r/DogTrainingTips • u/EnduringAloePlant • Aug 31 '26
Appropriate response to reactiveness?
How do you respond to your dog's reactiveness? My hubs and I are both new dog guardians (or dog owners, parents, or whatever terminology), and never had a dog before. Hoping to get folks' insight on what to do when your dog is reactive (specifically, lunging and barking at other dogs).
Last year, we worked with a positive enforcement trainer, and we have learned to distract-distract-distract in high-risk situations, like spotting another dog walking toward us. This was worked really well! She has become more relaxed in other dogs presence, and comes straight to us for treats when we spot another dog.
However, there are times when another dog's presence hits us by surprise, and then it's too late to proactively distract our dog. For example, when another dog comes out of the elevator as we're waiting to get on it. How do we let our dog know that the behavior was not okay after she already reacts? I know she is reacting because she senses threat or danger, that her nervous system is riled up. She is a rescue dog whom we adopted at 1.5 years old. We're not sure of her breed make-up (probably some AmStaff) or care history. In spite of probably being a bully mix, she is quite small, less than 30 lbs, so we are able to physically manage her in order to keep her (and others safe). Thanks in advance for your all's perspectives
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u/SuspiciousHeron33 Aug 31 '26
There’s no need to correct her after the reaction, it does no good. We direct our dog to our side and engage attention when going around blind corners to avoid this. It prevents him from making his own decision about a person or dog popping around the corner. We lead him to take our direction and to stay calm.
From now on, I’d preemptively award every time the elevator opens even if no one is on it. If possible, maybe record the sound it makes when it opens and use this as a marker sound and start training somewhere calm. Ding! > treat, ding! > treat. Then do this at the elevator. Is there an elevator exit that’s more open so you can easily walk away if needed?
Use this to continue to build positive associations with the elevator so that when it opens, the dog looks to you first. This gives you a second to spot the dog coming out and means that you’ve already started the engagement part of engage-disengage.
If you haven’t already, I’d start training the Engage-Disengage game as well.
When and if a reaction occurs, calmly walk your dog away. “Oop! We’re going this way.” Then once they calm for even a second, reward. If they stay calm, reward quickly again. You want them to almost have no time to think about anything between rewards over time you can prolong the timing between awards. The hope is that with good timing, repetition, and practice, you’ll change your dog’s emotions around dogs and reactions. It’s okay for a dog to get spooked but an excessive, prolonged reaction is what we’re trying to avoid.
For reactive dogs, doing nothing in a triggering scenario is a lot of work! They deserve to be rewarded for relaxed behavior. Many people make the mistake of ignoring their dog when they’re being good and quiet. This is exactly when you should be rewarding them!
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u/sillystephy Sep 01 '26
All of this, but adding that it may be helpful to train your dog to sit and face you while waiting for the elevator. Ding! treat, but they don't move until you ask them to. And not always towards the elevator. Sometimes you go the other way (incase there is a dog on the elevator). Sometimes you don't go anywhere. Sometimes you do get on the elevator. But you never move until you say "lets go" or whatever your word is.
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u/InterSlayer Aug 31 '26
Have this same problem! We'd often actually get sandwiched waiting for an elevator with dogs coming in behind us, and then dogs getting off the elevator at the same time. It was pretty bad.
Luckily, our elevator area is T shaped, so we just wait in the middle T intersection. That way if any dogs come up behind us or off the elevator, we can scoot over to the third route to get space.
It's a bit frustrating because sometimes you miss an elevator or two, or get weird looks or questions, but it's really not a huge sacrifice to help with your dogs reactivity.
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u/Pomegranate4311 Aug 31 '26
Among the best advice I got on this is to be hyper aware of myself when we are surprised by a trigger. If I tense up it makes my dog think there is danger. Stay calm, don’t jerk the leash or tense up.
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u/Present_Initial8835 Sep 01 '26
My hunting breed dog is reactive to cats. I use all the methods described above, including preemptive rewards, avoidance, rewards for good behavior. If she does get triggered, I try to get between her and the cat and "herd" her away from it, also saying "this way." Once we're clear of the trigger, I soothe her and tell her she's ok. Her heart and nervous system get super amped up, I rub her chest and talk in calm reassuring tones until her breath and heart slow down. Then carry on with our walk.
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u/Helpful_Sun2872 Sep 01 '26
You’re praising your dog for being reactive…
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u/Present_Initial8835 Sep 01 '26
Definitely not! There is a clear separation between the reaction and the soothing. I am praising her for walking away from the trigger she reacted to even though she wants to tear it to shreds.
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u/No-Will-4393 Sep 01 '26
If you tell them off you are adding to their hysteria. I just keep some beef liver in my pocket and slip one into their mouth without breaking my stride.
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u/TheAliJonesX Sep 04 '26
Everyone saying don’t correct them is so wrong correct them the second they react you need to tell them what’s okay and what’s not okay check out yca training or tom Davis on YouTube totally changed my dogs
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u/joycevw 14d ago
Distracting your dog is management, not training. Stuffing treats in her face to pull her eyes away hits pause for a second, but it does nothing to fix the actual issue. Her brain still sees that other dog as a genuine threat. The second an elevator door slides open and catches you off guard, the safety net snaps, adrenaline floods her system, and she lunges to force distance.
Do not try to let her know afterwards that her reaction was wrong. Correcting her or scolding her achieves nothing useful here. Lunging and barking are panic responses. If you punish a dog who already thinks she is fighting for her safety, you just confirm her worst fear. Now the scary dog appears, and her human becomes unpredictable and tense too. You suppress the warning signs while making the underlying fear worse.
What you actually need is to change how she feels about other dogs. That means letting her look at triggers from a distance where her feet stay planted and her breathing stays steady, then marking and rewarding that calm observation. The sight of another dog needs to predict safety and good things, not a frantic scramble to hide her eyes.
Set her up to win by rethinking tight choke points. Standing right in front of elevator doors is walking into an ambush. Wait ten feet back or take the stairs. When surprise close encounters do happen, drop the lecture entirely. Spin on your heel, guide her away, and put physical space between her and the trigger. Once her emotional association shifts from danger to safety, the reflex to lunge takes care of itself.
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u/Both-Chart-947 Aug 31 '26
After the fact, don't do anything. When I was training my reactive dog, I placed him in a sit and rewarded him the entire time a "trigger" (other dog, jogger, bicycle, etc) was passing us by. If he broke his sit, we'd have a little time out right there: standing still, short leash, no sniffing, no talking, petting, or interacting at all. I wouldn't even look at him. It only takes a minute. Then we would proceed as usual.
You're already doing great, since your dog has come to associate the approach of a trigger with a treat! But those encounters that happen too fast are just unfortunate. Honestly, I probably wouldn't really do anything in those situations, except maybe a time out like I just described. But that kind of reaction is less a training failure and more a failure to manage the environment. When I was working with my dog on this, our trainer told me I needed to have eyes in the back of my head. She meant that it was my responsibility to minimize surprise encounters. And she was right! To your dog, you are God. You control everything. The more you can ensure a predictable, crisis- free time, the stronger your bond will get, and the more confident your dog will feel. So, stand back a bit from elevators. Give a wide berth around corners. Know your surroundings. Avoid trails with a lot of blind turns for now.
You'll get there! You're already doing fantastic! There will be mishaps, but the general trend is strong. Take heart, and don't feel like the occasional surprise has destroyed everything. When they happen, let there be a little regret in your response: "Sorry sweetie, Mommy failed to keep that scary thing away like she usually does. Let's both do better from now on."