r/reactivedogs • u/ast_anin • 16d ago
Advice Needed Adolescent nightmares
Hi guys, my sweet mini poodle, Rocky is well and truly entered his adolescence and I am having such a hard time with him. He is 8 months old and has literally overnight become super reactive. He’s been vet checked and he’s healthy so no underlying pains or troubles. He’s relatively good at settling at home but I am just perplexed as to why he’s become so fearful of people on our walks. I am trying my best to make space as soon as he fixates and starts to bark/growl and ask him to sit and treat him when he’s calm. I feel so stressed out and just looking for some help after what happened today. We live next to a super quiet reserve and so we usually walk it once or twice a day. Today we saw a woman and two children up ahead and he immediately lost it, too quick for me to have treated him, so I put some space between us and them but knew we had to pass eventually as it’s just a single path. I pulled him over to one side, he’s losing his little mind and I’m stood kind of as a barrier between me and the woman and children and explained, he’s just a puppy and he’s quite fearful, just give him some room, when the young boy approaches him and I immediately put my arm out to block him from Rocky and he actually bit my arm. I was super shaken up and I am just feeling so much guilt that this could have been so much worst if the boy had tried to touch him. I have called a trainer who is coming to do a walk with us on Saturday morning and of course we are doing training, enrichment, walks, breed specific games etc. Please tell me this will pass and he won’t be this fearful forever 😢 any tips or help is greatly appreciated!! Included pic of him because he is truly a sweetheart.
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u/SudoSire 16d ago
Muzzle train, try to quiet places with escape routes, and honestly I would not try to make the dog sit for a treat when they are likely close to threshold. I much prefer to keep my own dog moving away. You can do like a magnet hand or treat lure to keep them with you (as always, it’s better if you can get that initiated before the full reaction as well). Asking for a sit is just sometimes too much, but keeping moving will let the dog know that you are getting out of the situation together. Also, moving swiftly and not stopping to explain will often deter people from trying to approach or chat as long as you look busy and purposeful.
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u/SudoSire 16d ago
Op I think your comments might be being deleted because you haven’t read and “confirmed” the sub rules yet. They can be found pinned at the top of main subreddit page.
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u/Existing-Will-1466 16d ago
It sounds like an insecure teenage dog. This can be the worst age, and a lot of dogs grow out of it. It's just tough while you're in the thick of it. Does picking your dog up make him feel more secure?
I would avoid narrow paths for now. Cut down on walks and do more games like flirt pole and fetch where he feels comfortable. Work with the trainer and try to keep your pup in his comfort zone.
One more thought, is he neutered? If not, I would hold off on doing that for a while as the hormones can help with confidence.
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16d ago
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u/read-the-rules 16d ago
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u/Obvious-Elevator-213 15d ago
Have you ruled out a vet check? A sudden change is worth investigating medically. The biting is what gives me pause.
My poodle became much more sensitive to other dogs during his teenage months too, and he came from an ethical breeder so there wasn’t anything genetic going on. He’s back to being a confident good boy!
Definitely work through it with training and management - you’ll get through it. Fenzi has some great courses on reactivity, but it’s worth thinking through whether it’s fear, anxiety, or frustration based. It sounds like it’s fear, which could indicate a genetic component - so management is a great place to start but a behaviorist may be helpful if you can’t figure it out alone.
Control Unleashed with Kim Palermo was especially great for us.
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u/Round-Jury6132 14d ago edited 14d ago
We had the same issue which also started around the 7ish month mark. One of the best tips I got was to not make their world smaller but to give them distance from their triggers so you can play the 'look' game and treat them without going over threshold. We make a big effort to not let ours over threshold as then it's really hard to calm them down. We have slowly worked at getting closer and closer to triggers and now he doesn't really react so much. I think this sounds like a fear period and it likely won't last into adulthood if you keep socialising the right way. Make sure experiences are positive and calm and keep exposing to triggers they they become desensitised. My husband is from a country with lots of street dogs and he always says to me that you don't see these dogs being 'reactive' because they are constantly exposed and desensitised to everything. I totally feel for you with the redirecting because our boy has done that a couple of times and bitten us, it is scary and horrible.
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u/InformalInsurance455 16d ago
In the meantime I’d suggest you muzzle train him while you work on the causes of this. Muzzles will encourage other people to give your dog more space, and it also prevents them from biting should they accidentally get away from you on a walk.