The Foundation of Reactivity:

Why Is My Dog Reactive To Other Dogs?

Are you continually asking yourself

How do I make my dog stop being reactive?

There is no one size fits all answer to this question. But understanding how triggers and physiology impacts behaviour is an essential part of helping your dog to become less reactive.

In the world of dog training, we often see people frantically trying to stop their dogs' barking, the lunging, and the snapping at other dogs when out on walks. But if we don’t look at the whole picture, the efforts to stop those behaviours will never hold.

To truly help a reactive dog, we have to stop focusing on stopping the behaviour and start asking why it is there in the first place and what can we do to help the dog not react.

How to Change Reactive Behaviour?

The "Why" Behind the Bark

All behaviour is communication. Every species have a special form of communicating with each other and the environment, Every behaviour serves a function.

For reactive dogs, that function is usually to communicate that they are struggling, and they need distance away from the triggers.

When a dog has an emotion—whether it’s fear, excitement, frustration, or even physical pain—their body reacts. If they feel threatened by a dog approaching them or their food or a stranger walking past the gate, they use their "big" behaviours (barking/lunging or biting) to make that threat go away.

What is a red flag dog's behaviour?

Think about how you, or another human, acts when scared, angry or frightened. You will probably see shouting, screaming, arms waving, fighting, or you may run away

Reactive dogs bark, lunge, snap or bite, and may try to avoid triggers, which is hard when on a lead.

See the comparison?

Red flags should be the triggers that cause the behaviour, not the behaviour itself. When a dog reacts, it is because the situation that they are in is too stressful, and we have taken away their means of escape, or they are stuck in an adrenalin response and can’t break out of it.

The Chemical Cocktail: Adrenaline and Cortisol

What are the effects of cortisol and adrenaline?

When a dog is reactive, they aren't being "bad" or "dominant." They are experiencing a massive physiological shift.

• Adrenaline: This is the "quick-fire" hormone. It hits the system instantly, preparing the dog for fight or flight. It’s why your dog can go from 0 to 60 in a split second.

• Cortisol: This is the "slow-burn" stress hormone. Unlike adrenaline, cortisol stays in the system for days.

How does cortisol affect animal behaviour?

When a dog is chronically stressed or in pain, their cortisol levels remain high. This creates a state of hypervigilance. Their "stress bucket" is already full; even a tiny trigger—like the sound of the floorboards creaking or the owner standing up—can cause the bucket to overflow into a reactive outburst. Cortisol lasts in the system longer than adrenalin and when a dog is exposed to triggers and has frequent reactive behaviour episodes, high levels of cortisol will remain in the system influencing reactive behaviours. It becomes a vicious circle

There are five responses to adrenalin

• Fight

• Flight

• Faint

• Fool/Flirt

• Freeze

Why is my dog randomly reactive?

This could be due to many factors, however, when cortisol levels rise, so does reactive behaviour. It is likely that they have a full cortisol bucket and cannot regulate their behaviour as well as they can when cortisol is lower.

The Trap of Rehearsal

One of the most important steps in changing behaviour is preventing further rehearsal. Think of a behaviour like a path in a forest. Every time your dog lunges at a passerby or guards the sofa, they are walking that path. The more they walk it, the wider and smoother that path becomes. Eventually, it becomes their "autopilot" response.

By using management tools like baby gates, window film, or quiet walking routes, we stop the dog from walking that old path. We allow the "aggression" neural pathways to go dormant while we begin building a new foundation.

When faced with situations causing adverse behavioural responses, the behaviour becomes practised and the brain continually triggers a response because it has a protective factor for the dog.

How to change reactive behaviour?

Shifting the Foundation: From Negative to Positive

The goal of a modern behaviour plan isn't to suppress the dog's voice; it’s to change the dog’s internal world.

Rome was not built in a day and reactive behaviour will not, and should not, change overnight.

The neural pathways are strong because the dog has practised them over and over again. Those pathways need to shrink and new pathways formed. This takes regular and consistent practise of new behaviours and avoid current behaviours.

Instead of teaching the dog "don't bark," we work on changing the emotional value of the situation.

• Not exposing your dog to the triggers causing the behaviour

• Lowering cortisol levels, so the dog is able not to react, relax and breath!

• Work with a responsible, ethical, qualified, experienced force free dog behaviourist

• Understand what your dog needs and put that into place so they don’t have to react to communicate and be heard

• Counter conditioning and desensitisation of triggers

Once the emotional value for the behaviour is changed from negative to positive, the need for the behaviour will change. You won't have to tell the dog to stop barking; they simply won't feel the need to shout any more because they finally feel safe.

Will a reactive dog always be reactive?

No, with the right approach, time and consistency. Reactive behaviour can be reversed.

Is my dog's reactivity my fault?

No, there are many reasons why reactive behaviour happens. It is not your fault. But you can help your dog!

Summary: Fix the Foundation First

If your dog is struggling with reactivity, remember:

1. Check for Pain: You cannot train through physical discomfort.

2. Manage the Environment: Stop the rehearsal of the "bad" path.

3. Respect the Emotions: Address the fear or insecurity, and the behaviour will follow.

4. Seek professional help. Rovers Return is a reactive dog specialist and offers a free call to discuss your dog's behaviour and a specific plan can be discussed to help change your dogs' behaviour.

Building a solid foundation takes time, but it’s the only way to ensure the house stays standing.