dog reactivity

hi molly is now approx 7 to 8 months old we are still trying so hard to find a trainer , we are thinking by what she does when she goes out has got dog reactivity , we have looked around on you tube but loads of videos around has anyone had this sort of issue with there dog and how was it resolved

thanks

 

I've not heard about dog reactivity what is it?
I think its always best to get a puppy as used to as many things as possible while very young, also mixing with other dogs outside.
In general the more they see and do the more relaxed about things in life they will be as they get older.
Unless its a big problem I dont think you need a trainer as such, just more socialisation perhaps while still young.

 

dog reactivity is


Reactive dogs become overly aroused by common stimuli. They may lunge, bark and growl, becoming so preoccupied with whatever is triggering the emotion that they can be difficult to control and move out of the situation. A reactive dog is usually a fearful dog.

this is what molly is doing when going for walks , unfortunaly we dont think molly has had any training , she will do what it says about reactivity dogs its not only dogs its sometimes people

 

unfortunaly molly dont seem to have had any training all though vet said she should have started training at 2 to 4 months and we got her around 6 months old , with the issues we are seeing is as they call it dog reactivity fearfull of dogs and people now what else we are seeing is no training from the start when we take her out she is out of control when it comes to dogs and people if we could socialisation great but she just jump up and tries to bite dogs nose ,
when we got her she was sold due to her daughter was allergic seeing the issues we think it was a lie , now she is around 8 months we have been told that puppy classes is no good we have tried several times to get a trainer without response or if they do respond they are not happy in taking molly on ,
how would we train her our selfs ?

 

My sister and BIL part run a dog training club, you pay membership and go along one evening a week, you get coaching on how to train your dog, its your responsibility, you cant get a 6 month old puppy and expect it to be trained, its still a baby.

Training is an on going thing especially in the early years, even 2 or 3 yrs old they are still learning and getting used to meeting other dogs and people, the more intermingling they do the better and more laid back they will be.

I'd suggest you get involved with a local training club and go along as it would help you as well, and you would get proper advise as well as a socialisation for Molly.

 

1. Make sure you are the pack leader. The dog must look to you as the authority in the pack. That doesn't mean being cruel or strict, it just means letting the dog know it's you that's in charge. It's things like not letting the dog drag you along when on the lead, not giving treats on a whim, and only doing so after the dog has complied with some defined procedure (eg given the paw).

2. Once you are the pack leader, that will immediate relieve some of the dog's stress and anxiety, because if you're not in charge of the pack, then the dog must assume that role. In the wild that might work. In a human centric environment, the poor pooch has no chance of being a good pack leader, so it will be stressed.

At this stage, it's mostly about YOU not reacting. The dog trusts you as the leader. If you start flapping about because the dog is, you just reinforce the dog's belief that the correct reaction is to flap about.

 

this is confusing as before you said "I dont think you need a trainer as such"

 

You need the trainer to train you how to train your dog.
Its a leaning experience for both of you, you dont just get someone in to train your dog, and job done.
I think you might be getting too involved with youtube which seems to have the answer for everything and usually the solution to nothing.

 

Dogs dont have alphas. The Myth of the Alpha Dog - The Animal Health Foundation

 

When you take molly out take her favourite treats or toy, when approaching a situation that causes reactivity keep as calm as possible, feed molly the treats or let her chew the toy while trying to keep her in a heel position or even sat down. Basically rewarding her for ignoring the person or animal.

Dogs are rewarded with stimuli so if shes reacting amd youre stroking or calling her etc youre basically rewarding the reactivity so by using something they cant resist you should be able to refocus her attention and them reward a good action ie sit

 

No, but it's still a useful analogy. It's easier than writing an essay about canine psychology and the need to define behaviour boundaries.

 

I get your point, though personally i feel the term puts people in the wrong mindset, "Im the alpha so i have to dominate. Youre the beta so you only do what i say." Type of thinking which can be dangerous with dogs.

 

I think if we exclude abuse and neglect, the biggest problems that arise with dogs happens when their owners fail to realise that under a very thin veneer of cute pet like behaviour, they're a very effective predatory animal.

Dogs, in nature, are pack animals. While there may not be an alpha, there is very definitely a hierarchy. It's been disproven that they assign roles as used to be the commonly held belief, but the toughest or bravest member of the pack defines and attempts to enforce when necessary, the boundaries. You see that if ever you see two or more dogs trying to share food from the same bowl, where one will often growl and snarl at the others, and if the others accept that that's the toughest dog, they'll often back off. If one of the other dogs decides it can probably take the other dog, then there might be a fight, or the other might just barge in and take the food.

I doubt if we'll ever know for sure, but some think a dog sees its owner and other family members as part of the pack. Dogs, bless them, are not the brightest sparks. If the dog doesn't perceive that another member of the pack, holds all the authority, then they might try to assert their own authority. This is when the cute pet becomes a problem.

I've seen this happen. Years ago my friends parents had a dog that was really aggressive. The family stayed out of its way because they were scared of it. One day I was round and as usual it was barking and threatening me, as usual I ignored it, but then out of the blue it just lunged in and bit me. Not too hard. Blood was drawn but the damage was minor. I lost my temper, grabbed it by the throat and pinned it down and roared like an animal it's it's face, before letting go and telling it to get out of my sight (words which of course it wouldn't have understood but it understood noise and body language). Next time I visited the dog was totally different. It was now my best friend. Cute harmless pet. Not frightened of me, but also not aggressive in any way. My friends parents noticed the dog was still horrible with them, but lovely whenever I was round. They asked me several times to take the dog.

What do I take away from that incident? The dog was stressed because it didn't know how to behave, and the owners hardly exuded confidence. The dog saw me as someone it could trust. If there's something it's not sure about, if I'm not there, it has to figure it out itself. If I'm there, it can defer authority to me. If I give off vibes that all is ok, then all is ok.

The reason I couldn't take the dog when asked is that we already had three dogs at home. For most of my life I've always been around dogs. I've seen their little squabbles and attempts to move up the pecking order, and on occasions had to remind them were the boundaries are. Some people are horrible, and hit their dogs when they're naughty. I think that just tells them that violence is necessary to assert authority. My preference in such scenarios is more the short sharp shock of nonviolent command. Grabbing the dog that bit me, pinning it for a few seconds, and making appropriate noise says, 'i could hurt you but I choose not to'. At least equally, if not more important, is to reward good behaviour. Something else my friends parents never did with their dog.

 

Some years ago when I had a dog we would get together with my sisters dogs and have a howling session.
It was great, one of us would start and the dogs would all join in, just a bit of fun but I think it was all part of bonding between us and the dogs.
If we stopped howling, so did they, my dog never howled, at home but would always joined in with her dogs.
I think dogs do have a hierarchy, and any dog that doesn't know its place will be an unhappy dog.

That's not to say you have to totally dominate them to within an inch of their lives.

I always think its good to get a dog used to the old belly rub, because when rolled on their back they are being submissive and it means you are boss, but in a nice way.