How to calculate your dogs reactive

tendencies
http://praphan.com/how-to-calculate-
your-dogs-reactive-tendencies/
In the world of dog training, reactive is the
term for a dog that barks or growls feature
includes people or other dogs at an abnormal
or undesirable degree. While some reactions to
people and other dogs is to be expected -
sometimes even some barking or growling,
reactive dog is one that will not stop barking
or growling, and it appears, at least to the
casual observer, to be threatening. Of course,
small dogs rarel appears threatening, instead
of falling into the categor of mere upset
when the bark incessantl. In either case -
whether a big dog or a small one - such
seemingl uncontrollable aggressive behavior
is not acceptable and ou should work with
our dog to correct it.
!irst, however, it is important to note that
aggression is not alwas the reason for
reactive dogs. "ometimes the mere excitement
or, more often fear will lead to a dog that barks
at people and especiall other dogs. #anines
that are not well sociali$ed pupp during his
months of training %ie, that are not often
around people or other dogs& often have
problems with fear. 'ssentiall, because the
are not used to people who are not human
beings, and also used to other dogs, fear and
fear displa this manifests as excessive
barking. (lso keep in mind that the level of
stress our dog is raised during such meetings
full of bark, so the are also doing a favor for
our dog to work with him to dominate their
reactive nature.
)he process for working with a reactive dog is
actuall *uite simple. +ou need another person
to work as well as another dog. )he other dog
should preferabl be well-mannered, but must
also be a dog with our dog is no longer
familiar. )o begin, have our dog off leash
while our aide is the second dog on a leash
too. When ou take our dog outside, his
assistant and his dog on a leash is ,- feet or
more awa from ou, or at least outside the
range in which our dog reacts normall.
.is human helper and dog combo must then
proceed to move closer to ou, but in a slow
manner. (s this occurs, ou should work
closel with our dog b offering high value
treats and generall keep their attention
through praise and intercropping treatment.
)his process is known as counter
conditioning and the idea behind this is that
our dog will be trained to look for ou when
another dog or person comes into sight,
instead of reacting with barking and apparent
aggressiveness.
!rom this point, his assistant and his dog must
continue to move closer and at the same time,
ou should continue treatment and praising
our dog. /ote that the first few times ou go
through this process, it is ver likel that our
dog could ignore to some extent or divide their
attention between the treats ou are feeding
him and the other dog. )his is natural and hand
conditioning process could take a long time
and several sessions with his assistant and
another dog. .owever, the process can be
simpl plaing make our helper slowl move
closer to ou with our dog.
If ou reach the point that our dog is reacting
and not paing attention to ou, 0ust have our
assistant back even further, thus passing the
threat of our dog. #ontinue treatment and
praise as his assistant about again. (t the end
of this process which, again, ma take several
sessions, our dog must be trained or
conditioned to look for ou in particular
when faced with another dog - or another
person, if that1s what causes a reaction .
.aving gone through this process several
times and states that our dog knows ou and
look to meet other dogs, it is a good idea to go
to a place where our dog is likel to meet
other dogs. #ontinue the process of treatment
when awa from home and in the training
mode. With time, patience and continued
work, our dog will alwas look to ou when
faced with another dog, even if it has been
established that this event does not lead to a
treatment. (t that time, his onl role is to
ensure our dog, through affection or a soft
word, everthing is fine. 2 using this method
of counter conditioning, our dog should stop
reacting with other dogs and people with
uncontrollable barking.