Reactivity

Reactivity in dogs refers to their tendency to react very strongly to certain stimuli or triggers, often resulting in barking, lunging, or pulling on the leash when encountering other dogs, people, or unfamiliar situations. When stimulated, your dog's nervous system releases cortisol and adrenaline, causing your dog's emotional bucket to overflow and resulting in bursts of extreme behaviour.

While normal, these behaviours can stem from fear, anxiety, or overstimulation and are a common challenge for many dog guardians. Reactive dogs may display these behaviours due to past negative experiences or a lack of exposure to triggers.

Reward-based, force-free, positive reinforcement training techniques offer an effective approach to addressing reactivity in dogs. Guardians can reinforce calm and disengagement behaviours in their dogs by using rewards such as food, praise, or toys. Training encourages your dog to associate triggers that typically cause reactivity positively.

For instance, when a reactive dog sees another dog but remains calm and attentive to its owner, it can be rewarded immediately, reinforcing the desired behaviour. Over time, this helps the dog learn alternative, more relaxed responses to triggers, reducing its reactivity and improving its overall behaviour in challenging situations.