Reactivity: What is it and how do we treat it?
Picture this; you are on your daily morning stroll with your dog. It’s sunny and warm. The birds are chirping and the smell of fresh morning dew hits your nose and you inhale and smile. Your dog sniffs at the grass, then walks back to you and you walk side-by-side enjoying the pleasantness of being together. Another owner and their dog walk by and wave, you wave back as your dog looks over at the other dog and human and then looks at you as you tell him he’s a good boy and continue moving forward with your walk. As you walk, the UPS truck drives by and stops at a house in front of you. You smile as you cross the street with your furry friend and walk right on by as he looks at you. Right before you arrive back home your neighbor Andy stops you, he loves your dog and your dog loves his treats, and he walks over as your dog sits next to you and waits for Andy to safely approach before taking a treat nicely as you and Andy say a quick “hello” before you enter the house.
This is what a walk with your dog should look like. This is peaceful. This is fun. This is what every dog owner is striving for with their dog. But the reality looks much more like chaos. A dog walking past your dog causes your dog to bark, lunge, growl, and bear their teeth. A UPS driver or even just a loud truck causes panic and your dog is tucking their tail, getting low to the ground, and trying to pull away from that location. Or your dog sees Andy and begins to bark and pull towards him, jumping on him and nipping at his hands for those delicious treats.
Reactivity happens when your dog has big feelings about something or someone, also known as their “trigger”. Being “reactive” is not a label. It is a normal response to a trigger in your dog’s environment that is causing them fear, anxiety, excitement, or stress. And reactivity doesn’t always mean aggression. Sometimes it’s a way for them to express that they want to greet a person or other dog. The issue with reactivity has nothing to do with the dog being “bad”, not listening, or being aggressive. The issue is with the environment and their feelings about the environment.
You may be wondering “what do you mean there’s nothing wrong with my dog, he’s acting crazy?!”
It’s kind of like this, say you are taking a walk and every time you turn a corner a clown jumps out and scares you. Creepy right? If this were to happen to you constantly, you’d always be on edge, worried about the next time you go around a corner or maybe through a doorway, what if someone is hiding in a bush? This would cause extreme stress for you, anxiety, and maybe even panic. But what if you had a clown crime fighting sidekick with you when you took that walk? As you walk along, the sidekick points out the clowns, helps you get away from the clowns, and feeds you snacks when the clowns are passing by at a safe distance. Your sidekick becomes someone you can rely on, trust, and enjoy your walks with. Now instead of your walk being scary, you’re actually looking forward to it because your clown crime fighter sidekick is always there for you!
As I read that paragraph back, I realize how ridiculous it sounds, but also how accurate it is. Dogs don’t understand things the way that people do. So yes a human could say “that’s just the weirdo in the neighborhood who dresses up as a clown and walks around” but dogs don’t understand this. They simply have a fear of their triggers. Sometimes due to a previous trauma, lack of exposure or socialization, or it could be something else.
So now that we’ve established how reactivity feels and what it is, how do we help our dogs with it? It’s not a simple question to answer nor is it a quick fix. Reactivity is something that affects the dogs’ emotional well-being in that specific environment they have to share with their triggers. We aren’t simply changing behavior like teaching them not to chew on the couch, we are working with a much deeper issue so training takes time.
It’s a good idea to hire a trainer to help the average dog owner with reactivity in their dog. Reactivity is not easily corrected and a lot can go wrong if you don’t set your dog up for success. Working with a trainer can help your dog gain the confidence to be able to live their best life and share space with their triggers. Reactivity may never be 100% resolved, but we can certainly decrease the amount of time your dog spends in discomfort.
A new method that I have adopted in my current business and is a very new method is called the “Reactivity Zones Approach”. This approach was created by famous dog trainer Victoria Stilwell and is based on the ideology that your dog should be learning new skills in comfortable environments not in uncomfortable ones. In this approach, there are 3 zones: the discomfort zone (where your dog is having their biggest reactions), the tolerance zone (where your dog isn’t yet reacting, but is starting to get worked up or is a bit worked up), and the comfort zone (where your dog is not reacting). Using these 3 zones as an outline, the program is based on finding ways to get your dog away from the discomfort zone, decrease the tolerance zone, and increase the time in the comfort zone. Using different training techniques, the program helps you understand that YOU are the safety your dog needs in these situations and once your dog works through that, they can begin to decrease the other zones and increase the comfort zones so that your dog is comfortable at least sharing space with their triggers.
Why don’t you just use counter conditioning and feed treats while the dog passes by?
Well, I’ve used this technique many times. Yes, you can stand at a corner and let the dog pass by you while you feed a continuous stream of hot dogs, but what is that teaching your dog? It’s teaching your dog that when something scary is coming towards then, they get delicious food. This may seem simple, but what happens while your dog is eating that food? They are constantly looking over at the other dog, they might not want or might stop eating the food, their body language still says “what is that and how is it going to get me?” Sometimes this works, when it is done consistently and properly by the owner. But sometimes it doesn’t work and the dog is too uncomfortable and treats don’t work nor does getting your dog’s attention.
Why don’t you just put an e-collar on him and shock him until he listens?
There are so many things wrong with this and I will start by saying that using electronic shock to achieve success in training is not only lazy, but it is completely unethical. No dog is learning anything from you simply shocking your dog repeatedly. In fact, your dog is learning that the thing that triggers the shock is BAD. If you were shocked every time that clown came around during your walk, instead of thinking the clown is okay, you would associate him with something painful and you would become more nervous, more aggressive, and more reactive. It’s true that some dogs when shocked will stop barking or carrying on. Doesn’t that mean it works? No. What it means is your dog is now so desensitized to shocking that they have now shut down and turned it all off. This is NOT good. This is the equivalent of a serial killer, no emotions, just shut off. It’s not a good thing and can lead to many behavioral issues including incontinence, intense fear or nervousness, destructive behaviors, anxiety, and aggression. So now you’ve created more issues than you started with. Please avoid e-collars altogether, but especially for dogs with reactivity or aggression issues.
So now that you understand what it is, the best way to work through it, and why other methods don’t work, are you ready to start working with your dog’s reactivity issues? Listed below are some resources for you to get some help with your reactive dog. I still recommend working with a trainer, but if that isn’t an option, some of these things can at least get you started! Good luck on your journey!
Resources:
Training course for owners: https://positively.com/learning/course/help-stop-reactivity
This reactivity course is created FOR OWNERS by Victoria Stilwell. I highly recommend starting here, the course is only $150 and is fairly comprehensive. However, it is recommended you still seek a trainer to help!
Book: Control Unleashed Reactive to Relaxed by Leslie McDevitt
This book is great for dogs who are excited reactive or for young dogs/puppies who don’t quite know how to handle themselves yet.
Book: Behavior Adjustment Training 2.0 by Grisha Stewart
This technique is another great way to work through things with a dog that has minor reactivity.
Trainer: Kay’s K9s, LLC (Kaitlin)
Phone: 843-231-9979
Email: kaydogtrainingmb@gmail.com
Specializing in reactivity training both in person as well as virtually. The ONLY dog trainer in Myrtle Beach/Conway using the Reactivity Zones Approach!
