By training a reactive dog you will learn more about yourself and your dog than you ever thought possible. So the answer to the question “can reactive dogs be helped?” is that yes, they can be helped, they can live a normal life and they are definitely worth the time and effort that goes into it.
A reactive dog is usually a fearful dog. Causes can be genetic, but they are more likely due to a lack of socialization, prior bad experiences or a lack of training. Aggressive dogs show similar signs but are determined to cause harm and destruction.
If you keep consistently working on your dog's reactivity, it is very likely to improve a lot over time. Plan for about 1-2 months of dedicated training. If done correctly however, you should see the first small results within as little as one week.
Reactive behaviors usually crop up in adolescence around 6 to 18 months of age and tend to get worse as the dog reaches social maturity around 2 or 3 years of age. Your pup will not “grow out of” this behavior.
The time it takes to calm a reactive dog depends on many factors so there is not a definitive answer. Fearful and over reactive behavior will not go away on its own. The dog will not grow out of it. Left untreated, both the frequency and the intensity of the problems will increase.
Any breed can be reactive, but it's especially common in the herding types, like border collies and cattle dogs. These dogs were bred for laser focus and the ability to instantly react to changes in their environment.
Though they can look the same, they are quite different beasts. Reactive behavior is a negative response to something that causes fear, anxiety, or stress in our dogs. When your dog displays reactive behavior, his goal is singular. He wants whatever it is that is causing him to feel ill at ease to GET AWAY.
In most cases, the best way to get a reactive dog ready for socializing is to slowly expose them to their triggers in a controlled environment and reward them with natural dog treats until they no longer react so strongly.
Dogs of any age can start training to improve their reactivity. You do need to keep in mind that the longer a behavior has been ingrained, the longer it will take to retrain the dog. Whether or not the dog will be “cured” in the sense of being completely fine in the presence of his triggers cannot be predicted.
To build your dog's confidence in a more general way, provide them with enrichment activities and relationship-based training. Simply feeding your dog via food puzzles and getting them involved in nose work (which, by the way, is fun for both dogs and their people) can make them more confident.
Many dogs are out of control when they see another dog. They will whine, bark, lunge, etc… even when the dog is at a great distance. Dogs can act this way out of excitement, frustration, fear, pain, and sometimes out of aggression. There is a much greater chance of improving our dogs behavior when it is predictable.
Keep in mind that dogs can pick up another dog's scent from a distance. That's why your dog may get excited or start barking before you even notice that another dog is in the area. In addition to using a combination of body language and scent to judge another dog, your pet may also react based on past experiences.
That means that thousands of pet parents are likely struggling with similar behavioral issues. And in fact, even purebred dogs raised from birth can become reactive - they may just be born with a chemical imbalance. Many times, these stories end in heartbreak. Luckily, they don't have to.
Dogs considered highly reactive also include the Boston, Fox, Cairn and Yorkshire Terriers, Pekingnese, Weimaraner, Pug, Irish Setter, Shetland Sheepdog, Shih Tzu, Poodle, Bichon Frise, Springer Spaniel, the Westie, Chihuahua and the Dachshund.
If your dog demands your attention by barking or jumps up on you, you might have seen the training advice to ignore these unwanted behaviors. This is well-intended but incomplete advice – if you only ignore the behavior, your dog will probably never learn to stop barking, jumping, or pulling.
Hyper untrained teen dogs do not magically become calm and trained adult dogs when another dog is added to the mix. Reactive dogs (though not aggressive) will not suddenly become socially graceful and non-reactive by adding another dog to the home (even if the two dogs become friends).
SSRIs particularly fluoxetine are most commonly used to reduce reactivity, impulsivity, and some forms of fear and anxiety, as well as to improve trainability and address the dog's behavioural well-being.
Reactivity is common with dogs who suffer from anxiety. Often this becomes more obvious during adolescence or a secondary socialisation/fear period but then doesn't fade as the dog becomes an adult.
Keep treating them as long as they are calm and try to create enough distance between you and the other dog so they don't react. If your dog does react, calmly say “nope,” block them for a moment with your body, then turn and walk away from the other dog.