REACTIVE DOG CLASS MODULE 6

CAR AND MOTION REACTIVITY

Here is a video of me doing a session on Seneca's car reactivity with the owner. On the day one section play VERY close attention to the owner's energy. You can HEAR the worry in her voice and you can see her energy as she fusses and fidgets. We talked about that a lot and I showed her the video and let her listen to her voice. The next day look at the difference in her behavior. I fixed his car reactivity very quickly doing a few of these CC sessions, it took me a bit longer to fix the owners reactivity to him being near cars ;)

Notice my energy, it's calm, it's grounded, it's focused. Remember to always take those breaths, feel your feet, be aware of your energy so it's grounding your dog, and not feeding their worries or arousal.

AROUSAL

This module we are going to be discussing Arousal, frustration and the “up” side of reactivity. Many dogs are not afraid or angry, and actually do fine with dogs off leash, and their reactivity is from being over excited and frustrated by the leash. So all week long we are going to talk about this type of reactivity. Itʼs very important to recognize and begin addressing this as early as possible. This can lead to actual aggression as their feelings move from excitement to constant frustration and decide the other dogs are their source of constant frustration which then changes their emotions about the dogs from positive to negative.

If after watching the lecture on Arousal, if you think this is the root of your dog's reactivity here is a video showing many of the games I play with Nick to address his tendencies to easily become over aroused.

PLANTING KNOWN DISTRACTION TRIGGERS

Once you have built a solid foundation for your reactivity training it's so good to find some help in the form of other people with dogs so you can practice around other dogs in a safe manner.

Some of my former students in this online community have been able to successfully set up meet ups with other people with dogs that want to train and have access to safe dogs to train near. They have reached out on their IG and FB accounts asking if anyone local wants to practice. It's been so sweet seeing these little pop up training sessions blossom. You just have to all first agree upon the ground rule of what distances you want to work at, how you handle other people and dogs wanting to join in, what you each need help working on.

You could look into joining a dog training class, sports like rally obedience, dog agility, nosework are good classes to look into, many even have special classes available for reactive pups. These places you get exposure to dogs and dog people who understand how to keep their dogs from setting yours off and can help you find a safe space to train. Be sure you always let the instructors know you have a reactive dog and let them know what you need so they can be honest with you if that would be an appropriate fit for your dog. Some situations are better than others depending on your dog's issues, so for example if your dog is also people reactive, Nosework can be a good choice as it's all done one dog at a time in a very controlled setting vs agility where dogs maybe off leash with instructors which might be too much for your dog at this point.

A lot of areas are starting to have pack walks and meet ups, you might feel like this is still too much for your dog, but you could always join a walk without your dog and meet some nice people and see if anyone would be willing to do a meet up at a park for some dog training or a simple walk. Often people are hesitant to want to ask for help but SO many people are so willing to help if you ask. When I am out working with clients I ask total strangers for help all the time and so rarely get turned down. Always always always put safety first, it is not the goal to have your dog playing with these other dogs, just able to stay under threshold and give you the opportunity to train near them. When in doubt use muzzles!

ADVANCED OBEDIENCE FOR REACTIVE DOGS

These exercises are to show you how over time after you get your CC in place how you can use training to help be able to better manage your dog in potentially reactive situations, how to head the escalations off by using trained skills to focus your dog and also for situations where you might to step between them and a trigger, etc.

But you have to have really solid basics first, so some of you might be further along than other on your obedience training so I am sharing some exercises you can start playing with. Always first train in a trigger free environment. Keeping your dog's mind engaged with you and busy the long term fix as you move beyond CC. But I cannot stress this enough, you have to have the CC in place first, notice in all of these videos my dog is focused on me, I am not having to demand it or beg for it, so don't rush into this. But i want you to see how far you can take it!

DEALING WITH REACTIVITY TO VISITORS IN YOUR HOME

This is a handout for people who want to know how to makes friends with a reactive or scared dog. If you have guests coming you can give it to them, you can also have it for yourself so when people want to make friends with your dog you can better coach them on what to do. Place training is an essential skill for helping a dog that is reactive to strangers coming in your home. I have fixed MANY reactive dogs this way, giving them a safe place and job to do where they know they won’t have to deal with people is the crucial start. Crate training and tethering does NOT work as it creates barrier frustration and can increase a dog’s feelings of being trapped, the self control element of the place training is the crucial difference. Below is a link to a PDF for ways you can help your visitors feel at ease so your dogs can feel at ease.

Making friends with a scared dog

So that’s the end of this course, but please know the journey with a reactive dog is never a linear one. These are the exercises and techniques that I have found the most useful for the highest number of people. There are so many great resources for living with a reactive dog. I will add a page with links to all my favorite resources. Please check them out for more great tips and ideas!

I truly believe a dog trainer can’t really call themselves a dog trainer until they have LIVED with their OWN reactive dog for that dog’s entire natural life. I THOUGHT I was a dog trainer before I had my first full experience with it, and it wasn’t until many years into my career as a trainer that I experienced it. I THOUGHT I was just a great trainer and only people who didn’t know what they were doing could end up with a reactive dog, that it was all just matter of doing it right. NOPE, I was dead wrong. Reactive dogs are born with the fuse that just needs to be lit and if you are lucky you get them through without something lighting their fuse, or you see them being lit and once you know how they work (like my life with Nick right now) you quickly cut the fuse before it explodes. Dogs with normal functioning brains cannot be made reactive, they can be made aggressive, but that’s a whole different discussion.

Here’s the thing though, there is something SO special about reactive dogs!!! They are SO passionate and sensitive. The way they process the world is so different and once you learn how to modify their triggers and get things manageable to get to reap the benefits of all that complex thinking and feeling they possess. The dog pictured above was the most reactive dog I’ve ever known and he was mine. I would 100% go back and relive every terrible embarrassing moment to have those minutes with him again. I wouldn’t change a moment of our time together, only wish for more of it. Even if I had to agree that I had to have all those problem behaviors back, I would do it. I would live my life working around his triggers to share more time with his amazing heart. Someday you will feel this about your reactive dog too, if you don’t already. It’s one of the things that brings me so much peace with Nick, I know even if he slips the other way and we end up with more things to fix, I know it’s worth it.