This can be tough on a busy city sidewalk, but try to reduce the opportunity your dog has to “practice” the offending behavior. So if you can catch any inkling of it at the beginning or early on, that’s the best time to get hold of it.” It’s sort of like the better we get at it. The more we repeat a habit, the more likely we are to do that habit. “The more that the animal is rehearsing that undesirable behavior, the stronger it’s going to get,” says Senisi. While we may never know why Omar has an aversion to big dogs with pointy ears, it’s best to nip any dog’s reactive behavior in the bud.
Prevent bad habits before they become habits Here are some of the steps we took that helped restore Omar’s (natural) sweet sidewalk demeanor. If you’re not sure, or haven’t observed any directly contributing incidents, working with a trainer can help determine the nature of the reactivity, and, relatedly, what solution can work best. While it can be difficult to get to the root of the reaction, determining its cause can help you address the problem. This motivation could be anything from fear to frustration. “There’s an underlying emotional component to it,” she says.
#DOG REACTIVITY PROFESSIONAL#
“It is sort of embarrassing to be out in public and feel like your dog is misbehaving,” says Kate Senisi, certified professional dog trainer and director of training and behavior and co-founder of School For The Dogs in New York City.īut she also points out that it’s a common problem, and your dog isn’t simply being a jerk. We felt like the worst dog moms in the world. Frankly, it got to the point where his outbursts were becoming embarrassing.
But he started barking at other dogs-more specifically, big dogs with pointy ears (think German shepherds and huskies). Others lose it when they see another dog approaching-that was Omar’s issue. Some dogs are triggered by skateboarders, or people getting too close to them. As the term implies, reactive dogs react to certain stimuli, and they may growl, bark and lunge toward the cause of their distress. Every walk was one adorable encounter after another, and we met other dog owners who, like us, were charmed by Omar’s delightful behavior.īut a few years ago, our now-seven-year-old mini goldendoodle started showing signs of leash reactivity while he was being walked. His submissiveness and sweet behavior made it a joy to walk him around our dog-filled New York City neighborhood. For the first few years of his life, my wife and I called our dog Omar “The Rug” because he would lie down when other dogs approached and couldn’t wait to greet and play with them.
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