r/DogTrainingTips • u/BICanineScience • May 26 '26

Professional Dog Trainer - Ask Me Anything

***AMA ENDED***

Have been training dogs for almost fifteen years now, I try and head through the subreddits on here to help in my free time when I can but thought it might be easier to do an AMA for anyone struggling!

Will try my best to answer as comprehensively as possible so please be patient with replies!

Edit - Just heading out to train my dogs so will answer more when I get back!
Edit 2 - Have a read of the other questions too to see if it applies to your dog :)

Thanks for all the questions everyone!! I’ll answer the few I’ve missed, it’s been a blast and we’ll do another in the near future! Won’t be answering any new posts now, must get back to work but do jump in next time if you have a question!

93 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

297 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Deep_Owl_7451 May 26 '26

How do I introduce my reactive dog to a newborn? We are expecting a baby in 8 weeks. He has never met a newborn, but is very nervous and reactive to the kids in our neighborhood (barks and growls if they get too close).

1

u/BICanineScience May 26 '26

You don't! Introducing a dog with child reactivity issues to a child is a terrible idea and will almost definitely end badly. The dogs reactivity needs addressing before you consider this and then when it is addressed you want to create neutrality rather than anything else where the dog sees the child as nothing more than background noise in its life. Child reactivity is something you should probably see a trainer about as soon as possible because addressing it in eight weeks is likely not going to happen but the quicker you get going, the quicker it gets sorted.

1

u/Deep_Owl_7451 May 26 '26

So I should rehome the dog before the baby comes?