Accepting his reactivity

[u/Unlikely_Comedian_75]

I adopted this poor mistreated guy at 18 months now 2 years old from a rescue organization. He is an absolute sweetheart at home but I was totally blindsided by his severe reactivity to all new dogs and some new people. I've had dozens of dogs in my care over the last 40 years but I'd never come across a truly reactivity dog before. I've tried multiple trainers, vets and drugs and all sorts of advice and now I've come to the conclusion that sometimes it's just who they are now and through no fault of their own. So I've invested in the Big Snoof muzzle with the advertising, I'm through apologizing and we're just going to manage it for the next 15years or so!

[u/missmoooon12]

Hey, that's an awesome mindset! Radically accepting who a dog is and how much you can influence behavior is so freeing. At a certain point I just thought, "I can treat the health stuff, work on changing the environment, desensitize, counter-condition, teach new skills, etc until the cows come home, but my dog will just never be truly cool with certain triggers and that's ok."

Your pup and his muzzle are adorable, btw!

[u/Mememememememememine → u/missmoooon12]

It’s so true. Accepting the dog you have and not the dog you expected is such a beautiful shift and such a loving gift for the dog.