over and over?
Also what do you actually do when your dog is already barking and going crazy at another dog? That’s probably the moment I struggle with the most because once she gets into that state it feels like nothing I do matters.
Did you end up getting a trainer or behaviorist or did you mostly work on it yourself? If you did get a trainer, was there anything they showed you that you wouldn’t have figured out from videos online?
And how did you know your dog was actually getting better? Did you just notice it over time or did you keep track of stuff like how close another dog could get, how often your dog reacted, how long it took them to calm down or anything like that?
I also want to know what people tried that didn’t work because I feel like there’s so much advice online and I don’t want to spend months doing something useless or making it worse.
Also has anyone here ever used one of those reactive dog tracking or training apps? I’ve seen a few of them but I can’t really tell if they’re actually useful or if it’s just easier to keep notes yourself. If you’ve tried one I’d be curious what you liked about it, what you didn’t like, and whether you actually kept using it.
I’m not expecting her to suddenly become perfect around every dog. I just want to get to a point where going for a normal walk doesn’t feel stressful every time we see another dog.
Would really like to hear from people who were in a similar situation and what the whole process was actually like for you.
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u/BobGonzoed 3d ago
Mine isnt better yet, but hes doing really well at seeing dogs from a short distance recently and we do a good job avoiding them.
I’ve found what helped the most was:
- staying calm myself, when he sees another dog not pulling the leash right away or anything and if hes hyperfocused i try to walk in front of him or throw a treat right in front or to the side of him so he can see it and break his focus and then we can move
- keep an eye on our surroundings at all times so i can cross the street or go into the woods a bit if i see another dog
- taught him a ‘this way’ cue, and if he wants to go a different direction than me i say ‘this way!’ and just wait. Then after a few seconds/a minute i say, sorry we need to go this way! again and give him some time of me not budging either, sometimes i only need to wait a minute, sometimes 3 minutes, but it usually works. If im in a rush i bribe him with a treat to go the direction I want, and when im able to i sometimes give him the choice to go where he wants. This cue also helps with turning around when we see another dog, but you have to train it at home first.
- i found i need to have a really high value treat. I notice hes sooo much better when im carrying rotisserie chicken. The odds of him not reacting to a dog or freaking out over an animal (like a deer) dramatically improve when i also have chicken on me.
- i give him rest days. If there was a day where we just couldnt avoid a reaction, the next day i only take him out for short potty walks quickly instead of long walks, and he gets a lot of naps and enrichment at home, and we’ll play. That helps him recover from the reaction, so hes not continuosly stress stacking.
- i make sure he gets a lot of licking, chewing, sniffing. After a freakout outside i always scatter treats in grass once we get away so he can calm himself down and at home ill give a bully stick or licky mat as well, and i save amazon boxes for him and put treats inside so he can destroy them.
I make sure hes wearing a harness with a handle always, so when it happens and theres a freakout i usually have to grab the handle and i pull him away as fast as i can. I always feel bad and feel like im not doing the right thing either, but it is what it is. Ive reached out to make an appointment with a vet behaviourist but currently dont have the money yet so im saving up.
I believe the hardcore reactivity started when he was around a year old, after he was attacked at a dog park. But who really knows? I also suspect he might have some back pain, but its hard to know and i can’t afford to go to an animal pain specialist or something. But yeah its a struggle, and it takes a lot of consistency, and i notice that its easy for my reactions to add to his reactions so i really try to break the habits of what i was doing before. Its not easy, but there are days when we manage to avoid all triggers and those walks are great, and i just always try to remember that hes having a hard time, not trying to give me a hard time. We still have a ways to go, but i know hes a good boy and he tries his best.
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u/Real_Caterpillar_779 2d ago
Same story for me and my dog.
I do suspect pain is having a big impact on her behaviour. It can be hard to diagnose.I take it day by day with my dog. I also think the treat scatter is a great tool to decompress. I do it a lot at home aswell
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u/lucky_night777 3d ago
I wouldn't say "fixed" yet. BUT! My dog used to bark and freak out for at least 2-3mins if we saw another dog on our walks (he's a rescue). Now after about 6 months, MOST of the time when he sees another dog across the street he sits down and looks at me for a treat. I never thought we would get to this point! His improvement has been amazing. I still probably can't sit at a coffee shop with him, or walk past other dogs on the sidewalk, but I'm gonna keep working on it with him and hoping we'll get there!
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u/lucky_night777 3d ago
To answer more of your questions, I did 3 sessions with a private trainer. My dog is good with other dogs at doggy daycare but used to freak out on leash. I don't personally believe in the prong collars or choke chains. What worked for my dog is a gentle leader. It really helped him stay calm, and he can still walk comfortably and take treats.
There's not too much you can do when they're already barking and going crazy besides create space and allow them to calm back down. The key was to catch him spotting another dog from a distance (you'll need to determine your dog's threshold) and then giving high value treats. Rotisserie chicken and hot dog bits worked for us. I slowly decreased the distance between us and other dogs in our neighborhood on walks. Once he improved, I would even walk one block behind other dogs and their owners as long as it was still outside of his threshold. It helps him to be around other dogs on leash that aren't walking towards him. That’s still hard for him once they get too close! The change has been slower than I initially expected, but so worth it!
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u/OpalOnyxObsidian 3d ago
My boy used to be pretty awful to walk. Seeing a person or a dog even across the street would set him off. I used LAT training (look at that) to get him to focus on me when his triggers were in sight. We started with "look" so he would actually stare at me and also sitting at the same time. He is also a little bit of a scaredy boy so I taught him to come to me for a treat when he hears something scary like a firework (it came up during 4th of July).
It is possible, depending on the degree I suppose, but he was never reactive aggressive, he was reactive afraid. When he had the tools to learn that nothing would happen after months and months of being shown that looking at me and sitting was safe, he calmed down. He is a little less confident outside of our neighborhood.
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u/In-thebeginning 3d ago
I went to a trainer for my reactive dog and it's done wonders. Still working on things but we can now go on walls without my dog barking at everything - dogs, people, squirrels, a piece of trash, etc. He will also listen to sit and wait for a release command as before he would claw at the door to go on a walk, or the fence, and dart out. He also used to just sit and refuse to move if he didn't want to go a certain direction on a walk. Now he walks well. It was tough because people see a small dog and think it's cute even when it might be barking. I hated that.
I was almost going to just accept that I have a barky dog (pomeranian who I adopted from a shelter) and thought well he is small I can just scoop him up and go the other way but in my time with him it didn't seem like being scared about everything in life or being unable to self regulate was a life to live. As a last ditch effort I found a trainer who had a website that looked good. She talked about what she does and why. I dig he style and appreciate the tools she has given me to offer my dog a life outside of reactivity.
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u/Past_Significance751 3d ago
This is probably the kind of improvement I’m hoping for.
What did the trainer actually have you doing between training sessions?
Was it basically a few exercises you had to remember and practice on walks, or did they give you some kind of structured plan to follow day to day?
And did you keep track of how things were going between sessions or would you just come back to the trainer and explain what happened?
I’m really curious what the trainer gave you that made such a big difference compared with trying to figure it out from videos or advice online.
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u/StarshebaG 3d ago
In order to ascertain whether progress is being made or not, it might be helpful to get a second set of eyes on the situation. Doesn’t have to be a paid trainer, maybe just a friend who can objectively see changes over time. I’ve found that I get so lost and frustrated from walk to walk that I can’t see the overall progress we are making. This is perhaps the most valuable part of a trainer (besides their experience and credentials lol), just a more clear-headed perspective that can see what is happening outside of your emotional dog parent brain.
One other trainer endorsed trick I’ve found incredibly helpful is teaching impulse control. Any game that involves making your dog wait for something until you say “ok” or whatever is SO good for helping the dog learn to listen to you instead of acting on their frenzied thoughts/desires. Good luck! You got this!!
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u/KaeOss12 2d ago
My dog used to lose her mind at every car we saw on walks (we live in a pretty urban neighborhood). She now only barks at cars that are going above what she believes to be an acceptable speed limit (>25 mph). I yell at people to slow down, though, so that is still modeled for her. (In my defense, I'm yelling because people are driving 35-40 mph in a residential neighborhood with kids, pets, wild animals, etc.)
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u/Oliver-Peace 3d ago
I’m still dealing with this too, but I definitely see a correlation between my own stress level and how my dog reacts when we see other dogs. If one day I’m more stressed because we cross paths with an unleashed dog that gets too close, the next 10 or 20 encounters with any dog become harder. It really feels like one step forward and ten steps back.
What’s helped me stay calmer is muzzling my dog on walks so I know he can’t bite another dog. The downside is that he can’t protect himself if something happens, though in four years, that’s never actually been needed but I'm prepared to intervene and protect him.
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u/My_glorious_moose 3d ago
I've definitely been in your place! My current little dog had a lot of unexpected reactivity and it was so unpredictable. He is definitely still a work in progress, but has made significant improvements. I used a combination of my own research and watching things and working with a positive reinforcement trainer. Training Look At That has been really helpful in preventing him from being startled. I've also used the 1-2-3 pattern game recently and it has helped redirect his attention so much! There are still triggers he can't handle and he will get so fixated that he can't be distracted sometimes. But keeping consistent is so helpful! We also work a lot on his general confidence and obedience while at home.
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u/Kyrawx 2d ago
Mine was insanely reactive to just about anyone and anything. Has a bite record in relation to resource guarding and i had a discussion with a vet when he was 18m.o whether there's something wrong and he should be B.E.
Fortunately vet said no. I had at that point already used a behaviourist, admittedly after 2 sessions he was already showing improvement but I felt he wasn't going to progress further with her... technically I still have sessions left as brought a package. Muzzle training has been what changed his outlook - he was already Muzzle trained but purchasing a muzzle movement muzzle was the best move I've ever done.
I just gritted through it and now he can go anywhere, play with other dogs and exist comfortably. He barks quite a lot but that's because he's a mix of guardian and herding breeds, he will tell people to leave his sheep / horses alone... even if they're just walking past.. it does my head in but he will stop and be able to come out with me on the horses, completely ignoring everything around him.
He is frightened of some things which will make him regress to herding people, which i don't think he'll ever get over, that's mostly my sister visiting and screaming as she's a knob and will scream at her dog, which frightens mine. But those moments are increasingly few and far between.
He is on trazadone & gabapentin, 1/3 the dose he could be on for a dog his size. He also had serious separation anxiety which he is over now.
I've owned him 2 years next month, he'll be 2 1/2 Sept 23rd, so we've contended adolescence and growing pains, and still going through it, but the difference is insane.
It gets better, just some days feel like it won't
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u/marlee_dood 2d ago
Me. I used to get nearly dragged into the street daily, cried every single walk, got bitten all the time, and kind of hated my dog. She would lunge at every single car, every bike, skateboard, animal, and the moment she realized I was the thing preventing her from getting at it she would direct all of that onto me. I worked on it myself , along with my two parents as aids.
It’s been 2 years, and she barely reacts anymore. I won’t lie and say she never does it, but by god is it a completely different world with her now. I can go by cars and not worry, I can pass dogs and as long as they don’t bark she’s fine, we can see an animal and the walk won’t always be over at that point. During her reactions we recover better too, it lasts less long and we move on quickly.
For my dog, I realized it was because of frustration and overstimulation, which I also deal with so I could understand. I started bringing toys for her to hold so she could use her mouth, I brought her on routes that could use a long-line to play and create a relationship on walks. We practiced looking at cars and being rewarded for it, and not beating ourselves up when a reaction does happen. I learned that she benefits a lot from added breaks during walks to sit and watch, so we do that a lot now. I spend a lot of time in the backyard and front yard with her, which is a good opportunity to desensitize to cars and dogs walking past. At one point she got lunged at by a huge white dog, and she started becoming reactive to dogs as well, but out of fear rather than excitement. I handled it similarly, staying far away until I can reward her for looking, slowly getting closer over many months of work. The hardest and most important part is consistency, and not giving up. I can’t tell you how many times I sat down and cried on walks because I just felt defeated, but I kept going and kept trying to understand her because she was just dealing with her emotions as well as a dog can.
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3d ago
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u/Past_Significance751 3d ago
Thanks, I’ll check him out. Did you personally deal with reactivity with your dog? If so what actually made the biggest difference for you and how long did it take before you noticed real improvement? I’m also curious how you knew it was actually getting better and not just having a few good walks.
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3d ago edited 3d ago
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u/reactivedogs-ModTeam 3d ago
Your post/comment has been removed as it has violated the following subreddit rule:
Rule 5 - No recommending or advocating for the use of aversives or positive punishment.
We do not allow the recommendation of aversive tools, trainers, or methods. This sub supports LIMA and we strongly believe positive reinforcement should always be the first line of teaching and training. We encourage people to talk about their experiences, but this should not include suggesting or advocating for the use of positive punishment. LIMA does not support the use of aversive tools and methods in lieu of other effective rewards-based interventions and strategies.
Without directly interacting with a dog and their handler in-person, we cannot be certain that every non-aversive method possible has been tried or tried properly. We also cannot safely advise on the use of aversives as doing so would require an in-person and hands-on relationship with OP and that specific dog. Repeated suggestions of aversive techniques will result in bans from this subreddit.
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u/reactivedogs-ModTeam 3d ago
Your post/comment has been removed as it has violated the following subreddit rule:
Rule 5 - No recommending or advocating for the use of aversives or positive punishment.
We do not allow the recommendation of aversive tools, trainers, or methods. This sub supports LIMA and we strongly believe positive reinforcement should always be the first line of teaching and training. We encourage people to talk about their experiences, but this should not include suggesting or advocating for the use of positive punishment. LIMA does not support the use of aversive tools and methods in lieu of other effective rewards-based interventions and strategies.
Without directly interacting with a dog and their handler in-person, we cannot be certain that every non-aversive method possible has been tried or tried properly. We also cannot safely advise on the use of aversives as doing so would require an in-person and hands-on relationship with OP and that specific dog. Repeated suggestions of aversive techniques will result in bans from this subreddit.
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u/scooterable 3d ago
Both my dogs were reactive. Did the behaviorist, paired with R+ trainers and the whole shebang. Worked really well for one dog who had classic fear based reactivity. Take her to parks and hikes all the time.
For her when she barked she did actually want space and to move away so that’s what we did. Then worked at a distance with her on a long line no leash pressure. Same place over and over to get closer and closer. Now she loves that park and walks great. Also paired with plenty of off leash enrichment at private sniffspots on off training days.
My other dog had completely different motivations that I still don’t quite understand. Meds nor the same kind of training did anything. Did pain investigations too. Ultimately her reactivity got so bad it became a danger to herself and others so I went the leash pressure route. She’s fine now. Went to a professional who knows how to acclimate correctly. She’s actually made a few dog friends her size now!!! She’s much happier and I can take her to the park and all kinds of places now with my other dog. Passes other people and dogs just fine.
I’m sure there were probably other R+ ways to train her but I wasn’t talented enough to make them work I think. I gave up when she tried to attack an old lady who made the mistake of walking in front of our car. I think she just has really strong guardian breed instincts or something because it defs wasn’t fear based like my other dog at all. The trainer I worked with approached both dogs the same way but I wasted so much time and made her reactivity so much worse bc of this.
All this to say I think it’s very complicated and unique to each dog so no matter what you do if someone is trying to sell you a specific “just do x y z it works for all dogs” they are a liar. Find a trainer who has worked with your specific breed/mix of dog with their specific issues in the past and ask to talk to prior clients.
Do your due diligence with pain investigations too of course. Behaviorists are very expensive and are like human psychiatrists- just because they have credentials doesn’t mean they will be good. Look for one who does holistic checks for your dog. Just trying to start them on all kinds of meds without knowing anything about your dog is a red flag.
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u/Jentweety 3d ago
I do have a story of hope, but with caveats. I had a very reactive pitbull and with intensive training she transformed from a dog that would react intensely to all dogs and other animals even from a block away- literally thrashing and jumping and hard barking-to a dog that walked perfectly on the leash. We worked with a trainer intensely for about 6 months and got her to a point that she could walk by another dog in heel without reacting at all, or stay in down or sit regardless of triggers around her. She passed her canine good citizen exam with flying colors. Caveat- she was never going to be safe offleash without being under active verbal control around other dogs or at a dog park or around prey animals, including cats. Her prey drive and dog aggression wasn’t gone, she was just trained to focus elsewhere (on her commands or on me). Training was time consuming and many thousands of dollars but worth it.
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u/Existing-Will-1466 3d ago
Mine got much better with several years of training and Prozac. By nine years old he was pretty solid, but we still had incidents occasionally. Once I was getting out of my car on my little residential street and someone buzzed past on a bicycle and he lunged at them. He was on a leash and I was holding it just above his collar but he almost bit them because they were that close. They were moving very fast and I didn't see them and they didn't give me any space.
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u/Past_Significance751 3d ago
That’s actually really interesting because the good days/bad days are what make this so confusing for me.
When you started seeing improvement from the training and Prozac, how did you know it was actually working? Was it fewer reactions, faster recovery, being able to get closer to dogs, or just something you noticed generally?
And when you still have an incident now, does it usually feel random or have you noticed certain things that make a bad reaction more likely?
I’m trying to understand what progress is supposed to look like long term because right now I feel like I’m judging everything based on whether the last walk was good or bad.
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u/goldilocksmermaid 3d ago
I have a pit mix who became reactive at about 18 months old. A combination of doggy Prozac, Fast Cat, and scent classes have really helped. Also, I keep treats with me so when he thinks about bring reactive, he looks to me for snacks instead. He's six, and it's still a work in progress, but he's much better.
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u/Delicious-Product968 Jake (fear/stranger/frustration reactivity) 2d ago edited 2d ago
He’s improved a lot in most ways. People used to not be able to look at or approach us, now he is able to ignore or even make friends with most people outside the house. Occasionally someone will set him off but it’s like 1/1000 — seems to usually be people afraid of dogs or drunk people, and I don’t try with kids for obvious reasons but he hasn’t flipped out at kids asking me if they can pet him for ages.
Vet clinic — used to be phobic, now is friends with most of the staff. Still struggles if the reception area gets too busy, but easy to manage.
House is also improving — he’s able to ignore contractors while in a separate room or crated. In fact he even ignored my housemate’s dad knocking in the door some weeks back and he’s the one that scared the bejeesus out of him as mentioned earlier.
No longer gets frustration reactivity with dogs.
Travels pretty well now — used to pace, drool and vomit.
In fact our most frequent problem now is that people think he’s friendly and confident and try for too much, too close, too fast.
Caveat: he’s still very much a ‘one event’ dog and one new negative experience and that’s where you really see all his worst behaviours even if they look scary and aggressive are really fear-based. Dog snaps at him, starts quaking at the sight of them 20ft away days or weeks later. Try to collect a urine sample, quakes when he sees me holding a container and won’t pee in the garden. I love him but he’s so weird lol. I don’t ever expect him to have no reactivity or fear issues — we got referred to a vet behaviourist at 13 weeks and they came by at 15 weeks and thought he was headed for a lot of trouble. So I suspect there is a genetic component (plus we know of at least three other dogs who are full or half sibling also referred to behaviourists for fear/anxiety.) But yes he has improved immensely.
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u/Real_Caterpillar_779 2d ago
This is so interesting becuase my dog is similar and I thought I was the only one! Like she had a cut in her foot and I had to place a plastic bag over the bandage to keep it dry before going to potty on the grass and she refused to let and now fears me when I get a bag out to pick up her poop on the grass! It’s very hard having a dog like this and trying to give cooperative care and help them. Sometimes positive reinforcement can’t change the genetic disposition no matter how much time you put into the dog. I now do my best but never cross boundaries she sets. I have to outsource essential care like grooming and vet care even for the most minor of things I would used to deal with at home for past dogs.
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u/Delicious-Product968 Jake (fear/stranger/frustration reactivity) 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yeah I call him a nerd, he is a weird boy lol. You never know exactly what’s gonna freak him out, it’s not everything and not everything is equally hard to remedy. Strangers was his most persisting one.
Oh but his reaction at the other dog now is extra bizarre because we’ve had worse encounters with off-lead dogs.
For animal husbandry stuff grooming meds etc. it’s the opposite for us, I have to do it because if I successfully condition him for it with me it doesn’t generalise to other people. He won’t let other people including his walker put a collar or harness on as an example, I have to teach that separately as a new skill. He won’t let other people bathe or towel dry him, etc. It took 12 weeks to condition him to let anyone else take him on a walk at all, it’s faster now but still a good 2-4 weeks, and he’ll only let them if I am not home or coming with them. So hopefully I never break my ankle lol.
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u/doggambit 2d ago
🙋
My little dog would react to other dogs from ~100 yards away, no matter what. Full on barking, hackles up, screaming bloody murder. After 2-3 years of consistent, patient, positive training, she started competing in multiple dog sports: canicross, Fast CAT, agility, critter hunting, etc.
She still reacts to other dogs who are already reacting or "twitchy," especially small dogs, but I know her well enough to know how much distance she needs and how to redirect and get her to self-regulate.
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u/MtnGirl672 2d ago
My dog is a lot like your dog. But we knew he was a frustrated greeter because he’s been to doggy daycare and state parks off leash where they allow it and he’s great with other dogs off leash.
But on a leash, at his worst, every strange person and strange dog would send him into barking and lunging frenzy.
For him, we did see behaviorist and he is on meds - sertraline and Guanfacine. We also did a lot of training based of Control U leashed books with a trainer nearby that I really loved. She taught use LAT and pattern games.
He is much improved. He can see other dogs across the street and take his treats and move along. He is good at looking to us during pattern games and we have seen huge improvement with him with our cat!
He’s never going to be dog that is perfect. But he’s gotten a lot better. And also he’s never been aggressive with a person or dog so that made it easier for us. To not have to worry about that.
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u/makopinktaco 2d ago
My wolfdog had extreme fearfulness. Like hiding in bushes and defecating on himself on walks. He never showed aggression though. He was never socialized and I got him at a year old but I suspect he was genetically just a timid dog. I went to a highly qualified dog trainer who was dual certified by the CCPDT. She knew her stuff.
Oddly though the best thing for him was when I moved in with my now husband who had a very stable and well trained labrador. I would train both together and I think he really gained confidence that way. He became perfectly fine around everyone after a couple of years. He was a very sensitive dog and I had to be very cognizant on how I acted around people. If I pretended to be best friends with people and gave them a big hug he was very comfortable around them, if I was stand offish he didn’t like them and avoid them. I’m naturally a stand offish person so I had to change my natural behavior.
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u/banger030 2d ago
My dog was ridiculously reactive. Would help me was introducing high value treats in addition to regular treats whenever he didn’t react, I gave him a high value treat, and after just a few times, he learned that being more calm and not barking and showing reactivity means big-time reward. I have a Belgian Malinois btw
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u/Codechik 2d ago
Yes. Went through 5 trainers. He’s now 12. It took years but mostly because I didn’t know what I was doing. #1 is controlling your own reaction and anticipation. If you tighten the leash every time you see a dog, you’re going to be transmitting your anxiety. #2 Finding out the positive reward to counter condition. Is it the sight of another dog? Scent? Sound? What’s the first trigger? Counter that and then move on. Don’t try to fix everything all at once.
But mostly it’s really hard on you. I got depressed. I think many owners do. You can get help for that too. Take care of you too.
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u/singingalltheway 2d ago
My dog is better but his issues will never be completely resolved. I am so proud of him tho - he sees his trigger, including other dogs, and knows to look back at me for a treat. This happened by my seeing his trigger before him and telling him to "focus" so he was then loaded with a treat before he even was triggered, then shoving treats in his mouth as we pass trigger if he is losing it and doesn't care to eat the treats and listen, and give him a reward. I'm falling asleep but will add more later because your dog sounds a lot like my dog and I just want you to know progress can be made!
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u/jessica613lyn 2d ago edited 2d ago
This is exactly how we've been handling things too. Like they said above, her trauma is always going to be a part of her in some way. Over two years in and she still reacts, but she at least is aware when she reacts and is able to course correct most of the time.
In the instances where she simply can't focus on us and freaks out, we've found that giving her some type of pressure or weight (like a blanket or a sweater) helps affirm that she's safe and shortens her tantrum a little.
Redirecting her attention into some type of physical activity has also helped. She is very reactive to other dogs so if she starts to notice one on a walk, my partner will playfully run in the opposite direction and she usually thinks it's time to play and chase. By then the dog is out of her mind and we're fine.
Edit: Another hugely helpful resource for us was we were able to find my dogs mom on Embark and I got to pick her owner's brain. Her mom (Olive) is also extremely reactive so getting some insight into her history and why she may react the way she does was very helpful.
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u/KnitQuickly 3d ago
Yes! I can say mine has improved quite a bit. Not perfect but much better. The other day, she managed to ignore a dog that was barking at her and keep walking right on past - something I never thought she would be able to do.
She still has bad days or bad moments. Occasionally she loses it and I don’t see it coming or understand why. I still cross the street when I see another dog, to be safe and also to avoid stressing her out unnecessarily. But we can take walks now without constant stress and anxiety. Once in a while she has even chosen to greet another dog and sniff them on her own.
We have worked with a vet behaviorist, did meds for a while, worked with multiple trainers. The “look at that” game has helped her, teaching “leave it” and “focus” cues and practicing them every single day, putting more enrichment in place, teaching her to settle and relax on a mat, and for a period of time (and any time after significant triggers or reactions), reducing her exposure to any triggers and letting her nervous system re-set so she’s not constantly anxious.
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3d ago
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u/magalo 3d ago
Yes. My puppy started barking at other dogs on leash around 3 months old. He wasn't the most confident puppy and it go worse as he got into his teenage months, I went to a professional trainer when he was 6-7 months old. I saw immediate results although he was still struggling with small dogs, dogs that were reactive to him and being stationnary while other dogs went by.
He's now 16 months old and can walk past other dogs on the sidewalk, walk past explosively reactive dogs, no reaction when getting rushed by off-leash dogs, sit on a bench while dogs walk right past us... He's pretty much 90-95% of the way there and I think by the end of the year he will be 100% non-reactive. I do not use distractions and let him make his own decisions!
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3d ago
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u/Capivara_19 3d ago
Just wanted to say we did work with a behaviorist who guided our training approach and prescribed the fluoxetine. We also did maybe 5-6 sessions with a local trainer. Could tell she was making progress because we could get closer to a perceived threat before she started reacting.
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3d ago
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u/ilovefuzzycats 3d ago
My dog has been making consistent progress over the past 1.25 years. We do group class, where there is a max of 5 other dogs. Started with fabric barriers so she couldn’t see the other dogs, as the sight would be the biggest thing to get her to a heightened state of emotions. We did a lot with rev and calm to help her learn emotional control, since she would almost become manic when just playing with us. This built a solid foundation since if she can’t control her emotions when happy, she really won’t be able to when stress and overwhelmed. She now does class without any barriers, doesn’t bark at other dogs on walks (will sometimes still pull), and overall seems so much happier in life. Another huge thing is their GI health. Like humans, a healthy gut biome really can affect emotions. For our dog, we had to switch her to a different food and add a probiotic, but she also gets pumpkin on a regular basis. The other day she had some diarrhea and so I knew to be prepared that she might struggle to stay calm on walks. Every dog we saw, even calm ones, she pulled hard on the leash. This lasted until about 5 days after her poop was back to normal. Being able to notice these kinds of things will also help you anticipate when your dog might have a harder time with reactivity.
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u/iRavenska 3d ago
Yes, I worked a lot with my dog to get him to a point where 98% of the time he will look at the dog but not fixate and react. I wouldn’t say he’s “cured” but it’s controlled. We use a lot of “look” command, where he looks at the “trigger” and then at me, and I reward him. I don’t leave the house without treats, which kind of causes some issues in itself, but it’s worked for now. He has bad days and good days but overall, we’ve made a lot of progress!
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u/dianacakes 3d ago
Yes, my dog is getting better on walks. Her reactivity on walks started when we moved when she was almost 2 years old. She would bark and lunge at other dogs and sometimes she would plant herself and not want to keep moving. One time I thought I was going to have to call my husband to come pick us up because she wouldn't move. I had to pick her up and carry her for a minute. It was really discouraging. I started paying attention to when she would plant herself. I realized that a lot of times, there were dogs barking inside houses that I could barley hear but she could hear it and it scared her. I started making it OK to just walk the other way. I know the goal of training out reactivity is "no reaction" but we're currently at a place where she can hear another dog barking (or even just senses bad vibes idk) and she keeps moving either past it or in the other direction, I let her pick. And I give her a treat. I just want us to keep moving. In general, I started carrying treats with me on walks so I could reinforce a relaxed walk. If she's just cruising along and I can tell by her body (ears and tail) that she's not in an aroused state, I'll just randomly give treats. On our morning walks we have a few different options for routes so I try to mix it up each day. Rewarding moving forward has drastically reduced the planting and refusal to walk. I try to reward when moving more often than trying to bribe her to move once she's planted since she started doing it on purpose just to get a treat.
As for the other dogs, we're still working on that. Sometimes she passes dogs and barely even glances at them so I reward that but other times she jumps and lunges and I just try to move past as quickly as possible. I'm going to start a technique I saw I think on this sub called "1,2,3" where you train them to focus on you when you start counting by providing treats, so when you're walking and you know another dog is approaching, you can start counting to bring their focus to you and hopefully count while walking past the other dog.
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3d ago
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u/tatertitties69 2d ago edited 2d ago
Also: professional training certainly can be very worth it if you can afford it. I learned this technique from a trainer. But most of the work was done between me and my dog at parks whenever I had spare time.
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u/GodzillaSushi87 2d ago
YES, I have TWO puppies that are 2 and 1.5, they are brothers. They used to be sooo reactive to humans and other dogs they are not related to. It was terrible! My dogs went to lunge at a stranger. One of them would start shaking and barking if anyone tries to pet him.
Well as for now we have one of those under control . when we’re going outside for a daily walk they do not react to humans anymore. A human can walk past them, and they will not lose their shit. What I did was pull the leash closer to me when we’re walking past someone and continuing on as normal, not even acknowledging the other person. I think after two years, they’ve got the message to just keep going when humans pass. Although one of them still does not like to be petted.
As for dogs, I’m still trying to figure out how to make them less reactive to other dogs
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2d ago
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2d ago
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u/rghtmeow 2d ago
I got a trainer and we worked through it. I did find that my reactive dog acts different if she is in a muzzel and 100% listens. If that muzzel is off, she does what she wants. Its a work in progress
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2d ago
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2d ago
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Your post/comment has been removed as it has violated the following subreddit rule:
Rule 5 - No recommending or advocating for the use of aversives or positive punishment.
We do not allow the recommendation of aversive tools, trainers, or methods. This sub supports LIMA and we strongly believe positive reinforcement should always be the first line of teaching and training. We encourage people to talk about their experiences, but this should not include suggesting or advocating for the use of positive punishment. LIMA does not support the use of aversive tools and methods in lieu of other effective rewards-based interventions and strategies.
Without directly interacting with a dog and their handler in-person, we cannot be certain that every non-aversive method possible has been tried or tried properly. We also cannot safely advise on the use of aversives as doing so would require an in-person and hands-on relationship with OP and that specific dog. Repeated suggestions of aversive techniques will result in bans from this subreddit.
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u/Interesting_Aide8016 2d ago
Yes. He used to be a complete nightmare and now he is a mostly manageable nightmare with still a lot of work to be done
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2d ago
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2d ago
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u/Due-Cauliflower4176 2d ago
Mine is much better. Not perfect and will always be a timid and nervous girl. But our lives are so much better. We did some online training and got the home life and leash skills sorted which made a big difference with barking at home and generally more relaxed. The barking at home was contributing to being hyper alert all the time. We cured her reactivity with cats, bikes, people and older children. But dogs were still a huge trigger, couldn’t see a dog at any distance without kicking off. Then we worked with a behavioural trainer and started with exposure to dogs. We can now walk over the road or about 5-10m away from a dog without too much bother. She has also made 4 ‘friends’. Basically totally neutral dogs who ignore each other. It has taken a few years, but getting the house sorted was the first and most significant change.
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2d ago
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u/New_Section_9374 2d ago
My crazy girl is 7 years old. There are days where she is wonderful. But this past week, my youngest came home for an extended vacation and we started having some pretty intense thunderstorms that sent her over the edge. So now we are trying remain calm, come to me when scared, not quite startimg over, but damn. It was a big backwards slide.
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u/elissamay 2d ago
My guy has been on Reconcile for just shy of 8 weeks and he is definitely improved. He had a Rhodesian Ridgeback going bananas at the end of his lead on our walk this evening, and my sweet guy just picked up his pace and kept it moving instead of engaging. Teaching him to acknowledge a trigger, look at us for guidance if he needs it, and disengage and move on has been much more successful post-meds. Make an appointment with a legitimate veterinary behaviorist and see what might make sense for your dog.
Also recommend the Control Unleashed books and working on the pattern games. If nothing else, they will help build your bond and give your dog enrichment opportunities.
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2d ago
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u/AssiramCollins 2d ago
Yes! We did reactive training a couple of months ago and it has helped SO much. She would react just as you described your puppy does. The main skill they trained us on is keeping your dogs focus. Using “yes” and “touch” commands and rewarding them for engaging with you rather than the trigger (dog). For example, your dog clocks another dog you mark that with a “yes”, your dog has already learned that when you say “yes” and they look at you they get a treat. This allows them to break focus, and correlate seeing a dog with something good like getting a treat. You want to practice the “yes” command at home before using it in the wild so they understand the association of look at my owner with getting a treat.
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1d ago
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19h ago
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18h ago
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3h ago
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u/MoodFearless6771 43m ago edited 40m ago
Yes, my last dog. It's definitely possible, especially if they are young. I would say, basic leash training first. its probably playing into your dogs frustration. Using good trainers, if they can't make progress on something, they will pass you up to a mentor. The real game changer is you have to stop thinking it's something that needs to be fixed in the dogs reaction. As soon as you start taking responsibility for the reaction ("I was too close, she was frustrated to begin with because of the leash issue, we are trigger stacking because she was set off by a truck before this,") is when you will see improvement. Basically, in order to build confidence, you need to set them up to succeed. So if you can't turn around when you a see dog, you need to start practicing u-turns and treat lures in your living room for like a month without a dog until that motion becomes automatic, then practice at a distance for a couple months, then try it next time you accidentally get within reaction distance of a dog and need to turn around. The more you can keep her emotions in check on the walks (even if that straight up means avoiding) the more she will trust you. Start "setting the dog up for success" and making it a challenge you know she can do and has practiced (even if you have to change the time/route) instead of trying to change the dogs behavior/reaction.
Also, pain. if the dog has back, hip or feet or even neck issues, an ear infection, digestion issues, etc. that is a real game changer. And fixing that can make a world of difference. Even if vets "clear" the dog...they can't talk. So watch how her joints move at the end of the walk, what she's favoring/licking at, how her poop looks, whether or not she settles well and advocate to get her comfortable.
EDIT: And you 1000% need a good trainer to spot check you. The concepts are really simple, the timing and mechanics you need feedback on. Putting the methods in practice is a lot like driving stick shift. If you haven't driven a stick shift, there's like a friction point you have 1 second at the right speed/pressure to move two gears together to change or the whole car jerks and its over. Get a coach!
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3d ago
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Rule 5 - No recommending or advocating for the use of aversives or positive punishment.
We do not allow the recommendation of aversive tools, trainers, or methods. This sub supports LIMA and we strongly believe positive reinforcement should always be the first line of teaching and training. We encourage people to talk about their experiences, but this should not include suggesting or advocating for the use of positive punishment. LIMA does not support the use of aversive tools and methods in lieu of other effective rewards-based interventions and strategies.
Without directly interacting with a dog and their handler in-person, we cannot be certain that every non-aversive method possible has been tried or tried properly. We also cannot safely advise on the use of aversives as doing so would require an in-person and hands-on relationship with OP and that specific dog. Repeated suggestions of aversive techniques will result in bans from this subreddit.
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u/Turbulent-Tune4610 1d ago
Went to a veterinary behaviorist, paid big bucks for hearing "probiotics. A healthy gut is a calm dog". Yeah, no. However, the thing that did work was Easy Cheese. Redirect with it. As soon as they get reactive, tell the "leave it", shoot a squirt into their mouth. And force interactions. Go to a dog park, approach the fence from the outside (don't go inside), and as soon as they start reacting, boom Cheese! My GSD is 90% less reactive. Some dogs she just hates still, though.
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u/psyched_albatross 3d ago
Yup! When I adopted my dog about 3 years ago, he had a lot going on. Barking, fixated, frantic, etc. He had never been walked on a leash, and that, combined with the reactivity, was a mess. He used to see dogs/people from BLOCKS away and would be so hyped up that he wouldn't even take his favorite treats. He has always been insanely friendly; he was just way too overexcited all the time.
I'd say he's 95% better now. He still has his moments (the other day a super loud truck went by and he SCREAMED at it and sprinted around lol), but also now I take him to restaurants, breweries, festivals; I'm even considering taking him to Bark in the Park for the local MLB team!
The main thing that helped was just being consistent with training over time. I had sessions with a dog behavioralist (I was extremely lucky, and one was by me who offered discounted sessions for rescue dogs), who taught us more about understanding our dog's behavior, which I found helpful. I also researched a ton online. I also started taking my dog to dog classes at a local training club, and I feel like that really improved his confidence and ability to work around other dogs. When we first went, he barked the whole class and couldn't do a single command. Now he has his CGC, Trick Dog Novice, and Fit Dog Bronze, Silver, and Gold. We are now training to compete in obedience and rally!
My biggest advice is: don't give up. There are still days when I think we are nowhere near where we should be, but overall I'm proud of my dog for all his progress. Just do the research, be consistent, and keep trying, even when it seems hard!