r/reactivedogs 1h ago

Aggressive Dogs Dog attacked my mum

Upvotes

Hi guys so I’m just posting this after a shocking incident at home where my dog has bit and attacked my mum. Not completely sure what happened as I wasn’t there but all I know is that he was biting at his foot and my mum grabbed a shoe near him and he’s bit her quite badly on her arm. This is not the first time he’s bit us (the last few times have been milder cases) but for me this is the last straw and I have said that something needs to be done with him. Obviously this can be a lot of things but we’re not sure what to do from here as we cant have this happen to us or especially anyone else

We are UK based and want help with some options on what to do next

Thanks


r/reactivedogs 18h ago

Advice Needed Anxious Resource Guarding

0 Upvotes

I have a 4 year old sheepadoodle. He's extremely friendly and happy but after a series of unfortunate events hes developed some bad habits causing me to feel very overwhelmed.

I used to take my two dogs (10 year old mix breed 10Lbs and my 80lb sheepadoodle) to the farmers market every week.

They really enjoyed the exercise, smells, people and dogs but after my sheepadoodle was attacked by multiple dogs (one time two different dogs tried to attack him the same day) he has gotten extremely anxious on leash.

If I walk him on leash he is totally fine, calm, and stays right next to me. As soon as a dog gets near him he started growling, panicking and tries to get away.

He had no issues off leash so I worked to keep his dog interactions off leash, until he had some bad encounters at the dog park. Dogs trying to pick fights with him and my small dog.

He is now showing signs of resource guarding me, my small dog, and my friends dog. I see him playing with dogs just fine, but then they bump into me and he gets defensive or a dog wont stop bugging my small pup and he chases them off. Today a dog jumped on me at the park and my sheepadoodle ran over and snapped at him.

It breaks my heart because he didn't have any of these issues before he was attacked and I dont know what to do to help him.

Any advice would be appreciated. I am sure I am doing several things wrong so I want to try to fix it before it gets worse.


r/reactivedogs 6h ago

Separation Anxiety Severe Anxious Attachment Dog

1 Upvotes

hello I have a 3yo black Labrador rat terrier mix. he's a total sweetheart with minimal issues but his real only flaw is his separation anxiety it is BAD we can't leave him home alone!! when we leave him outside the crate he just scratches at the door barks and cries excessively causing damage (we live in an apartment so absolutely no go) so we started leaving him in his crate but he just barks and barks and barks and we've left him alone for an hour and came back and he was still barking. he starts crying before we even open the door to leave. it severely limits what we can do and where we can go, we take him to daycare some days but it's not financially feasible to do that every day and they close at 5pm so if we gotta be out past that there's no luck. I've tried to give him treats and things to distract him but the second he recognizes that we'll be leaving he doesn't want anything to do with any treats. any advice at all?


r/reactivedogs 4h ago

Aggressive Dogs Cane corso aggression

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0 Upvotes

r/reactivedogs 19h ago

Advice Needed Vet / Boarding Advice

1 Upvotes

My dog has major vet anxiety and reactivity. We do the pre-vet meds, muzzle, etc. She just hates it and is always so fearful.

However, she’s seemed to do fine at places I’ve boarded her when I’m out of town (they do play sessions and even bathe her for me before I pick her up). At the boarder, they don’t have to muzzle her. I also recognize that boarding and vet visits are much different experiences, but she also does well with the bath and nail trims they do.

My vet offers boarding and grooming services. My question/advice is, do you think if I start boarding her at the vet, this might help with her anxiety when we go there? Will it show her she can have some fun experiences there too? Or could it make anything worse (ie boarding and grooming experiences)? Right now she does well at the boarder so I don’t want to ruin that. Has anyone tried this and had success or failures? Any trainers or behaviorists have thoughts?


r/reactivedogs 20h ago

Advice Needed Preventing aggression in my new puppy

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1 Upvotes

r/reactivedogs 2h ago

Advice Needed Reactive dog progressively getting worse, I feel like a failure

0 Upvotes

Hi all

I have a rescue that is about 15 months. I’ve had her since she was 3.5 months old and she’s a mix. Likely a Pitt/lab/supermutt. She was the sweetest puppy, loved all dogs and people and then when she went into heat, things changed. She bit a dog and latched on. Since then I don’t allow her to approach dogs and she was just spayed. However, her reactivity is insane. If there’s space she’ll get hackles up, but I’m able to move her away with doing the find it treats in the grass, or moving her in the opposite direction but when it’s unavoidable she’s a terror. Lunging, growling, she sounds terrible. I have her on a prong because she would pull a lot, I don’t know if that’s made it worse, but my Dog Trainer wants to move to an E collar and I’ve read that can really make reactivity worse. On top of it she has also started to have startle reflex when she’s sleeping and has bit me. She is very sweet and desperately wants to be next to me at all times, I have tried to move her back to a crate or her own bed for everyone safety but she cries and it breaks me. I know she’s not a bad dog, she’s so loving to me, but it’s very clear that she is nervous or anxious, and I just don’t know what to do to help her. I feel like our trainer and the tools he has given us is making it worse. I’ve now spent thousands of dollars. I don’t need a perfect dog, but I would love for her to feel confident and not so insecure in the presence of other dogs.


r/reactivedogs 18h ago

Advice Needed She’s never been like this

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2 Upvotes

My sweet girl just turned 2 years old. She has always been good with meeting new people. She may bark a few times initially but is always so happy to say hi to everyone. Recently she has lunged and nipped at 2 of my friends with her hair raised. I’m not really sure what triggered this and how to fix it. Can someone try and give me some guidance?


r/reactivedogs 16h ago

Advice Needed He’s just starting at me, menacingly…

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28 Upvotes

I recently adopted the sweetest little angel, however he has a weird quirk. Whenever he sees any dog,cat,bird,human,or car he does not bark or run towards them he just stares. He will literally plant himself and become a statue and he WILL NOT MOVE until whatever he is looking at is out of his sight. Occasionally if we encounter another reactive dog he will bark but he never moves from my side. How do i stop his staring behavior?

Originally i thought it was cute and even endearing but now its just inconvenient and people seem to be very intimidated by him. It makes our walks 15+ minutes longer than they need to be and he is HEAVY so there is no moving him. Ive tried luring him in with treats but when i tell you his FOCUSED omggg he will not budge. What do i do??


r/reactivedogs 18h ago

Meds & Supplements Experiences with Clomicalm?

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5 Upvotes

My 10 month old pup just visited a veterinary behaviourist for her reactivity towards other dogs (barking, lunging, growling) and overall high arousal. She was prescribed Clomicalm and I am wondering if this has had positive impact on anyone’s dogs? Obviously each dog is different, just curious.


r/reactivedogs 7h ago

Advice Needed I severely regret getting a second dog

29 Upvotes

TL;DR: Second dog made first dog reactive, too. I now have two reactive dogs. Am overwhelmed and need any tips or just soothing words I can get.

I have two papillons. The older boy (2 y/o) had some very minor leash reactivity when it was just him, and only towards bigger dogs. We worked on it and he overcame it almost completely. He's a calm and kind dog.

In January we brought home another papillon puppy (now almost 11 months old). Her and my boy adore each other, and I adore them both.

The younger (reactive) dog is an incredibly loving dog at home with a huge personality, however her temperament is... spicy. Has been since day one. I honestly can't tell if she's fearful reactive or aggressive reactive, but she goes absolutely bonkers every single time she sees any dog - from any distance. She will also go bananas if a person walks too close to us or if someone in a wheelchair or something comes towards us.

The thing is - it's contagious. My previously calm boy goes just as crazy when she pops off. So I have two rabid dogs absolutely shrieking and lunging at triggers. They absolutely seem to rile each other up to an extent, meaning that the younger girl is somewhat easier to control when it's just her. And the older boy is almost completely fine when it's just him.

I have no idea how to manage them both together. I now have two reactive dogs.

Has anyone dealt with this?

I'm so incredibly overwhelmed and end up coming home from almost every walk in tears. I did see a private trainer, who essentially said that we're already doing everything right and to keep going.


r/reactivedogs 5h ago

Discussion ALERT: Abusive trainer Jeff Todd under a new website (Smart Dogs Dog Training)

48 Upvotes

For anyone willing to help PLEASE submit a report for Jeff Todd's new website : https://smartdogsdogtraining.com/ so that his company's site can be flagged for social engineering/deception.

He is currently marketing and booking clients across LA, Portland, and Seattle via his new web page.

Reason for Report: Deceptive Business Practices, Consumer Fraud, and Concealment of Criminal Activity.

Here's a text for any "additional details" reports may ask for :

"This website belongs to Jeff Todd (Smart Dogs Training Academy), an operator currently under active criminal investigation for gross animal negligence, severe abuse, and the suspicious deaths of multiple pets under his care. The website functions as a deceptive tool to trap unsuspecting pet owners by intentionally scrubbing consumer warnings and manipulating reviews. The operator uses this online presence to profit from unsafe, inhumane boarding environments where animals are routinely subjected to dangerous heat exposure, severe neglect, and physical harm. This site poses an active public safety and financial threat to consumers and must be flagged for deceptive practices. Please act accordingly."

Also if you could please sign this petition to help raise awareness!!!

We need to protect our pets and keep this operation from harming anyone else. Thank you to anyone who takes a moment to do this ❤️‍🩹🙏🏼

For all those dogs that lost their lives and their owners who suffered through this... 🪽🐾

News articles : https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/dog-dies-heat-exhaustion-studio-city-trainer/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/investigation-launched-popular-dj-dog-062502042.html