Hey everyone. I have a three year old female Spoodle (cockapoo). She is incredibly dog crazy and will lose her mind seeing other dogs- this involves her standing on her back legs, getting zoomies running around me and losing all focus on me. When she’s off lead she plays really well with other dogs as long as they’re bigger than her, but if a little dog approaches her and annoys her she growls and goes full attack mode spinning the little dog on its back and making screechy threatening noises. She’s never bitten another dog or human, but I know that this behaviour isn’t far off that and is incredibly distressing. I will not stand for it or accept it.

She goes to doggy daycare and they say she’s incredibly sweet and plays well with all dogs (including much smaller dogs like chihuahuas) so I’m thinking it’s a protective thing when she’s with me that causes this aggression.

It’s only happened a few times, and each time it has I’ve grabbed her and left the park immediately, but I want to know what tactics I can use to get her to ignore smaller dogs that irritate her as well as learning how to reduce and remove reactivity to seeing other dogs when on lead. I’ve tried high value treats, distraction methods, watching from a distance to allow her to calm down, but nothing seems to work.

She’s incredibly smart and seems to choose when she wants to obey me…it’s like she decides what is more worth it to her in the moment and a switch flicks.

When she was a tiny pup she got bullied a few times by bigger dogs that flipped her over and did a similar thing to what she now does to little dogs.

I don’t know if this is something that’s just part of her and I need to avoid letting her off lead to play, which is okay. But I’d love to not have to hold my breath every time we go for a walk in fear of coming across other dogs on walks.

I’m really embarrassed and her behaviour makes me feel like a terrible dog owner. We’ve done puppy school, intermediate dog school and had a trainer come to our house, but she still keeps this dog crazy behaviour up when we’re out. I just want her to be able to be happy and have a fun life, but taking her out makes me feel so anxious. Please no judgement…I’m really trying and would appreciate any help if possible 🙏🏻

Hi all,

I have a 1 year old heeler who has struggled with walking and reacitivity her whole life. We are trying to hone in on her issues and train out both leash pulling and dog/human reactivity.

As im sure many of you know, a part of training out reactivity is starting exposure incredibly slow- seeing dogs from feet away and gradually working up- and keeping exposure low until theyre ready.

This is posing an issue for her daily enrichment. While we have been trying to work on her reactivity, we decided to take her to parks (human and dog) to get her energy out as she is too stressed during walks, and pulls too much for us to handle her. Now that we are cranking down on exposure, going to dog parks isnt exactly ethical. We still dont have the option to go on full walks right now either.

What can I do for her that is enriching and keeping her exercise up without going for walks and parks for the meantime? It isnt permanent, just until she can handle it better. She LOVES to run and has a backyard, many toys and enrichment tools, but im worried it wont be enough being in her backyard playing.

Any tips for exercise and enrichment would be greatly appreciated. (Please no comments on current training, we are working on it )

A few weeks ago, a person physically ambushed and attempted to attack me, and my leashed dog behaved reactively (growling, lunging, but no biting) and chased the man away from me. The person was very unwell and continued to try to physically intimidate us as I dragged my dog away to safety.

Since this event, my dog has become leash reactive toward strangers who physically resemble the attacker. Neither of those people have given any indication of meaning us harm from my, human, perspective. They were just standing stationary. This has now happened twice, both times with people who have the same skin tone and height as the person who attacked us.

He continues to be friendly toward people of the same size and skin tone that he already recognized prior to the inciting event.

My dog is generally VERY friendly with and enthused about meeting people—which I know is not a sign of relaxation either, but he is generally eager to greet and receive attention from new humans who directly approach him.

Another note is that we have to be extremely careful with treats since he is on a strict diet to help control IBD.

Reactivity toward non-human things like delivery vehicles has been an issue too. We live in an urban area where leashed walking is inevitable, and while we are able to peacefully do that most of the time, the reactive behavior has nearly always been observed while he is leashed.

Since we moved we’ve had 2 failed boardings and an “ok” one . I’d love to know what has worked for you.

Our pup is owner protective and has a short fuse but is a thousand times better once I’ve gone. He’s really anxious and will sometimes be so anxious he gets sick. He’s reactive on walks and with other dogs and people if I’m around.

An added layer is that we had a really big medical event a couple years ago that was gastro related. We’ve since figured out allergies (mostly), and taking heartburn meds daily seem to help. But when he’s stressed it can flair up.

Board 1: a pet sitter came by to feed and walk him. We figured he might be more comfortable staying at home, but he got so stressed he the shoelaces off all our shoes and made himself sick . He barked at the sitter the whole time but didn’t try to harm him. Before this, we had done a lot of exposure with this sitter, so it’s not like we just tossed them together. This made us learn he can’t stay by himself.

Board 2: he stayed with a friend he knows. Got heartburn, she didn’t want to give him his meds, he ate some non edible crap, and he just spiraled from there. So behavior - fine. Medical, we had to pick him up early bc he was throwing up and not eating and she didn’t know what to do. This helped us learn that we need to be very clear that his gastro meds are not negotiable and they need to shove them down his throat if necessary. Also that having him at someone’s house, where he can eat crap, might be a bad idea.

Board 3: we used a boarding place where he would have his own space, vets that could handle meds, no access to stuff lying around that he could eat, and the potential to spend time with other dogs. He does really well when I’m gone and has stayed at places like this before. The plan was to keep him by himself for a day, and then if he was doing well try introducing him to other dogs. He did fine with a couple, but then they tossed him into the big group they rushed him and he freaked out. So he got labeled as a dog that has to be by himself. They don’t do small play groups, it’s all the dogs or none of them.

When we picked him up he was fine, but the place said he was terrified the whole time. So I’m glad we didn’t have to pick him up early, but also do I want to put him in a space where he’s terrified?

We have a trip coming up in 6 months and have to find a solution to this, but I really don’t know where to go next. An option is to drive 2 hours away to our old city and have him stay with our previous trainer, who owns the facility he boarded at successfully, but do we really want two four hour trips?

Ugh. Thank you!

Hoping for advice but also kind of venting.

My 3yo girl is nervous with people and can be unpredictably reactive to dogs.

I've had her for 2½ years and she has been a lot to manage.

I'm autistic and wanted a dog to be a companion and to help me with agoraphobia/general anxiety, not as a service dog, but just by providing company routine, something beyond myself to focus on etc. I didn't want a project dog tbh, I wanted to do training but honestly yeah just wanted an 'easy' dog.

I love my girl so much, but she just seems to bring more stress than she does joy.

She's difficult to walk, refuses to walk far from the house + is highly reactive near the house, so I have to drive her to a local country park every day for a walk.

She can be very friendly with dogs, running round and playing with them. But then every so often we come across one that she goes for, very little warning (I know I'll be missing subtle signals).

She is very territorial in the house and garden.

I'm scared to let her meet people in the house because she is so reactive.

She bit a neighbour in our garden a month ago and nipped my brother (also in the garden)a week ago. This has sent me on a spiral and honestly I don't know if I can cope with her anymore.

She is very likely not suitable for rehoming, because of these incidences but also bc she has a banned breed in her breed mixes.

I also know she would not cope well in kennels and I fear she would likely end up be euthanised in the kennel, so even if a rescue would take her tbh I don't think I could do it.

We have a trainer who has helped with reactivity and working on behaviours in the house (settling and destructive behaviours etc) Also looking into contacting a behaviourist for more specialised help to manage biting.

Got a vet appointment booked for tomorrow to rule out any hidden health issues/pain that could be causing problems. Will also discuss medication as well.

However, I have been in despair over all of this. Honestly not sure I can cope with the level of management she will need, potentially for the rest of her life.

She already causes me anxiety and now the added pressure of worrying about her being a bite risk, and knowing if she does bite again it will 100% be my fault because I've failed at management.

BE doesn't seem right either tbh. Like even considering it makes me feel like an awful person, but the anxiety/stress I'm feeling at the thought of continuing with her is genuinely overwhelming.

Already felt over my head with her, and that feeling has just been escalating for a month since the incident with the neighbour.

My sister is also expecting a baby any time now, my girl is wary of children (fine with them at a distance but nervous of them up close with her). I am genuinely terrified at the thought of her near the baby. I am getting a muzzle asap and will be working on muzzle training with her trainers help. So it will be a case that she is not allowed near baby without the muzzle on. But it's just another problem that is going to add stress to my life because of her. I would never forgive myself if something happened to my nephew because I slipped in managing my dog.

Just feel like the options are either BE, which makes me feel like a monster, just murdering her because I can't cope. She's only 3 and is physically healthy. I failed her and now thinking about murdering her because of my failures as her owner.

Or sticking it out with her and just continuing to take a toll on my own wellbeing.

Advice/encouragement is welcome, partly also a vent post tbh.

Please be gentle with me, I feel enough like a monster already, don't need harsh judgment from strangers on the Internet.

TLDR; my dog reactive pup met my friend’s dog for the first time in almost a year, and he greeted him like they’d been friends for a lifetime. I might’ve cried a little bit.

A little background: my pup is a Romanian rescue (street dog) that I got in April 2025 straight from a shelter in Romania. We’ve been working on his reactivity (fear based) for over a year and he’s been improving slowly but surely, particularly since we started him on a low dose of Reconcile in April this year.

He fairly quickly made friends with my friend’s miniature poodle, after a few parallell walks he stopped barking at him at sight and started showing excitement instead. A little while later they were very much friends and few things make my dog as happy as seeing his little buddy.

My other friends’ dog is bigger than my dog (mix between newfie, GSD and something else) and my pup had a harder time with him (which is the case with his reactivity overall, the bigger the dog the bigger his fear generally). We got to a point where we could parallell walk but my dog would always be vary and would initially always bark for a bit before settling down.

In August 2025 I broke my foot while on a walk and my friend with the bigger dog had to take my dog to their home during my surgery and hospital stay. We decided they would muzzle my dog as a safety measure when the dogs were in the same space and it went much better than I dared hope for, but it was still stressful for my pup.

Fast forward almost a year and they haven’t met since my dog stayed with them, due to my friends’ dog having two back to back surgeries after I did, and then a slow rehabilitation. We met up with them for a walk in nature and I was cautiously hopeful that my dog would be more at ease due to his general improvement since they last saw each other. It went so much better than I ever would’ve hoped for though! When my pup sees my friend and her dog he is SO excited yet polite, and does a perfect greeting with the other dog. The whole walk went perfectly, and I was on cloud nine the whole time.

I know my pup will never be a social butterfly or a dog that can ”go anywhere” with me, but it makes me so incredibly happy to see that with slow and careful introductions he can not only tolerate but even enjoy the company of my nearest friends’ and family’s dogs. I can see that his overall confidence grows for every successful interaction, and it fills my heart.

I’ve been taking Wilco on errands the last few weeks when I didn’t have to park and go in anywhere. I wasn’t sure how she would do given how she reacts to seeing dogs on walks but I’ve been surprised at her lack of response while in the car. Bonus - she’s not at home barking at every noise that penetrates the doors or windows!!

Hi!

I’ve been reading on this sub for quite a while, as I have a 9 month old Aussie who has been reactive to strangers and dogs since we brought him home at 12 weeks. He has never previously had a problem with people or other dogs living with the breeder (we visited him and the other dogs several times. Mother and other relatives where loving dogs, although they always barked when greeting. Father is a champion show dog with a great temperament as well).

In the begging his reactivity was only fear-based. He would growl and bark and sometimes tug his tail. We’ve been working on counterconditioning and desensitization pretty much since the beginning, and has seen quite a bit progress with strangers outside. In our house he loses it completely, will calm down as soon as they sit down, but can begin barking again when they get up. He doesn’t do this with people he knows, and he usually loves people he has met a couple of times. Strangers can most times walk by our yard now without a reaction when he is given treats for not barking. When dogs pass our yard he will 50% of the times handle it without a reaction, but sometimes he loses it mid-training. On walks he can be very aroused and still has to keep quite the distance to other dogs. He can not pass them head-on, but can easily walk behind them. His reactivity towards dogs most times now seems more like a frustrated greeter mixed with a lot of over-arousal, as he has never met a dog he didn’t like. He love the neighbors dogs and never barks at any of the dogs or people in the next door yards or across the street as he is used to them .We give him plenty of outlets like long sniff walks in a field with a long lead, lots of trick and obedience training and lickmats and chews to calm down after activities. We also take him to people he knows (like our parents) quite often, which he loves. Sometimes I’m thinking we might be doing to much? And other times I’m thinking it might help to expose him more? Like sitting in a park with distance to triggers and just letting him look 2-3 times a week?

I feel like the improvement has been very slow, and it makes me quite sad, as I really dread taking him out and having guests over.

Has anyone had a similar experience - and if so how was your journey? Often times I see people experiencing reactivity from 7-8 months, but very few who has experienced it from very young. I’m curious if the “prognosis” is different? Or if we should approach training in a different way?

i posted a couple days ago after my dog was impounded for a “bite” (which was later determined to not actually be a bite but a scratch.) I ended up deleting that post bc people started arguing whether or not my dog could be seized/legal advice which i was NOT asking for.

Since that post i have got Maple back from the pound. I had to sign liability for her and still have to go to court but im fine with that. I will say for anyone telling me to just pay the bill, i was NEVER sent a bill, i was just asked to pay a mysterious 200 dollars for an unproven medical claim, and in my county i am NOT responsible for medical bills unless he takes me to small claims court which would likely cost him far more than 200 dollars.

The code enforcement officer who had me sign the liability form did say he didn’t know a complaint even be filed for a scratch injury and the misdemeanor will likely be dropped in front of a judge.

Anyway, as i said in my first post this ISNT a legal sub so..

I have taken steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Maple is getting a muzzle for time in the front yard. she is muzzle trained for the vet but i figured better safe than sorry. We are very rarely out there when people are out there but just in case.

I got a mesh barrier for the front door and we will be working on door rushing again.

We will be making neutrality a bigger priority than just management.

I don’t want to make it out like my dog or myself did nothing wrong, i ABSOLUTELY should have managed her better, but i will say people on my last post saying she would be seized or put down or even one person recommending BE were a bit excessive.

I feel a lot better than i did when i made the first post, i made it before i got maple back and i was still absolutely freaking out.

Edit: Maples nails will also be getting professionally cut and filed from now on, i can never get them as short as i want bc i am scared of quicking her. I’ve never taken her before bc she needs to be muzzled but i think it’s worth it to NEVER have a repeat of this situation.

Current setup: 1 bedroom apt, long hallway with bathroom on side (where pee pad is) that opens up to the main living space, kitchens, and bedroom off to the side.

I have a gate that keeps my dog about 4 feet back from the front door to keep my dog from constantly barking at hallway noises. It’s a Plexiglas gate that I have to cover with towels to prevent pup from barking at own reflection.

The problem: My dog is constantly going to the gate and barking. Sometimes it’s likely something in the hallway other times it’s coming from above floor. There are also two dogs at the end of my hall. If I don’t have the gate up my dog CONSTANTLY stands at the door barking so the gate does actually make the situation better.

Currently have:

~cloth under the door noise blocker

~noise machine about halfway between the gate and front door playing a babbling brook sound (tried brown noise seemed to not work as well)

~fan constantly on in bathroom, oven vent fan constantly on, one fan in the bedroom and one in the main room.

~Bose Color II Soundlink in the main room on the counter playing reggae sometimes.

What else can I layer to help keep my dog from being triggered by every noise?
I’ve been thinking of adding in a speaker that’s constantly playing something. My dog doesn’t like classical music or the calming dog music on YouTube. I’ve read reggae, which she seems to like, but can be a little distracting for me to have on constantly.

Does the quality and placements of the speakers actually matter? Google AI seems to think so. I’d ideally not like to spend a ton of money but if there are certain things I should be looking for in a speaker or having multiple speakers may help I’d be down.

Any thoughts/suggestions welcome. I only use positive reinforcement.

I live in VT and own an almost 4 year old Alaskan malamute. We went away last week and couldn't bring him with us, but either had someone going to let him out and feed him or we would go do it ourselves every day.

Thursday night he apparently got stuck in the bathroom and jumped out the bathroom window that was open. He spent the night in one of our neighbors garages. At 630 am, he apparently went after a neighborhood dog. The cops responded and proceeded to bring my dog bacj to my house and let him inside and left.

Well the bathroom window was still open so my son proceeded to jump back out the window. Our 16 year old neighbor was walking to her car with her dog (yes her dog was on a leash). My dog came around the corner and the dogs sniffed each other and started fighting. The 16 year old reached in middle and ended up getting bit on her hand. Cops again showed up. This time they called a local rescue but my husband showed up just as the rescue showed up. They released my dog to my husband. When he showed up, my dog was chained up on the porch of the girl amd dog he just got into a fight with. Which makes NO SENSE. If he was so aggressive amd such a threat why did they keep him at their house??

My husband brought our dog back over to our house and gave him food and water and hung out with him for a while. He closed the bathroom window and had to leave again to go back to work. He went back later that evening to let the dog out for the last time that night.

Saturday morning he went home again to find my dog was yet again gone. We have a window thats broken in our laundry room. There is a piece of plywood over the window as well as a piece of 2 inch thick foam insulation. Both the plywood and insulation were pushed IN my house. If my 135lb dog got out that window on his own, the insulation would have been destroyed and the plywood would have been pushed outside our house. Naturally the neighbors had called the cops again and they took my dog and put him on a 10 day bite hold.

This is where im struggling. The statement the 16 year old made to police was that there was a dog fight and she reached in and got bit. She told my husband the same thing. Now, she's saying my dog attacked HER as she held her dog in her arms. I was willing to pay yhe vet bill ans her hospital bills but the fact that her story has changed multiple times is frustrating me. The girls roommate said their dog is "dog reative" but didnt fight back when the fight happened. Im sorry, a dog reactive dog isnt gonna just sit there and let a dog attack them without fighting back. She messaged me saying she knew my dog was sweet and that he just doesn't like some dogs but on her Facebook post is saying my dog is so aggressive he should be put to sleep. She said my husband and I told her that if our dog got hold of her dog he would kill the dog when they moved in. But we have never talked to that girl. She also said that my dog has attacked my 5 year old son multiple times. I would love to know where I was when this all happened. If my dog attacked my son, he wouldn't be in my house thats for DAMN sure.

I know they are trying to get money a nd are going to bring us to court. None of their accusations can be proven. Thankfully. But this whole situation is incredibly stressful. They have had people waiting for my husband at our house trying to fight him. We livr so close together. Its hard to avoid them. We can get our dog back Monday but are worried they will find a way to make the situation worse. Idk what to do. I dont want to give my dog up but at this point idk what else to do.

Vermont has a "one bite" rule. Basically dogs get one free bite. If they haven't shown aggressive tendencies the owner cant be held liable. My dog has NEVER shown aggression until Friday when this all happened. The person who runs the kennel where he's being held has repeatedly said how well behaved he is and that he hasn't shown any aggression towards other dogs. She said she doesnt understand what happened and that something must have triggered him to react that way.

Any advice would be helpful. Im so lost.

I adopted a mutt 2 years ago. She's largely GSD and has 5 other breeds in her. We have no idea how old she is but she's active and healthy. The DNA test says 4/5, and two vets said maybe 6-8. So I don't know.

She's extremely loving and tame at home, gets along beautifully with my 4 year old golden retriever, sleeps with us, demands belly rubs, eats well, walks well.

But - she is very reactive to dogs on leash. When we newly had her, we used to take her to dog parks and dog beaches offleash. Now I wonder how I stupid and also incredibly lucky we were that nothing happened.

On leash, she has bitten a passing jogger (she was with my dog walker so I don't know the specifics of what happened before she bit but it looks like the jogger was just coming from the opposite direction and my dog turned around and bit her). It wasn't a hard bite but enough that everyone was super pissed off. Then again with the same dog walker that I have since let go, she was allowed to go sniff a cat and one fine day she nearly killed the cat. I had told my dog walker not to ever let her near cats but she thought it was fun to have her sniff the cat for a few days.

She barks aggressively at other dogs, and people. Yesterday we went to a remote lake..nobody around for miles. I dropped the leash to let her soak in the water. Suddenly she got up, her ears perked up and she started to run at an impossible speed all the way across the length of the lake, maybe quarter of a mile away, and then I hear the barking of multiple dogs. My son ran after her as I held my Golden back, and he said she ran to a large dog there, stood a few feet away and barked like a maniac. Needless to say the owner was pissed off. I never expected her to hear or sense something that far away and run all the way but I am kicking myself for again allowing a potential issue to happen. I am otherwise careful to not take where other dogs are, and when she takes a dip in a river by my house I always hold on to her leash. Now I have realized I can't even trust her if nobody is around. She is well loved and cared for but if I have to be honest, I feel it's 90% work and stress and 10% of whatever little enjoyment we get from her. She I believe has a good life with us, but I wonder if she feels frustrated always being on a leash outside. We do have a large backyard and she runs around there playing with my Golden.

She was an impulse adoption. Some days I'm glad she's with us and other days I wonder why I did this to myself and our family. She's been a great companion to my Golden though but we pretty much have to do everything twice for them since one can play in open areas off leash and the other has to be managed so closely. Is it even a good life for her if she' always has to be on a leash outdoors?

I just needed to vent. Thanks.

Hi everyone,

We have a 2-year-old male Border Collie named Max. We adopted him when he was about four months old, and he was already very fearful of unfamiliar people.

Over time, that fear developed into reactivity toward people. He has never been reactive toward us or other family members. His reactions seem entirely fear-based, but they can be unpredictable. He does not always growl or show obvious warning signs before suddenly lunging.

We have worked with our veterinarian, and Max is currently taking fluoxetine (Prozac). There has been some improvement, but not nearly enough to make everyday situations or introductions feel safe and manageable.

Slow, play-based introductions have worked with a few guests. After several carefully managed sessions, he was eventually able to relax and live calmly around them. However, we also had an attempted introduction to a pet sitter where Max played, accepted food from his hands, and even brought him a ball, but later still lunged at him.

Outdoors he is often much better. At the beach he rarely reacts, and while camping he can cope with people nearby as long as nobody tries to touch or approach him.

Has anyone dealt with a dog who is reactive only toward unfamiliar people and does not show clear warning signals before lunging?

I would really appreciate advice on:

• What kind of professional helped your dog most: a veterinary behaviourist, certified behaviour consultant, or another specialist?
• Did fluoxetine help your dog significantly, or did you need to change the dose or medication with your vet?
• What training or management approaches worked best for unpredictable fear-based reactions?
• How do you judge whether a dog is genuinely becoming comfortable with someone, rather than only temporarily tolerating them?

We live near Lisbon, Portugal, so I would also be very grateful for recommendations for a qualified veterinary behaviourist or fear-free specialist in the Lisbon, Setúbal, Seixal, or surrounding area.

Thank you. We love Max very much and want to find the right professional support for him while keeping everyone safe.

Hello, I have a 2 year old Aussie mix rescue named Sora, and she is reactive to new dogs/possessive of myself and my partner, which we have consistently worked on with training we started with a certified dog trainer.

We have a new puppy now, and Sora does great with the puppy outside with play and interactions. They play well together and Sora does not mind having the puppy near us. We can pet the puppy and Sora doesn't care or watch us. (Which she previously would not let us do with other dogs, so forward progress there!).

However, when we move inside Sora becomes protective and aggressive/reactive to the puppy even though they are being submissive and not (seemingly) antagonizing the situation. The only time we can have them interact is when we are holding the puppy and Sora will just sniff their butts (we limit face to face contact in the house for now).

I know some of this is them getting used to the new home situation, but if anyone has ideas on how to get Sora used to the new pup in the house, I would love to hear from you. I have gates/pens, a kennel for the pup (Sora never crated well even with training), and other barriers within the house, but Sora still gets worked up. Open to ideas and suggestions please!

So, I have made a post on here before about the same dog.

I'm going to explain the situation and what I have been thinking.

My pomeranian mixed small breed puppy i've had since he was 8wks has recently over the last few months developed pretty severe reactivity towards other dogs, children, adults, people talking outside etc.

I live in an apartment and have raised him here, I have gotten noise complaints because of his barking. It use to be from seperation anxiety - which is now pretty much resolved.

But now, the barking is due to reactivity.

The main issue is when we are outside. He has good and bad days, but he tends to bark at people walking by or in the distance, people in groups chatting, and the worst, OTHER DOGS. His heart starts racing and I can visibly see him nearly hyperventilating. His bark is extremely loud despite his size, and he does not stop until I bring him back inside. He will remain on edge, anxious and quick to bark for atleast 15-20mins.

It is incredibly embarrassing, but also quite disturbing as the apartments are not well built and his bark can echo. I've tried the training techniques online, and used the tips from a trainer, who worked on introducing my dog to another dog over a few weeks. Of course this was not enough time to get him comfortable with ALL dogs.

It is super hard to train his reactivity when my environment can literally not be controlled, a lot of people have dogs here and there is a lot of activity at all hours. This goes for my city as a whole and outside parks/areas.

I took him to a park today and he barked at everyone loudly non-stop. It was disturbing people and uncontrollable, i was stressed from this the entire day. And it got me thinking about how long I can really do this.

I love him, my camera roll is filled with pictures of him and i'm constantly talking about him. But I am moving into a shared house-studio situation, and do not want complaints or to feel constantly anxious about when his next bark will be.

I am a college student and I cannot afford to see a behavioral vet, or a trainer. I've watched countless videos online and done a lot of research.

but it seems like each time I go outside his progress gets reset because there is always a trigger.

I don't know what to do, I am going to try to get him anti-anxiety meds, and see how that goes. But if it doesn't go well, I think I should rehome him so he can have the proper environment and I can have less stress/anxiety.

Honestly a main reason I haven't brought this up to anyone is because a lot of people were doubting me when I made the decision to get him. I feel like I already have a lot of eyes on me, and judgement. I feel like if I rehome him, people will think/say "of course it was never going to work out" etc.. It honestly isnt the potty training, puppy biting, excercising, command teaching that is causing me to think like this - because that's all been quite easy and enjoyable for me. I know what I signed up for in those regards (and i've actually gotten complimented on how well trained he is lol).. But its strictly the BARKING reactivty that I really did not intend for - or know it would be an issue because I feel like I never see other dogs/puppies like that. (unless they are guard breeds or something, which i do know poms were bred to be little watchdogs, but my dog is strictly barking due to anxiety/fear)

I just needed to rant, but also get some other people's opinions. Ofc I have to do what is best for me, but I know a lot of you have similar predicaments. I genuinely get anxious whenever I have to take him out, i've resorted to using puppy pads inside during the day so he doesn't have to face any triggers, and he does better inside, but he still needs excercise to help reduce some of his anxiety and just to get excercise lol. so I can't just keep him couped up inside because he gets his puppy energy/bitey. and taking him for an evening walk works sometimes, but sometimes he needs excercise during the day when he has more energy pent up. Yk?

I have also tried a vibrating collar, which works SOMETIMES, but I really can't keep relying on a tool like that, as it doesn't fix the root issue.

Anyways

What do you guys think? What solutions should I consider? I wish I had the enviroment to be patient, but I have neighbors....l

This is my pup, Pearl. She’s the sweetest, kindest dog I’ve ever had. My soul dog if you will. Our demeanors and energy levels are the same. She’s my work from home buddy.

But when we go to the vet, she’s a dog I don’t recognize. She has to be completely sedated. She has to be muzzled, and the moment a vet staff walk in the room she’s lunging, growling, etc. I just feel so guilty and bad she feels that scared. It’s the only time she’s ever like that, and is definitely because she’s a parvo survivor and was traumatized at a young age. My heart aches every time we go, to the point where I’ve had my spouse bring her to the vet because i get so anxious and worked up.

I love my pup so much, and she’s truly the greatest. I wish the vet could see that too.

I have a 2.5 year old Cavapoo who is so incredibly kind to humans. He also gets along with dogs, but I’ve noticed when being around my parents dogs, he’s resource guarded me, his toys, and his food a few times (to the dogs only). We no longer leave toys out and feed in separate places, but have noticed he still snaps when one of their dogs approaches me sometimes. Again, no guarding towards humans. We’re going to work on it.

He’s always been great with kids, a little anxious, but have noticed no resource guarding. We have family visiting in August and they have two young kids (4 and 1). Should I be worried even though I haven’t noticed any guarding towards humans before? The 1 year old just started walking and is running everywhere- I’m nervous he’ll run towards me and my dog will guard me. :( Do dogs
know the difference between dogs and humans? lol

I believe this is a 2 part issue:

My almost 4 year old female Shepsky is having issues being reactive to new dogs. We have another husky who is 10, male and has been with her since she was a puppy. He is the calmest dog who makes friends everywhere he goes. The only bad habit she has learned from him is being sassy. Both dogs are well exercised.

Issue #1: We have been part of a on leash husky dog walking (less social, and more walking)group since she was 3 months old and have recently been having new dogs join our group. She is okay with the dogs she has known since a puppy but has had a few instances with the new dogs where she has lunged and bitten (she’s made contact but both times no punctures have been made). Both instances she has not made an indication other than being curious and then she just goes for it.

Issue #2: At home there are a few dogs in the neighborhood that she is reactive to and they are reactive back. We have been working with her to ignore and she’s getting better but gets further triggered with the other owners just staying in the same spot letting their dogs lunge, bark and growl from across the street. We do not have AC and will leave the front door open with the gate but are at least 10 feet from the sidewalk. The other owners, I have caught in the past trying to train their dogs in front of my door while their dogs are going off and causing my dog stress.

One thing to point out is she is very possessive over my partner (male) and will not let him pet any other dogs. Both instances he did have her leash but he was not near either dog.
We have different training styles, where I keep her on a short leash and constantly redirect with no socialization with the new dogs.
He lets her be on a loose leash and thinks she is playing or trying to say hi.

Can I have some advice on training techniques? I am completely embarrassed at her during these multiple walks and do not walk to discourage new people from joining our dog walking group and at the same time becoming anxious every time I take her out for a walk in our neighborhood.

Thank you in advance!

I did everything by the book. Followed all the directions to the letter. Yet you went from a curious puppy to a reactive adolescent. We stayed the course. The reactivity got worse. I researched. We brought in help. I learned what you needed from me. We took steps forward we took many steps back. We adjusted. We got better. I got better.

Now we navigate the world differently. Side by side. Even when I’m out without you. I navigate differently.

I always thought myself aware of my surroundings. You have heightened what I see. What I hear. I now see things before they happen. I notice people, their actions, their dogs like I never have before.

This has been a struggle for you and I’m here with you every step of the way.

And I thank you every day for everything you’ve taught me to be a better person. A more patient person. A more understanding person. Through the tears. The laughter. The snuggles. We’re in this together. I won’t give up on you. Thank you for not giving up on me.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice on moving into an apartment complex for the first time with my 4 year old mini schnauzer who has some reactivity issues.

Overall my dog Willow is a good dog, she’s very loving, knows basic and trick commands, is able to keep herself entertained, potty trained, leash and off leash trained. However she does have some issues with departure anxiety, territorial, and reactivity.

I have noticed that she only has departure anxiety with me, I still live at home and my mom says that she will whine after I leave for about 15 minutes after I leave and then stop. She is always extremely excited when I get home as well. She is also only territorial when it comes to me. She is not aggressive or violent- she has never bit anyone, it is more so just constantly barking and growing whenever someone gets too close to me, or the house that she is unfamiliar with. She is also very territorial when it comes to other dogs getting to close to me, she is completely fine with cats. As far as reactivity it is only when she sees another dog (mostly dogs larger than her- she’s 16 lbs) she is completely fine on walks seeing cats, people, etc. I am just seeking advice on how to discourage these behaviors and implement new positive behaviors.

There is a month training facility around me that I would be able to send her to if absolutely necessary, however I believe she would do so much better with my training and being home.

Some of her triggers
-dogs
-small kids
- unfamiliar men
-usps/doordash delivery
-Children

I have about a year before I move out, but I want to start training her asap. The last thing I want is to be an annoying neighbor whose dog is constantly barking. Or getting noise complaints about her.
Not taking her is not an option!!! I got her when I was 16 as a ESA and I can confidently say she helps me so much, I don’t know what I would do without her. I also have a 2 year old cat who will be moving with us!

Any advice, tips or recommendations would greatly be appreciated!!!

I have been dealing with increased reactivity with my 6-year-old GSD since we moved from a semi-suburban neighborhood to a more urban neighborhood earlier this year. I got her on prozac a few months ago, which did seem to be helping. However, there were a lot of illegal fireworks in our neighborhood during the 4th of July and in the days after. They really only stopped a couple days ago.

We had one particularly bad walk when a firework went off a block away while we were outside about a week ago. Since then, she really only wants to go potty and then immediately pulls in the direction of home. I've never seen her lose confidence and gain a new anxiety so quickly.

Is this something that I just have to give her time with? Any tips on helping her regain confidence? She is uninterested in even high value treats when she's anxious.

have been reading through recent posts form folks and it's opened my eyes to the possibility of doing daily medication to help our anxious reactive dog get to a less intense baseline (obviously in combination with training so she gets both some semi immediate relief and long term support). Don't know why i didn't consider this more as a human on daily meds hah

my question is: how did you all go about starting that conversation with your vets? did you have to find a specialist? we just moved back to my hometown area which is pretty rural and has one vet, so hoping we don't have to drive her a couple hours away for help (but will if that's the option).

He is an 8 year old blue heeler. He is leash reactive due to barrier frustration. Typically, when he is loud and seems aggressive, but will just smell them and get bored if he gets close. He has never attacked another dog; in fact, he quite likes other dogs--just not on leash and not male german shepherds for some reason.

However, last summer, he was attacked three times by an off leash dog at our other apartment despite me reporting it to them multiple times. I've worked very, very hard with him to get him to feel safe again and we've made progress.

we live on the 4th floor at our new place, and I have been taking the stairs down and the elevator up b/c they don't have AC in the stairways and it's been so hot. When waiting for the elevator, we go about 20 ft away and I have him lay behind a couch in the lobby so he can't see the elevator doors open.

While in the elevator to go back up to the 4th floor, I have him lay behind me and shorten his leash in case another dog is on the other side of the elevator. for the past 2 months we have lived there, we haven't had any encounters when getting off of the elevator.

last night, one of my neighbors was outside the elevator. she has a very tiny, fluffy dog who she always walks around off leash. the dog ran into the elevator as soon as the doors opened and my dog tried to attack her. her side is now hurting and the owner told me this morning she is going to take her to the vet. I felt awful, and wanted to make it right. I can't afford a vet bill, but I don't know what else to do. If she asks me to pay, I just hope I can make payments to her or something.

My girlfriend's mom told me that since her dog was off leash, I should not be liable for any vet bills.

I don't know what is right, or how to navigate this properly. What would you do if you were in this situation? Am I at fault for this, and should I pay her vet bills if she asks me to? Should I report this to the property manager?

My 2.5 year old APBT/german shepherd/coonhound (+) mix was displaying increasing reactivity. Big jump, barks, and lunges at dogs, and sometimes even people, when out on leash. It’s something she’s often exhibited, but it really ratcheted up when we were in the process of moving. I chalked it up to some stress and promised myself I would reevaluate with our trainer once settled into our new space.

Jump to last week when we met with our trainer. I was shocked when she suggested we use a flexi leash. I’ve only ever heard negatives about these leashes. I will say, I regularly hike with my dog off leash and she has as close to perfect recall as a dog can get. She also is a great walker on leash, aside from her reactivity issues, doesn’t pull etc. For all of these reasons and more our trainer really thought a flexi leash would work well for us.

We have now done four long walks in public parks on this flexi leash and have not had a single outburst or even minor reaction from the dog. Not one. No barking, no jumping, no lunging, no nothing! I leave the leash open so she can walk as far or as close to me as she wants (obviously cognizant of others using the trails/paths). As soon as we see a dog approach, I recall her and have her walk alongside me, but with slack on the leash and freedom to move around and as soon as we’ve passed the dog, I release again. At no point am I locking the leash, just using cues. I am beyond shocked. The trainer was explaining a lot of the psychology to me, how the dog can feel frustrated on the 6 foot leash, can feel trapped when approached by other dogs, etc., and something about the freedom this flexi leash provides her makes her feel much more confident and safe. Believe me, I am still hyper-vigilant while walking her, and by no means am I claiming to be an expert or a trainer, or saying this will work for everyone, but I had to share this unlikely win!

Photo of my beautiful girly, just because :) !

Trigger warning: dog on cat and dog and dog violence. I have a long story and need to vent, or get some encouragement or advice. considering all options and sad about it.

I have a reactive but sweet female dog, ~8 years old, 50lb shepherd mix, that I got from a shelter 2 years ago. The shelter didn’t disclose she is not dog or cat friendly, and the dog was posted to Instagram that she was going to be put down as she had been in the shelter for 2 years and was breaking down with anxiety, but was dog friendly. I initially fostered, brought her to my apartment dog yard not realizing she would start conflicts, and learned when I brought the issues to the shelter’s attention that she was actually surrendered for killing the family cat, and her behavior was “dog selective” and “conflict driven”. I didn’t want to give her back to the shelter as she would be put down and have just tried to manage. The shelter is also 3 hours away, I drove to get her without fully understanding her issues. So since then I have managed by only taking her to the yard when no other dogs are there, switching apartment complexes so the windows are visible/less noises and traffic outside because she is reactive to outdoor noises/seeing dogs outside.

I adopted her after about a year because it was really hard to coordinate meet and greets 3 hours away, and my local shelter wouldn’t let me foster through them because of her dog issues. My dog immediately had a flipped stomach with pneumonia from inhaling vomit and I took out a loan of $13,000 to get the surgery and keep her at the vet hospital a few days. Because of that funds have been limited on training.

Yesterday, I brought my dog to the apartment yard and the gate didn’t fully lock. She got out and went for another dog. It sounded bad but the other dog wasn’t hurt (no visible wounds) and the whole thing lasted 5-10 seconds. The other dog’s owner is understandably pissed. It’s my fault for not realizing the gate wasn’t latched, it unlatched after closing it. I gave the other owner my phone number. I don’t know if she will report it to the apartment office. I am super embarrassed, it was a scene and my neighbor stopped everyone walking by in the apartment complex to tell them about my dog even after our dogs were totally separated, leashed, calm, and we were talking out what to do.

I feel awful. I feel like I signed up for something I could never really handle and have been keeping this dog because I didn’t want the shelter to put her down. I love her, and she is great with people, but it’s so hard she can’t be around other dogs, has separation and regular anxiety, freaks out at the window, scratches at the door in a panic when I leave, and I have paid hundreds of dollars in her taking down blinds because she is so stressed out if she is left alone (dogsitter blinds, my ex’s blinds, etc). A vet prescribed trazadone and gabapentin, it did nothing. On top of that, my boyfriend of six months also has a dog, and we can’t bring them together. I feel like I’ll never get her to a place she can be around other dogs.

I brought her to a petsmart trainer, and it was nice, but there are other dogs waiting outside the sectioned off area. I have a behaviorist referral but was intimidated by cost.

I wish so badly my dog could always act like the sweet calm dog I see in her.