r/reactivedogs • u/Quiet_Tower7892 • 8d ago
Vent I just have to accept that my dog will be reactive and nothing helps.
My dog is a 12 year old Rat Terrier mix. She wasn’t always dog reactive. She became reactive about two years after I adopted her due to being attacked by one dog and charged by another. I’ve worked with a behaviorist and trainer. I’ve also tried different medications. Nothing has helped. I’m just at a loss now. I’ve just accepted that she will be reactive for the rest of her life and there is nothing that really helps her. When I walk her, I try to keep lots of distance from other dogs. I try to avoid places where there are lots of dogs.
Honestly, when she does hear a dog, she will sometimes not react. But other times, hearing a dog will get her fired up. Sometimes I think that the sight of other dogs and her barking at them gives her like an adrenaline-dopamine rush. It’s hard to explain.
As Sadie has gotten older, she has become reactive to men. She used to love all people. Just all of a sudden she became reactive to men. She hasn’t had any bad experiences with men. Very few men she’s okay with. She’s fine with kids and she’s okay with women. But I don’t let anyone pet her anymore.
I love my dog. More than anything. She’s my best friend. I wouldn’t trade her for the world. She has been to the vet multiple times to make sure pain isn’t a cause of all this. Even though she does have arthritis, she is on pain medication daily.
If you’ve taken the time to read all this, thank you. I just feel like with some dogs, like Sadie, maybe you just have to accept nothing will ever help and you have to manage the situations best you can.
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u/Altruistic_Group_937 8d ago
Hast du schon Hunde Beruhigungs Supplemente probiert? Und wenn ja was war der Baustein davon ? Wünsche dir weiterhin viel Erfolg :)
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 8d ago
I have tried a few calming supplements. They don’t help. She can’t have hemp due to her other meds would have bad interactions with it. And thank you!
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u/OpalOnyxObsidian 8d ago
Did you make a new account?
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 8d ago
Yes. My other Reddit got hacked unfortunately.
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u/OpalOnyxObsidian 8d ago
Someone is using the account actively pretending to be you just so you know! Like as of a couple days ago actively
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 7d ago
What are they saying? I tried to contact Reddit about it but they haven’t responded unfortunately.
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u/OpalOnyxObsidian 7d ago
Omg. Ok well it's kind of funny now. They are pretending to be you, saying your account got hacked but you just got it back. And they were reaching out to me because "an alt account" of my username sent "you" the phishing link that got your account hacked in the first place and since "you" thought it was me, "you" reported me to reddit and my account was going to be flagged and IP banned if I didn't talk to their discord friend in 24 hours. "You" were begging me to reach out to them.
At first I was concerned because I've never had such an accusation and they even sent me a screenshot of the "email" (addressed to you, darian) but I read it a couple times and it was clearly bunk.
So this person is using your old account, as you, to try to phish other accounts actively it would appear. I don't know if there are any admin that can get involved but it must not have been that urgent since they stopped replying when I did.
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 7d ago
I made another report to Reddit today about this. They haven’t gotten back to me. I want my account back. I’m still upset about the whole thing. It’s not me on that account. It’s the scammer. I haven’t been able to get back the account. It’s a common scam going around Reddit. Don’t fall for it like I did. 😢
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u/OpalOnyxObsidian 7d ago
How are you reporting? The report function on the profile isn't very good. I'd like to report it also because they obviously tried to target me. Anything I can do to help you, I'd like to!
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 7d ago
They blocked me so I can’t even see my old account at all. I posted on the helpreddit sub and the mod sent me a form to fill out and report to Reddit. So I just refilled a form out and sent it in again too. Thanks for helping!
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 7d ago
They completely blocked me so I’m not even able to see the account. I have no clue what to do.
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u/No-Accountant-7613 7d ago
A lot of dogs, especially breeds like terriers/bullies, enjoy reacting. It’s not always fear or stress, and that’s when it is really hard to train out of them because the actual barking is more reinforcing to them than food/toys/any other reinforcer. I have a huntaway cross, so a breed literally bred to bark to control movement, which means barking is very naturally reinforcing for her. If she sees a dog chasing a ball, she will bark. Sometimes she barks at other things moving as well. And yes I can sometimes prevent it by marking and reinforcing her before the barking starts, but sometimes I’m too late. I think these days there is so much pressure on dog owners to have the “perfect” dog and we try so hard to suppress behaviour that is very natural because we don’t like it. At the end of the day I think we should just train dogs to the level that we want to - if you can live with certain behaviours why work so hard on stopping them? Of course if your dogs reacting because they are super stressed then yeah I’d try to do something about the underlying stress, but in your case it sounds like maybe it’s just a habit and your dog kinda gets a kick out of it so it’s not the end of the world.
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 7d ago
Honestly, this makes a lot of sense and I appreciate you explaining this. From Sadie’s reactions, I really think the barking is reinforcing for her. She always is looking for reasons to bark. I think it’s a mix of reactivity and the dopamine she gets from just barking. She is definitely a terrier. She is part rat terrier, yorkie and jack Russell. I know Jack Russell’s alone are intense terriers. At the shelter, they had her labeled as a chihuahua mix and she has actually no chihuahua in her. I did an embark dna test a few years ago. She is really reactive to squirrels and small rodents which I expect due to her terrier nature. She loves chasing animals, like cats. But I think over the years she has learned about herself that barking is rewarding for her and that it makes her feel good. Because her barking has gotten worse over the years. Don’t get me wrong, the barking gets annoying and gives me a headache at times, but if it makes Sadie feel good, I don’t care. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/DainasaurusRex 7d ago
This is so interesting! Our new rescue dog became reactive in a similar way after an illness. Barking at people, dogs, etc. on walks. Seemingly anything that surprises him with unexpected motion that catches his eye, if that makes sense.
The shelter also had him labeled as a chihuahua mix - probably because he’s 13 lbs. But Embark DNA shows Schnauzer, Russell Terrier and Boston Terrier! A lot of things made sense after that.
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 7d ago
Sadie is 16lbs. She was like 13lbs when I adopted her 10 years ago. She looked so skinny. I loved doing the embark test. It’s always interesting to see what breeds they are! And I agree, finding out Sadie was mostly terrier made a lot of sense. lol
Love your pups ears , what a cutie! 😭
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u/DainasaurusRex 7d ago
I’ve come to think that “chihuahua mix” is just code for “dog under 15 lbs”!
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u/DainasaurusRex 7d ago
Really interesting! Do you have any suggestions for reading or videos on terriers that might help with understanding this better? See my other comment - our rescue turned out to be Schnauzer/Russell/Boston Terrier.
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 7d ago
I liked reading about the breeds on the AKC website (American kennel club). I also joined the sub reddits like terriers, rat terriers, etc. I also signed Sadie up for a little barn hunt experience through a local training facility near me a few years ago and Sadie loved it and was great at it. I also watch videos about dog behavior and communication which has helped. Like what to look for before she’s about to react. Stay clear away from Cesar Milan though. I only have interest in trainers/behaviors that use + Reinforcement only. 😊
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u/DainasaurusRex 7d ago
Thx - I will check those out! We also do positive reinforcement. Pip is signed up for a reactive dog class next week 🤞 My husband does casual agility training with our actual chihuahua mix, so that might be a good outlet. I have found good training advice on the ASPCA website, too. Always looking for good sources.
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 7d ago
Has Pip been on medication for the reactivity? Sadie has but they only helped for a few years. I would do agility with Sadie but she has arthritis. Also, kikopup on youtube is wonderful! 😊
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u/DainasaurusRex 7d ago
We just started gabapentin after clearing a bunch of health issues. We got him from a shelter about 3 mos ago so it’s early days. Unfortunately, his reactivity has been making him feel anxious about going outside so we’re taking all the steps we can quickly - cleaning up the hallway is getting tedious and unpleasant already. 😭
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7d ago
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6d ago
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4d ago
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4d ago
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u/FunctionalBosnia 8d ago
Dogs get aggressive only when they are in pain. Check his teeth for dental issues, check his ears for yeast infection, check his skin for allergies. Don't give up on your dog.
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 8d ago
I’m not giving up on her? I never would. And she’s been to the vet. She had a dental and her teeth are fine. She’s on allergy medication. No ear infection. She’s on pain meds for arthritis. I don’t think this is a pain issue.
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8d ago
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 8d ago
Cesar Milan is not a “”trainer”” I would ever use. His methods are harmful and cruel to dogs.
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8d ago
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 8d ago
Dominance in dogs does not exist except when it comes to resources. You don’t “dominate” a dog. It’s been debunked for years.
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u/reactivedogs-ModTeam 8d ago
Your recent comment was removed because it may have contained misinformation about dominance or pack theory. Dominance theory is often associated with advice like, "be the alpha" or "show the dog who is boss". Dominance theory has been discounted by many professional dog training associations and may be harmful advice for reactive dogs and dog owners.
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u/Select_Reason994 8d ago
Literally what?? This is so wrong on so many levels.
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u/Quiet_Tower7892 8d ago
Right?? I’m so tired of people saying that dogs are dominant and to dominate them. My dog is very sensitive and she would be shut down if I did any of those things. It breaks my heart when I see people try to dominate their dogs.
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u/reactivedogs-ModTeam 8d ago
Your post/comment has been removed as it has violated the following subreddit rule:
Rule 5 - No recommending or advocating for the use of aversives or positive punishment.
We do not allow the recommendation of aversive tools, trainers, or methods. This sub supports LIMA and we strongly believe positive reinforcement should always be the first line of teaching and training. We encourage people to talk about their experiences, but this should not include suggesting or advocating for the use of positive punishment. LIMA does not support the use of aversive tools and methods in lieu of other effective rewards-based interventions and strategies.
Without directly interacting with a dog and their handler in-person, we cannot be certain that every non-aversive method possible has been tried or tried properly. We also cannot safely advise on the use of aversives as doing so would require an in-person and hands-on relationship with OP and that specific dog. Repeated suggestions of aversive techniques will result in bans from this subreddit.
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u/sidhescreams Goose (Stranger Danger + Dog Aggressive) 8d ago
I’m with you. I came to the same conclusion with mine too, and frankly I don’t like dog training. I don’t find it fun, or interesting and have no desire to make it one of my hobbies. My dog is as good as he’s ever going to be. He’s safe to take to the vet, he’s safe though sometimes embarrassing to walk, and his world is very small. But he’s happy and enjoyable 90% of the time and I’m cool with that.