Help for dogs that bark, lunge, snap or bite

Many of my reactive dog owning clients ask if they did something that made their dog reactive. I haven’t had a case yet where I could say the current owner had caused their dog’s reactivity.

Many of the dogs I see for dog reactivity, lead reactivity and/or reactivity to people, are rescue dogs. As with every dog, their previous experience will have impact on their current behaviour. With rescue dogs, many have had bad experiences or have had limited or no socialisation during the critical puppy socialisation period.

The people I see who brought a puppy home at 8 or 9 weeks and did everything right with puppy training and puppy socialisation are more likely to be blaming themselves for their dog’s reactive behaviour.

For those dogs we need to look at the temperament of the parents. A nervous parent is more likely to have nervous puppies.

We also need to consider pain as a cause of our dog’s behaviour. Research has shown that over 80% of problem behaviour cases have an underlying pain problem. The pain often goes undiagnosed because our dogs hide it so well. A dog in pain does not necessarily limp or yelp, but they may ‘over react’ in some situations or growl if a dog or person gets too close. Thereby putting themselves in the ‘reactive’ category.

A dog that has been in pain for a while, may also have learnt that certain interactions/situations are painful and therefore react pre-emptively.

Dog Know How specialise in dog training for reactive dogs. Get in touch