Help for dogs that bark, lunge, snap or bite

If you think you have a reactive dog, the first step is to contact a qualified behaviourist to ask them to assess your dog. Behaviourists look at every aspect of a dog’s behaviour. They will ask lots of questions to build up a picture of your dog’s temperament and history, all of which is unique to your dog. This helps the behaviourist to identify the emotions behind your dogs behaviour.

Barking and lunging at other dogs or people does not necessarily stem from the same emotion in each dog. The behaviour may look similar, but the underlying emotions can be very different and include, fear, frustration and pain. A qualified behaviourist has the expert knowledge and experience to be able to assess which emotions are causing your dog’s behaviour. They can then tailor a programme to help you and your dog. There is not a one size fits all training plan for reactivity, so what worked for Fred from Facebook’s dog will not necessarily work for yours. There is a risk when using methods that are not tailored to your dog, you may inadvertently worsen their behaviour.

So back to socialisation. There are two types of socialisation sessions that local trainers, daycare and dog lovers offer. Off lead and on lead. Lets start with off lead.

Why can’t we just take our dog reactive dog to off lead socials and let them get used to being around other dogs?

• If your dog is fearful this could cause them to shut down in fear, which from the outside view may look like an improvement, but on the inside your dog is terrified. Or they may react aggressively when another dog approaches them, causing a fight and injury.
• If your dog is frustrated around other dogs, because they get too excited and want to play with everyone, this can cause them to demonstrate rude, over zealous behaviour to other dogs, also resulting in a fight.
• If your dog only shows reactive behaviours on the lead, but is fine off the lead, then taking them to off lead socialisation will not improve their on lead behaviour. It could even make it worse, because they expect to be able to play with every dog they meet.
• Off lead sessions are often not supervised by anyone that is qualified in dog behaviour. This means they may not notice the tense body language that dogs display before aggression begins. This puts your dog and others at risk of injury.

What about on lead socialisation?

• Although this is definitely the safer option due to the increased control, it may not allow your dog the space they need to feel calm and comfortable around other dogs and people.
• One of the main things reactive dogs need is space from things that cause them to react. A group walk may not allow this due to narrow paths or other friendly dogs that want to say ‘Hi’.
• You need a plan in place before attending any socialisation so that you know what to do to help your dog. This should be done after as assessment by a qualified behaviourist.

In the long term, controlled socialisation, which is supervised by a qualified behaviourist, may be beneficial to your dog, but again this is very dependent on the individual dog. For some dogs, up close interactions with other dogs may never be ok and we should respect that. Click here for more information about Calmer Class, a class specifically designed by a qualified canine behaviourist to help reactive dogs

Dog Know How specialises in reactive dog training.