A common behavioural issue we are seeing much more frequently.
Reactivity
Regardless of where the reactivity stems from; fear, barrier frustration or from a dog that is constantly hyper alert and over stimulated/aroused, allowing your dog to be reactive on a daily basis only sets them up to fail and creates a learnt cycle of behaviour that is both empowering to the dog and heavily reinforcing.
How do we change this? By taking more control over your dogs choices and daily decisions, especially how they deal with and interact with their environment.
FEAR - If your dog is fearful/anxious, then they are desperate for YOU to take the lead and provide them with the structure of understanding the world and all its pressures. Leaving them to work out how to deal with their triggers only makes them more anxious and more stressed - YOU must take control of their life to alleviate their worries. Guide them, teach them and lead them into better choices and behaviours.
BARRIER FRUSTRATION - Remove other dogs & people from your dogs life for a while, YOU are the value not the environment. CONTROL how they interact with and deal with different situations, TEACH them to be socially neutral, dogs are just dogs and people are just people, not something to provide your dog with stimulation and over arousal.
HYPERALERT - Your dog does not need to be mentally/physically stimulated to the levels society and social media states they do each day. YOU are creating an adrenaline junkie that cannot switch off or relax, being calm is the last thing on your dogs mind. YOU have conditioned your dog to be this way; constant play, free running, playing with other dogs, zero structure, licki mats, puzzle feeders, squeaky toys, tuggy toys the list is endless. Rather spend your time teaching your dog to switch off, calm down, have better manners and a calmer state of mind in any and all environments.
YOU need to deal with reactivity as it happens, consistently and with intent. All dog behaviour is a package deal, so looking at your relationship with your dog as a whole and working on the finer details of their day to day life will definitely have a bearing on how your dog deals with environmental triggers.
YOUR control, input and structure leads to stability and balance, help your dog by leading them into better choices, decisions and behaviours.
At Extremus, we promise that your relationship with your dog will be on a whole new level if you can help guide them into becoming a stable, balanced and well mannered member of society.
