Group training is not the answer for your dog’s reactivity.
Reactive dogs are my specialty - I live, breathe, and love them (everything about them!)
While reactivity is a common problem plaguing companion dogs, no two reactive dogs are the same, making each training case challenging and unique.
I love figuring out what reactive dogs are trying to accomplish with their (often explosive) behavior, and devising a plan specifically for that individual dog to help them accomplish what they want, with much less energy expenditure - and in a way that better suits their guardian! Teaching a reactive dog the skills needed to encounter and navigate their triggers with ease and comfort is such a rewarding experience, no matter how many times I do it.
But reactive dog training is not as straight forward as you might think.
So often, we see a dog struggling with their social skills around other dogs and we think “Ah, I know what my dog needs - MORE social interactions and exposure to other dogs.”
These same guardians are often floored when they hire me to help them work on their dog’s reactivity, only to learn that our first training session will NOT have a dog present. In fact, the first several sessions will not involve another dog.
When I explain the training plan to new clients, I am often asked “Vanessa, how can we possibly teach my dog to behave differently around other dogs, if there isn’t another dog around?”
And it’s a great question.
But, as a certified dog trainer with years of experience and education under my belt, I don’t need to see your dog react towards another dog in order to devise a training plan for them. In fact, I don’t WANT to see your dog react - because every time your dog reacts to another dog they experience stress, and every time they rehearse this behavior, the more reflexive that reaction is and the better they get at it.
Most reactive dogs I consult with are dealing with varying degrees of trigger-stacking, meaning, they’ve been OVER exposed to other dogs and are experiencing chronically high levels of stress that they are never given a chance to recover from.
Just like humans, dogs cannot effectively learn new skills when they are under stress, or feel unsafe, so our first task is to help these dogs decompress, destress, and get back to a baseline (whatever that looks like for you dog.) And that means, we need to prevent our dogs from getting too close to their triggers or experiencing stress around them.
The majority of an initial reactive dog training program might be spent ensuring there is appropriate management in place so that the dog is never close enough to another dog where they feel the need to react as they’ve previously done.
Simultaneously, we need to start teaching the dog new, preferred behaviors to perform when they encounter another dog in the future. We cannot simply tell our dog not to react to a trigger, we need to show them an alternative way to react instead.
The dog’s trigger (the other dog) will only be re-introduced to the training picture when I am confident that the dog has sufficiently decompressed (and is no longer trigger-stacked), and that the dog has the sufficient skillset to navigate this dog in a more appropriate and effective way. I want to ensure that the dog’s skills have been proofed well, so that the dog can access and utilize them, even when another dog is present. I want to be confident that the dog can handle a training set-up comfortably, without feeling unsafe or stressed.
Based off of this approach, a group class is generally contradicted for most reactive dogs; at least initially.
In fact, a group class could do more harm than good, and exacerbate your dog’s fear, anxiety, or frustration about other dogs, thus escalating their reactive behavior. A group environment is not one where a reactive dog is likely to feel safe, secure, or under-threshold (not stressed out), thus not an environment that sets the dog up to succeed and learn.
With all dog training, our dog’s emotional well-being needs to be priority. Exposing a dog to a trigger, such as another dog, before they are ready to tackle this type of scenario, is not fair to the dog.
With dog training, but especially reactivity, we should be striving to take a proactive approach, not a reactive one. What this means is, we should be aiming to get ahead of the reactive behavior - management to prevent the rehearsal of reactivity, decompression to manage the dog’s stress, and teaching the dog new, preferred behaviors and skills to replace reactivity - not reacting to our dog’s unwanted, reactive behavior with corrections.
Simply seeking to stop behavior does not communicate to our dog what they should be doing in that situation. We need to do more than simply telling the dog “no.”
If your dog is starting to show signs of reactivity, and you’re unsure what the best approach is to start addressing this behavior, reach out to a professional to ask their advice. Don’t simply assume that increasing exposure and interactions to other dogs is the answer. You could save your dog from a lot of undo stress and trauma, which can take significant time (and patience) to undo.
Reactivity can be scary, overwhelming, and confusing, but you don’t need to navigate it blindly. Reach out to a trainer who works with reactive dogs, and ask them where to start. Sign up for a training program or course to learn more about your dog’s reactivity, so you can better understand why they are behaving the way they are.
Don’t feel like you have to travel down this road alone.
And don’t forget to stay awesome,
Vanessa
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Vanessa Charbonneau, is the author of Dog Care for Puppies: A guide to Feeding, Playing, Grooming and Behavior. She owns Sit Pretty Behavior & Training, employing force-free training techniques to work with companion dogs and their owners. Charbonneau lives in Prince George, BC with her husband, two daughters, and one dog.