Taking your reactive dog out on a walk can present many challenges, but it doesn’t have to be an enormously stressful occasion. If your dog barks, grumbles, lunges, or gets too excited, there are several effective methods you can use to make your walks way more peaceful and enjoyable.
Having gone through the experience of owning reactive dogs, we wanted to explore the practical tips and techniques that helped us, and that can hopefully help you, to calm your reactive pooch during outings.
Understanding Reactivity in Dogs
Reactivity vs. Aggression
So, before we start discussing some of the potential solutions, it's important that you understand what reactivity actually means when it comes to our pooches. Reactivity is often confused with aggression by the general public, but they are not the same. A reactive dog overreacts to particular stimuli, such as other dogs, people, or even cars. This overreaction is primarily rooted in fear, frustration, or excitement, rather than being true aggression.
Common Triggers
It's also important to identify what triggers your dog. Identifying your dog's triggers is the first step in managing reactivity. Some of the most common triggers can include (but are not limited to):
- Other dogs
- Strangers
- Loud noises
- Fast-moving objects (bikes, cars, joggers)
Preparation Before the Walk
Proper Gear
We've previously discussed our Favourite Harnesses and Effective Tools for Managing Your Reactive Dog During Walks. As these posts have established, using the right equipment can make a significant difference in your walks. Our highlights from these posts are the following gear:
- Harnesses: Opt for a front-clip harness to give you better control and prevent pulling.
- Leashes: A standard-length leash provides enough control without limiting your dog’s movement. Using a double-ended leash is also beneficial for dogs who may require both a harness and head collar.
- Head Collar: For big and strong dogs, head collars are extraordinarily useful for helping to manage a reactive dog.
Training Tools
Make sure to invest in training tools that can help you manage your dog's behaviour. A couple of the most important tools that we recommend and that have helped us on our training journey are:
- A Treat Pouch: Super important for food-motivated pooches. Make sure you're using a treat pouch that is easy to access (no zipper) and has additional pockets for your walking essentials.
- A Clicker: While not everyone uses clicker training, we recommend investing in a cheap clicker so that you can establish the foundations. Clickers reinforce your dog's ability to make its own decisions, and while you should start training this at home, once you have the basics down, it's a great tool to bring out on quieter walks. Check out our Basic Guide to Clicker Training.
Our Favourite Techniques During a Walk
Stay Calm and Confident
Dogs can sense your emotions. If you’re feeling tense or anxious, your dog will absolutely pick up on that. It's important to maintain a calm and confident demeanour so that your dog can feel more secure.
We understand that this can be difficult to do considering the circumstances, so we recommend going for shorter walks closer to home, or in areas where you're less likely to run into major triggers so that you can bond and feel more confident with your dog outdoors.
Utilising Positive Reinforcement
We use positive reinforcement to give our dogs more control over their own safety. The idea here is that we allow our dogs the opportunity to interact with their environment in emotionally and physically safe ways. When they display positive actions during these interactions, we reward our dogs for good behaviour.
You will need to carry high-value treats and praise your dog when they remain calm around triggers. However, if you have a dog that isn't food-motivated, you will likely have to establish some other kind of reward - their favourite toy, a ball, or verbal praise.
Consistency is key here - you need to reinforce positive behaviour every time it is displayed until it becomes a somewhat natural response for your pooch.
Practice the "Look at That!" Technique
The "Look at That" technique encourages your dog to look at a trigger, and then back at you for a reward. Here’s how to do it:
- When your dog notices a trigger, say “Look at that!”
- When they look at the trigger, mark the behaviour with a clicker or a verbal cue like “Yes!”
- Give them further verbal praise if necessary and immediately reward your dog with a treat when they look back at you.
- If you need to lure at first for your dog to look back at you, don't be afraid to do so. Luring can help your dog establish the 'looking back' portion of this technique.
The Sprinkle, Sprinkle Technique
This was one of our initial favourite techniques when dealing with an unexpected or big trigger during walks, and it's super effective if your dog is food-motivated - but not so much if they're not.
- When your dog notices a trigger, you can say "Look at that!" to help reinforce the "Look at That!" technique we discussed above.
- If instead you notice your dog getting riled up and not responding to your verbal cues, or if they've already reacted, get a handful of treats and throw them on the ground in front of, or beside your dog to help them disengage from the trigger. You can accompany this with some other type of cue - we say "Find it!"
- Once they have disengaged and begun snuffling for the treats, give verbal praise and begin stepping further away to create additional space between your dog and the trigger.
- Sprinkle more treats on the ground if necessary to keep your dog from reaching its threshold while the trigger is in their line of sight.
- Once they've calmed a bit or are focusing more on you, reset them by doing a circle, or running backwards a couple of feet and then stopping.
Create More Distance
Sometimes we just can't get our dogs back below their threshold, and that's totally fine! If your dog is just beginning its training journey, or if they're still highly reactive to triggers, you likely need to create more distance between yourselves and their trigger.
This could mean crossing the street, taking a completely different route, or using visual barriers such as parked cars, fences, or walls. If they're already reacting, you want to create an opportunity for them to decide that they want to 'snap out of it' so to speak, so that you can continue focusing their energy elsewhere.
Keep Moving
Movement can be so beneficial for our dogs that have explosive reactions. If you see a trigger approaching, keep moving in the opposite direction or make a quick turn. When doing this, make yourself the centre of attention with a bit of excitement and a high-pitched voice. You might seem like a bit of a lunatic to the public, but during your reactive-dog training journey, we need to learn not to care what others think of us.
Standing still can increase your dog’s anxiety and if you watch them closely enough, you can see how their bucket begins filling while they're watching a trigger - usually resulting in an over-the-top reaction.
My dog doesn't like coming across random one-off people, as she's fear-reactive and suspicious of strangers. Something that benefits us is actually jogging past strangers, as she focuses more on the fun activity of running, rather than the strange person that's passing by. We couple jogging with verbal praise to try and keep everything positive if we can sense an incoming reaction.
Training and Socialisation
Read our blog on Positive Reinforcement Training Techniques, which discusses desensitisation, counter-conditioning, and what to include in your training sessions. All of your training should focus on your dog's comfort, the reinforcement of good behaviour, and changing their emotional response from negative to positive during everyday life encounters.
After the Walk
Cool Down
Once you've completed your walk, you need to allow your dog to cool down. Provide a calm environment and offer a chew toy or a puzzle feeder to help them relax. We usually make large homemade ice blocks filled with bone broth, vegetables and kibble for our St. Bernard so that she can lay outside on a tether licking.
Reflect and Adjust
So, you've completed the walk, congratulations! You should take some time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t during your outing. Adjust your strategy as needed and remain patient. Training a reactive dog takes a lot of time and consistency - sometimes months and many times years for them to rewire their behaviour.
Additional Tips and Reflections
Consider Professional Help
If your dog’s reactivity is too much for you to handle alone, you should likely consider seeking help from a professional dog trainer or behaviourist. Professionals can provide personalised guidance and support and may have stooge dogs that can assist in effective training exercises.
Exercise and Mental Stimulation
A well-exercised dog is generally calmer, so try and make sure your dog gets enough physical exercise and mental stimulation through play and training. You do not need to necessarily take your dog for neighbourhood walks to get their energy out. Consider booking a private dog field for them to have a proper run and sniff a couple of times a week, and set up several mentally stimulating exercises for them at home.
Consistency, Patience and Persistence
Consistency is probably the most important aspect of managing reactivity. You need to be consistent to establish better behaviours. So, make sure that everyone involved in your dog's life and their walks uses the same commands and techniques. Be patient and persistent. Celebrate small victories and understand that progress can take a lot of time.
Calming a reactive pooch on a walk requires knowledge, preparation, and constant training. By staying calm, using positive reinforcement, and gradually desensitising your pooch to their triggers, you can make walks an enjoyable experience. Importantly, you need to remember that patience and persistence are key, and with some time and effort, your reactive dog can learn to remain calm and confident during outings.
