If a reactive dog approaches you, the best thing you can do is give him space. Do not approach in an attempt to greet him. If you have a reactive dog, working with a trainer to try behavior modification techniques that will address the cause can prevent escalation to aggression.
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.
You should never punish your dog for reactivity. Many people are tempted to do this in an attempt to “correct” the behavior — but dog trainers agree it only makes things worse in the long run. It can instill more fear in your dog and does not deal with the root of their reactivity.
This kind of work can take anywhere from two to 12 months, as that's how long it takes for a dog to learn a new behavior. After that time period, you should be able to substitute negative reactions with positive thoughts.
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.
You should never take your dog off-leash to see if they are reactive or not. This can put you, other people and animals in danger. If your dog does react, you won't have a way to bring them back under control quickly, which could result in a nasty conflict or injury to another party.
Reactivity: Reactivity is commonly confused with aggression. Dogs that are reactive overreact to certain stimuli or situations. Genetics, lack of socialization, insufficient training to learn self-control, a frightening experience, or a combination of these can cause reactivity, and fear is typically the driving force.
Do dogs understand why they are being punished? Unlike humans, dogs do not always understand why they're being punished or the consequence of their actions. So depending on how you punish, it could cause a lot of problems such as fear, aggression and sadness in your dog.
This is a reactive dog — one who overreacts to normal situations that other dogs would take in stride. Reactive dogs are not necessarily aggressive dogs, but reactivity can turn into aggression, so your attention to training becomes extremely important.
It will get worse - unless dealt with
There are some things that dogs do that will go away on their own. Some puppy behaviours, like chewing, submission-weeing, digging, will simply evaporate if carefully managed. But there are other things - usually the things we really don't want!
Which dog breeds are most reactive? 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.
When people talk about punishment in dog training, often they mean what is technically known as positive punishment. Positive punishment means adding something to make the likelihood of a behaviour go down, such as using leash jerks, alpha rolls, or hitting the dog.
Yelling, spanking, and even aggressive handling can mentally damage your dog and doesn't yield good behavior. In short, any sort of negative reinforcement on your pet doesn't work whatsoever. In fact, you might actually be causing further problems for them.
When done correctly and when combined with proactive training, ignoring unwanted behavior can work. However, the time it takes depends on your dog's reinforcement history and their own personal enjoyment of the behavior. For some dogs, they get through an extinction burst quickly, while others can take quite a while.
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. This creates distance between your dog and the other dog and should help to calm your pup. Try to stay as relaxed as possible when you see a dog or if your dog lunges.
Dogs with fear, anxiety, reactivity or aggression issues should not be treated with an E-collar. If an E-collar is to be used, it should be used strictly for the purpose of obedience training (with an appropriate dog). Under no circumstances would I ever recommend attempting behavior modification with a remote collar.
Reactive dogs are often motivated out of excitement (high-arousal), which can lead to frustration. Many times humans have unintentionally created this behavior because dogs were never taught how to be appropriately social around other dogs in an appropriate manner.
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. Seek help as soon as you notice an issue.
To build your dog's confidence in a more general way, provide him with enrichment activities and relationship-based training. Simply feeding your dog via food puzzles and getting him involved in nose work (which, by the way, is fun for both dogs and their people) can make him more confident.
1. Calmly remove your dog from the situation. No scolding, no yelling, and no physical punishment. Gently take hold of her collar, lead her to a quiet room away from the action, and leave her there with a bowl of water and a chew toy.
Physical punishment should never be a course of action following a puppy or dog bite. Tapping or popping them on the nose can be misunderstood and seen as being playful. This could also encourage more unwanted biting behavior. Hitting a dog, or being too rough with a dog, frequently encourages more biting as well.
There is no guaranteed way to successfully introduce a reactive dog to another dog. You will need time, patience and you need to pay attention to your dog and his mental state. If you rush the introduction, your dog will become even more reactive. Preventing your dog from crossing his threshold is highly important.