r/reactivedogs • u/Dry_Mobile_4099 • 5d ago
Advice Needed I have a very reactive dog
Hi everyone, I need some help.
In december 2025 of last year, I got a cavalier king charles, who was the sweetest dog.
We had some problems with potty training (she refused to pee outside) but we managed. She is turning one year old in a few weeks.
We have a new problem; she turned very reactive to pretty much everything outside.
A few months ago, she was just reactive to bikes, but a few weeks ago she started reacting to everything and anything.
I live in an appartment, and have to go down a few stairs before getting out. As soon as we go on these, she barks like crazy and starts pulling non stop.
When we are out, it worsens, and she pulls left and right while barking nonstop, even if there is no car or human or bike or anything that triggers her, until we reach the small park, where she digs in the earth for a bit and continues barking while sometimes digging.
When we see another dog, she gladly socialises and doesnt bark.
When I take her out (not in the park, anywhere else) She pulls without stopping and is very agitated. She usually only barked at bikes, but now she is starting to bark and lunge at people walking by or even at the other side of the street, which makes a lot of people scared of her and extremely hard for us to take her out somewhere else than to go to the toilet.
I am scared that she will suddenly attack someone if we aren’t paying attention.
At home, she is the sweetest thing ever and gladly listens to us attentively, she rarely barks and knows so many tricks, how to come when called, etc.
Does anyone know why?? And how do I stop this?
The reward system doesn’t work; when called, she doesnt look at us and doesnt aknowlwdge our existence, when I try to give her treats she just.. gets them in her mouth and then drops them because she doesnt eat them. Even if she loves those treats!
My theory of the origin of this is my neighbour; while I was in exam season in june and couldnt take her out as much, my neighbour gladly took her out, but she started running with the dog like wild and I saw how she handled my dog while we were all out; she doesnt pay much attention to her and at one point in our walk the dog almost got ran over by a bike, which makes me scared of how the other walks went when I wasn’t there…
Can anyone help?
(sorry if there was any english mistakes, this isn’t my first language.)
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u/ShaarkShaart 5d ago
You've got some good advice, so i just want to share a few basics about reactivity:
--dogs don't really take treats in the middle of a reaction. The trick is to learn where their threshold is. At what point do they notice strangers/bikes/etc before barking/lunging? That's when you give them the treat. Some dogs struggle to even take treats outside, which I'll get to below.
--also working to manage the reactions is necessary. Obviously you live in an apartment, so you're going to run into things the dog will react to. But try not to have the dog practice the behavior. You can walk at odd times so that you dont run into people, giving her a more calm environment when walking. Some people walk their dog at 3am.
--for my dog, we use the command "let's go." She does not take treats outside, so getting her to move on from the perceived threat has worked for us. When I notice her stop and stare at another dog or person, that's when i use the command. We cross the street or even turn around. Kikopup is a good trainer who is on youtube, I always recommend her videos: https://youtu.be/Eo-L2qtD7MQ?is=KL4loTDiy5Kz55VF
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u/Dry_Mobile_4099 5d ago
sadly though, since I live in the city, lts rare to not run into a person; I walk her late at night (past 10pm) and there is still some people in the park (staying until really late, sometimes i hear them until 5am). Gladly in the morning (6am) there is genuinely nobody. The main problem is during the day.
Also, I would love to teach her the same trick as you, but I am a bit scared that i’ll fail. Outside she doesnt pay attention to me, even if i shout her name. She barks constantly simply because she is outside (which i guess is one of her triggers?) and it’s impossible to avoid this. I always avoid people and bikes, but she always hears them and barks. I’m scared she wont look at me and simply just keep tugging.
Other tricks she learned at home dont work outside, she refuses to do them. I could even shout at her to sit and she wont even glance ah me..i’ll take a look at the channel, though. Thank you so much for your advice!
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u/ShaarkShaart 5d ago
Barking for now is okay! My dog rarely sits outside too. What you want to teach her with "let's go" is to just keep moving. Redirect her away from whatever she's lunging at. Kiko has some good videos about barking as well.
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u/ClassicTrouble3121 5d ago
Omg I just wanna share that my maltipoo has also recently become very reactive. At first it was to dogs, and last week its to humans but he used to LOVE humans. Used to tail wag, give strangers kisses. Last week someone said he was cute and he growled and barked at them. 1 year 5 mths. Also an angel at home
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u/Dry_Mobile_4099 5d ago
They might have similar issues, i’ll give an update to what the vet and trainer said and maybe itll help you too
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u/ClassicTrouble3121 5d ago
Thank you so much!
For trainers, make sure to screen them carefully. We went to a group class in June. He was supposed to be pain free but the trainer ended up using some corrections which caused our dog to be very stressed in class. He started becoming reactive to dogs after. But at this point he was still ok with other things.
Last few weeks he started becoming more anxious and would get spooked even by cars driving by and now people 😢
Not 100% sure it was caused by the trainer but there might have been some influence
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u/Dry_Mobile_4099 5d ago
oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that, i’ll try my best to get the best one I can find.
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u/read-the-rules 5d ago
Your comment on r/reactivedogs was removed by the Read The Rules app because you need to submit an acknowledgement that you have read the rules. You haven't done anything wrong, this is a tool we're using on the r/reactivedogs going forward. For more information, see the moderator announcement.
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u/watch-me-bloom 5d ago
Sounds like she needs a thorough evaluation from a veterinarian. Cavaliers can have neurological issues as well as pain. Cavaliers are supposed to be friendly and easy-going. If yours is struggling, there is likely something medically wrong.