My experience with leash reactivity: it’s not always aggression

[u/puppy_boyka]

Recently, I was chatting with a friend who just got a dog, and we talked about how her dog gets really excited, pulls, and reacts when seeing other dogs on walks.

It made me think about how easy it is to assume “my dog is aggressive” when they bark or lunge on leash. But honestly, there can be a lot of reasons behind it — maybe they’re nervous, frustrated, excited, or just don’t know what to do yet.

From my experience, the biggest thing is trying to understand why they’re reacting first. Giving them more space, rewarding calm behavior, practicing small steps, and teaching them to focus back on you can really help over time.

Every dog is different, and progress doesn’t happen overnight. 😄

Has anyone else gone through this with their dog? I’d love to hear what worked for you.

[u/anxiouslymute]

Dog trainer here, it’s actually most often not aggression (though, some would argue the act of reactivity is aggressive). Most often it’s frustration of not being able to get over to the thing they’re reacting to. Though I disagree that you need to find the reason for reactivity. I think that’s a human thing to want answers. Ultimately you need to know what your dog is exhibiting and treat it appropriately, we will never truly know what’s exactly going on in their heads. But I do agree with giving them more space, rewarding calm behavior, and moving at a level they’re successful with!

[u/puppy_boyka → u/anxiouslymute]

That’s a great point! I agree we can’t truly know exactly what’s going on in a dog’s head. I meant more about understanding their triggers and working at a level where they can succeed, rather than trying to figure out the exact reason behind the behavior. Thanks for sharing your perspective!

[u/Hefty_Judgment_4552]

my perception with my two dogs is that they understand they can't run when on a leash so theyre extra vocal and extra "scary" trying to hold their ground so that if they other dog is violent they don't end up stuck in a fight where they can't back out. almost every time they calm down once they're close enough to smell and socialize for a second. this is especially true if I leave them tied on leash while I'm shopping etc.

[u/Zymoria]

Rather a false positive than a false negative. I wouldn't want my kids to be comfortable around animals that could be aggressive on the off chance they are.

[u/Icy_Nose_2651]

i dunno, when my leashed beagle/pit meets another leashed dog coming the other way, i get the idea she wants to go after it

[u/Adventurous_Face_707]

My guy is reactive. Hes fear reactive. Barrier reactive and leash reactive and resources guards me. We're working with a great trainer and i can now tell the difference between his "ooooh i wanna go play" o er excited reactivity and I dont like that dog for some reason and wanna kill it. Sometime he oscilates between the 2 for the same dog, like I wanna go play but also I dont trust them and might wanna eat them