Dispelling Reactive Dog Myths

3 Myths About Reactive Dogs 

What is a Reactive Dog? 

Reactive dogs are often the ones you see pulling to the end of their leash, lunging and barking towards another dog or some other “trigger” (such as a strange person or object on the street).   Many classify these dogs as aggressive, and yes, their behaviour is an aggressive display.  However, many of these dogs are sweet as can be when they’re in their comfort zones away from those triggers.  

There are a few harmful myths about these dogs and their owners, so I want to address three of them here.  

Myth #1 - Owners with reactive dogs are the cause of their dog’s behaviour 

Many of the owners with whom I have worked adopted these “problem” dogs when no one else would.  Many of them put in a great deal of time, effort, and money into helping their dogs overcome their fears.  They have worked with private trainers, attended classes, and some walk their dogs late at night or very early in the morning in order to avoid the triggering situations.  

Sometimes the triggers are well-meaning people who allow their dogs to greet these reactive dogs without first asking permission.  Owners of reactive dogs are often embarrassed by their dog’s behaviour, feel helpless when their dog is acting this way, and are trying their best.  You can help by removing the trigger (i.e. if your dog is the trigger, move away and out of their sight if possible) and always ask permission before allowing your dog to greet another.  

Myth #2 - Reactive dogs are “dominant” or inherently mean

Nope.  The primary and most common contributor to reactive behaviour is fear.  Lunging, growling, and barking are distance-increasing behaviours, meaning it’s the way the dog says “please leave me alone, you are scaring me!”  They are trying to make themselves look and sound scary in order to make whatever they perceive as threatening go away.  These dogs are usually more insecure, anxious, or fearful and these traits have nothing at all to do with dominance.  

Myth #3 - Rewarding Fear Increases that Fear

You cannot operantly condition fear.  This means if you comfort your dog when he is afraid, you are not rewarding the fear and you are not making it worse, you are helping him feel better and helping him make a positive association with the scary object.

Donna Hill has a great YouTube video on a game called "Look at That":

The above exercise was adapted from Leslie McDevitt's book "Control Unleashed".

On the same note, you can absolutely not punish fear out of the dog.  Putting a shock collar or prong collar on your dog and causing him pain whenever he is reacting will either suppress the behaviour, making him a greater bite risk because he no longer gives warning signs, or it will make his aggressive display much worse.  If a dog is afraid of other dogs and receives a poke or shock whenever he sees another dog, he will associate pain with other dogs and his fear will increase.  This is classical conditioning, a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together.  

Fear is classically conditioned and not operantly conditioned, meaning fear is conditioned when two stimuli (i.e. treats and nail clippers) happen in close proximity, allowing the dog to make a connection between the two.  If we pair a scary object with something good (i.e. a yummy Kong whenever there is a thunderstorm), it helps decrease the fear.  

Come to think of it, a lot of really skilled and knowledgeable trainers I know have reactive dogs.  This is usually because no one else had the skill or ability to work with these dogs, so they are adopted by experts.  However, it takes a great deal of hard work, commitment, and management to help a dog overcome his fears.  Each time we unexpectedly encounter an off-leash dog where he’s not supposed to be, or have someone allow their dog to approach ours when we are asking them not to, it sets our progress back and is very stressful for the dog.  And no matter how skilled we are or how hard we work, we cannot change a dog’s DNA. 

To my friends, colleagues, and clients who have reactive or fearful dogs: thank you for having the patience and kindness to help these dogs whose lives can be very stressful.  It may add stress to your life, but when we see progress and know we are making their lives a little better, it makes all the hard work so worth it.  

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About the writer: 

Jillian Enright moved from Toronto in 2007 and spent her first four years studying Psychology with an emphasis on Animal Learning & Behaviour at the University of Winnipeg.  

Jillian is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), meaning her knowledge on animal learning theory, husbandry, health, ethology, training equipment, and instructing skills have all been evaluated to the standard of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.  This also includes adherence to a code of ethics and to the humane hierarchy for animal training.  

Jillian has a strong academic background in training in addition to practical experience, including running her own highly successful Dog Walking & Sitting business called Sturgeon Park Dog Care 

www.PawsitiveCare.ca

Jillian also worked as a Behaviour Counsellor for the Winnipeg Humane Society doing behavioural assessments, behaviour modification, and clicker training.  

Jillian trains using an evidence-based approach including classical & operant conditioning and positive reinforcement.  "Pawsitive" means training is done without the use of any force, intimidation, or punishment.  No shock collars, choke chains, or prong collars are needed to implement a successful training program.  

Training should be both successful and FUN - for both owner and dog!