Two months ago, I wrote about “The Many Faces of Reactivity so that we could learn about the emotions that cause reactivity. Last month, in “Causes of Leash Reactivity,” we learned what causes those emotions. Now we will discuss how to deactivate leash reactivity. 

Understanding Your Dog’s Learning Capabilities

Our goal is to change the dog’s reaction, from excitement or defensiveness to neutrality. To achieve success, we must contend with our dogs’ genetics, environment, and personality. How do we do it? First, we must understand how dogs learn, because the change will occur when our dogs see and understand the world differently than they currently do. If we modify their perceptions, their behavior will change. Genetics, environment, and personality increase the likelihood that reactive dogs will easily succumb to excitement or defensiveness when triggers are present. The triggers are common things that we see every day. Things like buses, people, strollers, and other dogs cause excitement or defensiveness, and our dogs show their emotions and feelings with the intention of getting a particular reaction from us, their owners and handlers. 

An excited dog might jump and look happy to greet, so their owners allow them to meet. A nervous dog might bark and snap, so their handler will give them space from the thing, person, or dog that triggers their defensiveness. Dogs do these things because they work. 

Deactivating Your Dog

So how do we deactivate a leash-reactive dog? In my opinion, our dogs are struggling to match their energy level to the situation. The excitement or defensiveness is understandable. The pulling, jumping, snapping, and barking are not. I have seen happy, excited, and defensive dogs be calm. I have never seen a calm dog pull, jump, snap, or bark excessively. 

To solve leash reactivity, owners and handlers must excel at influencing their dogs’ energy, teaching them to match their energy to their surroundings, and managing their own energy effectively. My clients contact me because they need to develop skills to influence the dog regardless of their triggers, emotions, and surroundings. 

Regaining Control

I teach my clients how to demonstrate their control over the timing of events and the dog’s immediate surroundings. Then I teach them how to use these controls to create clear boundaries and expectations for their energy and behavior. In other words, we use those controls to teach our dogs manners. Because pulling, jumping, lunging, and snapping while on a leash is unmannerly and rude behavior. 

Timing and Space

First, I teach owners how to control timing and space in their homes, to help them quickly gain experience and enable their dog to learn without being exposed to higher-level emotional situations. Once the owner and dog learn their roles, we continue our practice around higher-level distractions until they reach a level where they can successfully maintain calm around the most challenging triggers. Finally, I provide owners with opportunities to practice exposing their dogs to the triggers while keeping them calm. When a defensive dog is calm, they can learn that there is no need for defensiveness. The same is true for an overly excited dog.     

If you would like to learn more about how we can help you deactivate your dog’s reactivity, CLICK THIS LINK, FILL OUT THE FORM, and we will take it from there. Thank you for reading, and Enjoy Your Dog!!!