When we get a puppy many of us think of a cute little fluff ball sitting in front of us. Those cute innocent eyes looking up at us, full of wonder and innocence. Some of us take our puppies out into the world, the safe parts, such as our workplaces, friend’s homes etc. to socialize the new puppy so they can experience new environments and people. The puppy we have so many hopes and dreams about, not realizing that this puppy may come with some challenges that were not expected. Behavior challenges, outside of the realm of knowledge the new puppy owner currently has.
There is a whole realm of reactivity with different types and level of severity. In this segment I will explain the reactivity that I experienced with my puppy. The challenges, heartbreaks, struggles, and the knowledge gained. I will prefix this and say that reactivity can be created and can be genetic.
My story:
I had been looking for a new puppy for a while when finally a friend reached out to me and let me know about a breeding that had occurred and that there were puppies available. I was so excited I jumped at this opportunity right away. I sent my deposit over to the breeder and eagerly waited for the arrival of my puppy.
My puppy arrived at 10 weeks old. Very cute of course, with too big ears for his head and innocent button eyes. He was a perfect angel in my eyes and my heart fell in love immediately. I brought him on outings for socialization right away as I knew how important it was for his breed. He came out to me with no issues. I brought him to my workplace, where everyone loved him, and brought him over to my friend’s house where he was loved by children. He explored new places, environments, and people with ease.
I met up with a friend when my puppy was about 4 months old. I brought him out of my vehicle, he immediately started to bark at my friend, I found this behavior odd but didn’t know much about what was happening, eventually, he did settle so I didn’t give it much more thought. However, this type of behavior continued and grew in intensity. At the workplace he knew so well, he started to show the same type of behavior to the people who once loved him. Barking at them and now showing some forward aggression. I became increasingly concerned about this behavior, never in my life have I ever experienced anything like this.
This type of behavior was causing concern for not only myself but others who train dogs with me. There was a real risk of someone being bitten by my dog. This puppy had serious aggression and lots of emotions that I did not know how to handle or even understand.
I had been trying to do research into why my puppy was acting like this when a friend sent me an online course about reactivity. This course was still being tested, but as I kept working this course really changed my perspective and approach to my puppy’s reactivity. The course went into detail about how reactivity is in the dog’s emotion, recognizing their triggers, and how to help change their emotions to situations. So I made a plan and every day I would utilize these methods and work with my puppy. We would go for walks and when he saw people in the distance, I would get his attention back to me and play. This was a slow process and eventually, people were able to walk by us without him reacting. But at some point, I reached the end of my knowledge, my dog still could not be touched by others unless he already had an established relationship with them. For example, he has always allowed my long-time friend into his space to cut his nails and show him affection, but doing necessary tasks like taking him to the vet terrified me because of how he might react to the staff.
Handlers’ emotions
It was heartbreaking to be a handler to a dog who has reactivity. I wondered every day if I did something to “ruin” my dog. Many people around me kept telling me “No this was not something you created” but at the end of the day I felt like I failed. I felt like I ruined this young puppy by not exposing him enough and at the same time my doubtful thoughts kept circling in my head “Have I done enough “? There were many tears shed during this time. I felt alone with my reactive dog, I saw so many other handlers working their dogs who were happy and confident, and I felt very defeated. We would make progress, but then would also end up taking a few steps backward. I was never fully able to open up and be free when working with my dog, always concerned about how he might perceive a situation or people around him as a threat. He was a young dog with lots of emotions, and I was an inexperienced handler who needed help. When my puppy was 10 months old, I decided I had again reached the limits of my knowledge and finally sought out a professional trainer who deals with extremely reactive dogs.
Handler and dog:
When I met with the professional, I told her some of the work that I had done, and to my relief she let me know I was on the right path, and we were doing great. She wanted to walk my dog on her own. I remember the emotions that swept over me, fear, doubt, and anxiety… seeing the look in my eyes she reassured me that she would be fine and that she just needed to assess my dog. Hesitantly, I handed the leash over to her, she and my dog started walking away from me and all my dog did was try and fight to get back to me. The fear I was just feeling, I saw mirrored in him as he continued to struggle. It broke my heart. At that moment I knew his reactivity wasn’t out of aggression, it was out of fear. My very young dog just needed to have confidence added to him. I knew then there was not chance I would be walking away from this dog. I was going to fight for him and let him know I am his partner, and we are in this together.
I muzzled trained him, this is something I advocate for regardless of reactivity. With him being muzzled trained, I felt more confident to take him to places where if he were to react no one would be hurt. We spent many hours walking around Home Depot, Canadian Tire, different parking lots, and any other stores that allowed pets. I took him into retail stores during the busiest time of the year, the Christmas season. Many people asked to pet him, I would always explain what we were working on and only if he would allow them to. I am very fortunate, that almost every person we came across was very understanding and helped in working with him. People would talk to me and when my dog approached them, they would give him the treat I had given them.
Eventually, I started to see his emotions change, he was becoming very confident during our outings and was showing me, that he was ready for the next step in his reactivity training. This next step was hard for me, it was to let him explore on his own and make his own choices without me managing him. After a great deal of internal struggle and conversations, I eventually allowed him to be “free”. This freedom was him being in a long line with a muzzle on, exploring his surroundings in an environment with people. This was always done in a controlled space with people I trusted. I saw him making good choices, no signs of forward aggression, he moved around every one of his own free will. Eventually, he even settled and laid down next to people who were not me.
As a handler, it is important that I know he will have moments where he will regress, but now I have the tools and knowledge to tackle this. As he gets older, I am seeing less and less of his reactivity and more of a neutral dog. Do I think this is all because of training? No. I think this is a combination of training, genetics, and maturing. He is at the point now where I can confidently take him to the vet and I know he can be touched and handled there with ease, he allows people into his space, and I see he’s more confident and comfortable. I still watch his body language to tell me what state his emotions are in.
The struggle of training a dog with reactivity is real, you’re constantly pushing through your own emotions, and your dog’s emotions and trying it’s hard not to compare your journey to someone else whose dog doesn’t have the same setbacks. I felt the judgment of others on my own journey with my dog but ultimately, he showed no signs of quitting, so neither did I. I will always be there by his side as partners will there be bumps along the way to our goal. Of course, but in those moments, we will sit back, reassess, and continue on.
Reactivity is something you don’t need to handle on your own, seek professional help, and make sure that the professionals assisting and guiding you on this journey of reactivity are knowledgeable and who really know how to tackle the challenges.