Ask the trainer: dealing with on-leash reactions

When you own a dog that is reactive on-leash, such as barking or lunging at other dogs, I assure you that you are not alone.

I understand your frustration with this behaviour when you get that "look'' from other owners who automatically

misinterpret the reactive behaviour as aggression. There are four types of leash reactivity:

Hyper motivated _ so excited to meet you I can't contain myself.

Territorial _ this is my park and my human, who do you think you are?

Proximity sensitive _ this is my bubble and you may not enter it.

Fearful _ unable to cope with new situations, under- socialised.

For all of these reactive behaviours the solution lies in building a solid relationship of trust with your dog.

If your dog has no faith in your ability to take control of situations it has no option but to take care of business itself. Your greatest skill  is to be able to have your dog's full attention and  this is achieved by training it in solid foundation skills.

Sit, wait, stay and come are everyday commands that not only achieve desired behaviour from your dog but also teach  it the magic of focus during training, to look and listen and that great rewards are given. It is important to

ensure your walking skills are enabling your dog to walk on a loose leash. If you apply pressure with a tight leash your dog will react because the physical restraint heightens their stress.

If your dog lunges toward an approaching dog, walk in the other direction to regain the focus on you. Reward your dog only once it has settled to a normal calm state. Give your dog a vocal command to draw its attention back to you, such as "look at me'', "settle''. Once your dog does so, instantly reward it.

Games such as "find it'' can also help create positive experiences in the presence of other dogs and create a rewarding game to focus on.

It is important to allow your dog to look at  its trigger, which is usually the approaching dog, as it needs to check out its environment before it will look to you for direction on how to behave.  Remember a solid stare means you have lost the opportunity to let your dog assess the situation and re-focus quickly on to you.

Using your body to block your dog's vision is also a great tool to ensure reactions are prevented and to regain focus.

Paw point of the week:

Once you have your dog's focus, don't forget to do something with it. Ask for the kind of behaviour you want, such as 'sit' or leave it and reward your dog for focus every time it visually checks in with you.

Contact me for the chance to have your question selected for publication at nadines@dogguru.co.nz. For further information on Dog Guru visit www.dogguru.co.nz.