Walking With a Reactive Dog | Tips and Thoughts
Disclaimer ~ I am not a dog trainer, these are only my own experiences and what I’ve learned. If your dog is severely reactive and potentially dangerous, you should seek professional help from a trainer
We didn’t plan on having a dog when Floss came along. It was in the middle of the pandemic and Brochan and I were hoping to get back out to Canada before our working holiday visas ran out. We had moved to Canada six weeks before the first Covid lockdown began and had just started to settle in when it all kicked off. Brochan’s and my father were both vulnerable so we decided to come home for a few moths until it all blew over…obviously it didn’t and, much to our dismay, we never went back.
My sister and her husband both worked at a veterinary practice and Floss came in at 4 weeks old with a broken leg. They think the mother may have sat on her at an awkward angle or something. Anyway, she couldn’t go back to her mother and siblings until the leg had healed so Brochan and I said we’d foster her for a couple of weeks. When she arrived she was the sweetest little mite, so friendly and full of life. We had her for a couple of weeks and by the end of it just became so attached to her we couldn’t think of parting with her, so we made the decision to adopt her.
I’ve grown up with dogs my whole life and my parents have had dogs since my mum was a child, so we thought we were experienced dog owners. None of our previous dogs were ever reactive so it didn’t even occur to me that Floss may end up like she has.
Just after adopting her, the Christmas lockdown of 2021 began and we were unable to take her anywhere to meet any other people or dogs. My sister and parents (who live next to me) both have dogs and I naively thought that that might be enough socialisation. I don’t know what made her how she is, I’ve read that it could have been her mother stressed (she was a rescue farm collie), it could be the genetics (the mother was kind but the father was unknown), it could be the lack of socialisation, the fact she was taken from her siblings too young, us being too soft on her when she was tiny (hard not to be!), bad experiences with other dogs on walks as a puppy, an injury when she was young…the list goes on and she encountered most of the ingredients to be a reactive dog.
Whatever it was we are where we are, she is reactive and we can’t change the past. Floss is so kind and loveable at home, I trust her completely with the people and dogs she knows, but she can find it hard meeting new people and dogs. She has come a long way since the height of her reactivity, so much better with new people and we’re working on her being more comfortable with new dogs but it’s a slow process.
As anyone with a reactive dog will know, and anyone who has never had one should maybe learn (I had no idea before and wish I had so I could have more sympathy toward both the people and dogs dealing with reactivity) it is very stressful having a dog who barks, lunges and generally looks terrifying when you encounter another dog! It’s even more embarrassing when the other dog is so calm and unresponsive. I always think people are judging me and wondering what I did wrong to make my dog how she is, wondering if I treated her badly which is so far from the truth. It’s even worse when you’re someone who loves the outdoors, climbing mountains, hiking and camping. Campsites are generally out of bounds and walking in national parks can be a nightmare being so much busier than other places.
So I thought I’d share my tips on how to cope with walking with a reactive dog and hopefully they’ll help you if you’re in the same position and give you some confidence to take your dog out more!
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First off, and maybe the most important - recall ~
Perfect your recall! This is invaluable, having a reactive dog that doesn’t listen and runs away is not only stressful but could be dangerous.
Knowing that your dog will come back when called is also peace of mind. We use the book Total Recall which has helped massively, we’ve never let her off the lead in busier or unknown places so I don’t know if she will come back if she was actually reacting, but she does come back mid way though running after a ball which is promising! We use the command “by me” which was new when we started using it so she had no association with ignoring it. It explains it all in the book and I defiantly recommend it.
Learn about reactivity ~
We knew nothing about reactivity before we had Floss. We thought it was all our fault because we brought her up badly and just didn’t understand why she was like she was. Learning about what can trigger dogs and what drives them into being reactive can be so helpful. There are so many different reasons and not all of them are within the owners control. Once you know what your dog’s triggers are and how to manage them, you can start working on it. Sometimes it’s because your dog is in pain and you don’t know, so take them for a check up and make sure they are healthy and well. It can be fear, leadership issues, genetics…the list goes on but until you are familiar with the issues you can’t effectively treat them. With collies and other high energy dogs, a level of reactivity can be down to lack of exercise and mental stimulation, but be careful with this because you can also over exercise a dog which can also make them highly strung!
Start obedience training ~
We are still working on Floss’s obedience, getting her to heel and sit until we tell her she can move e.g. when we’ve thrown a ball we don’t let her run to get it until we say, or while we walk away form her. It is also useful to get your dog to focus on you and not break their attention until you say they can, and we get her to wait and focus on us before we let her have her dinner or before running for a toy. I think the idea behind these methods is just to get your dog to override their instincts, getting them to wait before running for balls or going for their food is like training them not to immediately react.
Getting them to heel is to make sure they are not in front of you if a potential trigger comes round the corner.
We have tired a lot of different training methods and your dog may need something different to Floss because of their character. But we use a combination of obedience, reward and leadership. Some people say punishment/dominance training is good for reactive dogs. I personally don’t agree with any physical punishment and for Floss her reactivity is based on fear, she is a nervous dog, so instilling more fear in her from us just doesn’t make sense! Brochan found this really good online trainer which I’ll link here. Dog training seems like quite a political subject, I know people who do use some sort of punishment (but it’s not very cruel, no prong/shock collars etc) and swear by it. And my parents dog Binky, who is a little dopey, if she was tapped on the head as punishment she would honestly think it was a game!
I think training needs to be determined by the dog and their character in the end, what they can cope with and what they will respond to.
Use a Halti walking or a muzzle in busier places ~
We currently use a Halti with Floss and are looking at buying a lightweight muzzle for busier places. The Halti not only helps with getting Floss to heel but it also feels safer and stronger if we come across a trigger. I think people also feel like you’ve got more control over your reacting dog if you have a Halti on as it goes around their noses. I certainly feel I have more control which puts my mind at rest. We do have a Baskerville muzzle for her but it’s quite chunky and she really doesn’t like it which is why we’re looking into lighter ones.
Floss has never bitten anyone but we wan’t to get a muzzle trained more for peace of mind in busier places. Sometimes dogs, children and even adults will just come right up to Floss and I don’t even want to risk her being pushed so far she does end up snapping. Also when people see a muzzle they tend to automatically give that dog space. Another thing we are looking at getting is a slip for her lead which says “nervous” or “reactive dog” and warns people to give her space.
Walk in the early morning ~
At home I get up very early to walk Floss around my local footpaths. Early morning seems to be the safest bet not to come across too many people/dogs and is the time I feel most comfortable walking her. In more open spaces such as the mountains the day time is easier to walk as you can see further and so can avoid people/dogs more easily.
Find quieter spaces ~
We use OS maps for walking and this enables us to find quieter paths and open access land where we don’t even need to follow paths (just note that from March to October there are ground nesting birds so you should always follow some sort of path to avoid disturbing nests, also be careful not to walk into bogs!). We tend to follow sheep paths if we go off footpaths on open access land, sheep have usually worked out the driest (and bog free) routes and so are generally safe to follow (still look out for bogs though!).
Walking on mountains is where I prefer to walk with Floss just because of visibility, you can generally see far ahead of you for any potential triggers, also people tend to stick to the most used footpaths and trails, so if you don’t use these you’ll generally find quieter places.
Make sure to be familiar with map reading and navigation, if you’re not already, if you are planning to go off route. I have a book about navigation by Cicerone press which is really helpful to learn the basics, make sure to practice in places you are familiar with before trekking into the unknown! Doing a practical course may be helpful also, I had my dad to help me with physically practicing.
Keep you’re dog on a long training lead if you’re unfamiliar with a place or you can’t see very far ahead ~
This is for safety mainly but also peace of mind, Brochan tends to let Floss off more than me, I feel more comfortable knowing I can pull her back if I need to. Of course if you can see far ahead it’s generally ok to let them off the lead, just make sure to put them back on when you can’t see very far! The long lead gives them more freedom to roam while still having control over them. Apparently extendable leads aren’t very good as it teaches your dog that pulling (against the tension of the mechanism) rewards them with more lead, which is why I recommended a training lead.
Camping ~
Wild camping is illegal in England (except Dartmoor) and Wales without prior permission from the land owner, so I can’t really recommend that on here but we’ve never camped in a campsite. If you do wild camp (say in Scotland ;)), make sure to camp off the beaten track and in quieter places. Don’t go for wild camping spots that are recommended online etc as they are far more likely to have other people already there. Keep your dog on a long lead so if anyone does come along you can keep them under control. Once you are familiar with map reading you can work out the contours of the land and where there are flat/boggy/steep areas, which will then help you find potential camping spots.
Do some practice runs closer to home or in your garden to get your dog used to being in a tent. Floss was very nervous the first time we camped and we had almost no sleep from her getting in and out of the tent all night. So getting them used to it first, in a familiar environment, will be less stressful for your dog when camping somewhere unfamiliar and maybe more sleep for you! And of course stick to the general rules of wild camping, leave no trace, pitch up late and pack up early :)
Talk to people ~
I find this quite awkward but I’ve never encountered someone who’s rude or unhelpful. If you are with someone, one of you could hold your dog and the other go ahead to explain to who ever is coming towards you that your dog is reactive and could they give you space or put their dog on a lead. People are usually kind and understanding and wan’t to do what they can to help you.
Sometimes if people are a bit funny, just say your dog is a rescue and they usually soften. This may be a lie if your dog isn’t a rescue but if people don’t understand reactivity they do usually understand what rescue means and that these dogs may have been through trauma. I don’t usually agree with lying but in this case, until reactivity is understood more and talked about, it’s just so much easier!
Final thoughts ~
These are all just ways that Brochan and I have found to make coping with a reactive dog easier when out adventuring. They aren’t always easy solutions and can take a lot of work, time and patience! I think an important thing is to just try not to be embarrassed about your dog, I find it really hard and feel quite ashamed when I encounter dogs while walking Floss, but there are so many reasons a dog can become reactive and it’s rarely the owners fault or intentionally caused. Also, remain calm, which is also so much easier said than done!
I hope these tips help you and if you have any other methods you use to deal with a reactive dog I’d love to hear about them in the comments :)
