mauricio512
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@etujofily Yeah part of having a good reactive dog is never giving them an opportunity to be bad. It’s not about fixing them as much as learning how to set them up for success.
It’s me, the perfectly behaved dog at the bar patio
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@mauricio512 So well said! If I had a reward, I'd give it to you
mauricio512
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franciscovelasco
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@mauricio512 THIS! This needs to be shouted to every dog parent repeatedly! STOP SETTING YOUR DOG UP FOR FAILURE!!!! Learn what your dog’s limits are & work from there
madmoonsam
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@mauricio512 This is our dog. Our dog is incredible in public. He’s supposed to be an SDIT, but his anxiety at home, separation anxiety, and reactivity in our neighborhood specifically are extremely hard on him and on us. You’d never know if you met him outside of our actual neighborhood. In his case it comes from malicious neighbors. He’s fine at other homes, other neighborhoods, other people. Here, he’ll snarl and lunge at dogs near our house and bark at every little noise well into the night.
slaphappie
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@mauricio512 My leash reactive dog does absolutely amazing at the vet. They sit there politely ignoring all the other animals. Animals that they will bark at the minute we get outside. But in the vet’s office, always compliments about how well behaved.
mauricio512
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@slaphappie My two human fearful/reactive girls love the cookie lady vet. She might he their favorite not family member.
@slaphappie My reactive dog becomes weirdly affectionate when he’s anxious at the vet, rubbing on legs, basically tries to climb into the tech’s lap for cuddles (he’s a 40lb heeler 
), nuzzles hands. It’s very cute, and I think looks strange that I always have a basket muzzle on him when he goes. But sometimes (very rarely) if he sees another dog when he’s on leash he’ll redirect onto my calf, so the muzzle is on every time he’s on leash where another dog may be present.
), nuzzles hands. It’s very cute, and I think looks strange that I always have a basket muzzle on him when he goes. But sometimes (very rarely) if he sees another dog when he’s on leash he’ll redirect onto my calf, so the muzzle is on every time he’s on leash where another dog may be present.getonyourfeetmusic
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@dukeyr My guy gets a larger than usual dose of trazodone and gabapentin before the vet so he's not exactly "woozy" but he is definitely altered when he gets there. Then when they ask, I have to tell them that sometimes if he objects to certain handling he will snap so he gets the "party hat." He does so well and sits so pretty for the jerky treats that I'm sure they think I'm lying about him. It doesn't help that he's a corgi so he basically looks like a stuffed animal 90% of the time.
michaelsayen
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@mauricio512 My leash reactive dog was with me and my friends on a trip. My friend was CONVINCED i was being dramatic about my dogs problems and that “he just seems… fine in public??” and i had to tell her.. “yep, that’s cause of all our training” 
we were in a park and a big dog ran behind us and i actively trained him away from it while he was barking and lunging and my friend was like “ooooooh, you’re right.” Im really grateful my dog comes off as a chill dog, but that came with a LOT of work
we were in a park and a big dog ran behind us and i actively trained him away from it while he was barking and lunging and my friend was like “ooooooh, you’re right.” Im really grateful my dog comes off as a chill dog, but that came with a LOT of work
cowgirlup727
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@michaelsayen I had a similar exp w a friend. Honestly, most people don't understand.
@mauricio512 Thank you so much for posting this. My dog is truly perfect in every way, as far as everyone else assumes and as far as I’m concerned — usually. He follows every command, has perfect recall, is gentle and smart and sweet. He doesn’t jump on people. He doesn’t get up in anyone’s face. He doesn’t even lick without consent! He won’t jump up and steal food off the counter (but anything floor level is fair game). He’s amazing with cats, kids and people in general. He is extremely easy to train and loves learning new tricks. He loves cuddling and sitting on the porch, people watching. His mild temperament and love for occasional adventure makes him my perfect companion. He’s lazy, but loves to go on our twice daily neighborhood walks, loves to play catch with his favorite duck, and loves to figure out puzzles.
He’s also dealt with absolutely insane separation anxiety (from me). It was so bad for the first six months he was here. He’s my shadow. I can not walk from one side of the kitchen to the other without him immediately on my heels. Until about seven months ago, if I left the house, he sat dutifully at the window waiting for me — even if I was gone overnight — getting excited each time he thought a sound or car might be me and crying when it wasn’t. He’s also dog reactive, but only certain dogs, and it isn’t dependent on size or breed or gender or shape or height or anything we can determine and figure out, so it’s unpredictable. We’ve had to work so hard to help him. His separation anxiety is so much better! I can actually close a door and spend time alone when need be and he’ll go chill in his spot on the couch. He relaxes when I leave the house, too. His dog reactivity is also better, but we still have a lot of work to do. If he’s on leash and with me, he’s fine. We can go in public, we can go on walks, we can be in our yard. But, if he’s with someone else or if he’s in our yard and a dog approaches he barks so loudly it’s deafening. That bark used to come with every dog being walked past our house (even when he was inside) and now only comes when he’s outside, in our own yard on his lead (always supervised) and a dog walks near our yard, or when we’re walking and a dog he’s reactive to is walking towards and past us. It’s like he has FOMO.
Nobody would ever guess this when meeting and greeting him. I’m glad he’s so happy and personable. I just wish I could scream, sometimes, because it’s truly stressful and I want him to be happy and calm! Don’t even get me started on thunderstorms and artillery (we live right outside the back gate of a large military base and the booms go off for hours on end, almost daily). He thinks every person he meets exists to be his BFF but he also thinks the sound of thunder exists to squash him, personally. Ugh. From June 25th or so to July 7th or so, the nightly fireworks made this a miserable household. Like I said, we have a long way to go!
He’s also dealt with absolutely insane separation anxiety (from me). It was so bad for the first six months he was here. He’s my shadow. I can not walk from one side of the kitchen to the other without him immediately on my heels. Until about seven months ago, if I left the house, he sat dutifully at the window waiting for me — even if I was gone overnight — getting excited each time he thought a sound or car might be me and crying when it wasn’t. He’s also dog reactive, but only certain dogs, and it isn’t dependent on size or breed or gender or shape or height or anything we can determine and figure out, so it’s unpredictable. We’ve had to work so hard to help him. His separation anxiety is so much better! I can actually close a door and spend time alone when need be and he’ll go chill in his spot on the couch. He relaxes when I leave the house, too. His dog reactivity is also better, but we still have a lot of work to do. If he’s on leash and with me, he’s fine. We can go in public, we can go on walks, we can be in our yard. But, if he’s with someone else or if he’s in our yard and a dog approaches he barks so loudly it’s deafening. That bark used to come with every dog being walked past our house (even when he was inside) and now only comes when he’s outside, in our own yard on his lead (always supervised) and a dog walks near our yard, or when we’re walking and a dog he’s reactive to is walking towards and past us. It’s like he has FOMO.
Nobody would ever guess this when meeting and greeting him. I’m glad he’s so happy and personable. I just wish I could scream, sometimes, because it’s truly stressful and I want him to be happy and calm! Don’t even get me started on thunderstorms and artillery (we live right outside the back gate of a large military base and the booms go off for hours on end, almost daily). He thinks every person he meets exists to be his BFF but he also thinks the sound of thunder exists to squash him, personally. Ugh. From June 25th or so to July 7th or so, the nightly fireworks made this a miserable household. Like I said, we have a long way to go!
@mauricio512 Thank you for posting this. My boys are 60/40 in public erring on appropriate and whenever I run into people struggling with their dogs I try to be reassuring; people luckily have been when I’m in that position.
mauricio512
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newtofaithjennifer
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@mauricio512 I’m so glad I saw your post, it really made me feel better about my situation. It seems like people always seem to walk past us when my dog is loosing it with her barrier frustration and issues with getting other dogs nicely.
Hahaha although I’ve had people comment on my well mannered girl while we were hiking or she’s in my car for long drives, and I’m just always only thinking “please let no dog or small animal walk past right now while she’s finally getting positive attention and no one is scared of her”
Hahaha although I’ve had people comment on my well mannered girl while we were hiking or she’s in my car for long drives, and I’m just always only thinking “please let no dog or small animal walk past right now while she’s finally getting positive attention and no one is scared of her”
@mauricio512 I get compliments on how sweet and good my chihuahua is whenever I bring her places. She’s the perfect shopping cart dog, office dog, and restaurant dog (at restaurants that allow her to sit with us). She’s also so well-behaved at the dog park that my group of dog park friends are always asking why I don’t bring her more often.
Unfortunately, as well-mannered as she is in many public places, she also has the worst car anxiety I’ve ever seen. She has full blown panic attacks the second she gets in a car, and after trying everything we could think of to help her get over her fear, it somehow just got worse. Now she also panic poops in the car, on top of everything else. She’s also VERY reactive to dogs whenever we go out for a walk around the neighborhood or in a pet store—it’s honestly embarrassing. She just happens to be really polite in public settings and in settings where her “stranger threshold” has been maxed out.
Unfortunately, as well-mannered as she is in many public places, she also has the worst car anxiety I’ve ever seen. She has full blown panic attacks the second she gets in a car, and after trying everything we could think of to help her get over her fear, it somehow just got worse. Now she also panic poops in the car, on top of everything else. She’s also VERY reactive to dogs whenever we go out for a walk around the neighborhood or in a pet store—it’s honestly embarrassing. She just happens to be really polite in public settings and in settings where her “stranger threshold” has been maxed out.
danielson0101
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@mauricio512 I have a small dog, a tiny one (under 5kg). It's always one extreme or the other. For the most part she is very well behaved and relaxed. Wants everyone walking past to give her cuddles and will shamelessly roll on her back for strangers. Also loves any other medium or small dogs that walks past and won't react even if they bark their heads off at her, even most big dogs she loves when it's just us, she's made friends with cane corsos, and even a mastiff. So when we are out and about people always stop and say what a delight she is, that they've never seen a small dog so sweet and quietly well behaved as her before. BUT in specific circumstances, where we are walking in a bigger group or there are other dogs walking with us, she suddenly feels like she's part of a pack and acts differently. She'll bark at anything with small wheels (trollies, tricycles etc) and any big dogs, almost manically, and it's a real effort to get her to stop. And then I get the eye rolls and "little dog syndrome", and people muttering about how they hate little dogs. Really upsets me.
@mauricio512 This is such an important reminder for the exhausted and frustrated redditors in this sub! My pup is not ready to be leashed around other dogs in any situation where we don’t have wide open spaces and plenty of distance from other dogs. But I can let her play off leash with certain dogs in our apartment building, she’s great at daycare, and she’s an absolute angel in the house. Just about every dog (if not 100%) has at least one quirk that the owners have to learn to deal with. Leash reactivity is just one of the most obvious to random strangers in public.
michele0410
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@mauricio512 My dog is somewhat similar. He’s not outwardly reactive on his leash and generally ignores people and other dogs. He’s obedient and especially after a play session, walks in a nice heel. Doesn’t help that he also is adorable. A quick “he’s beautiful” or “great dog” while passing by — no problem. I wish it would stop there. However, people think he’s well behaved and sweet so they approach and try to interact with him.
Oh boy. When he’s acknowledged he’s a whole different dog. I usually don’t let people approach and cut them off but some people really sneak up on you. I was pouring him water once and lo and behold, some random old man came up behind us talking about “beautiful dog!”. Thanks, now kindly leave before he loses it. If someone were to make kissy noises at him, reach out to pet him or even gush and say “Good boy!!” he’s barking and lunging and snarling. Same with dogs. He’s good at ignoring dogs but if a dog were to react, lunge and snarl at him, he’d likely lunge back. So yeah—he looks like a friendly dog, till you engage him. The stranger danger is real. He disengages quick though! But it’s still a frightening reaction from an 80 pound dog.
PSA: Please don’t engage dogs that aren’t your own. Even if you think they are the cutest dog in the world, please remember that dog might not want to be gushed over. Your actions (as benign as they seem) may leave them feeling threatened.
Oh boy. When he’s acknowledged he’s a whole different dog. I usually don’t let people approach and cut them off but some people really sneak up on you. I was pouring him water once and lo and behold, some random old man came up behind us talking about “beautiful dog!”. Thanks, now kindly leave before he loses it. If someone were to make kissy noises at him, reach out to pet him or even gush and say “Good boy!!” he’s barking and lunging and snarling. Same with dogs. He’s good at ignoring dogs but if a dog were to react, lunge and snarl at him, he’d likely lunge back. So yeah—he looks like a friendly dog, till you engage him. The stranger danger is real. He disengages quick though! But it’s still a frightening reaction from an 80 pound dog.
PSA: Please don’t engage dogs that aren’t your own. Even if you think they are the cutest dog in the world, please remember that dog might not want to be gushed over. Your actions (as benign as they seem) may leave them feeling threatened.
smokymountaineer
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@mauricio512 THANK YOU
I had a jack russell terrier that I brought EVERWHERE. She was an absolute delight to all humans, kids. Just perfection in public. Took her to 4 years of college classes, she would curl up under my legs and sleep. Quiet most well behaved pup. Side story, had a professor who was bit as a kid in the face by a terrier and by the end of the course was bringing her treats and loving up on her. Fully got over his fear and told me he didn't even realize she was in the classroom until about 3 weeks in as she was so quiet and well behaved.
But I couldn't trust her off leash around animals her similar size or smaller. Her drive instinct was too strong. She murdered kittens, squirrels, racoon, birds, gophers.
She was so gentle and sweet with toddlers and young kids being rough with her. She would just stand there an endure the abuse, kiss their fingers, and be a great little pup.
But when it came to critters moving fast she lunges and kills. Can't fault her for it as that was what 1000 years of breeding does.
I had a jack russell terrier that I brought EVERWHERE. She was an absolute delight to all humans, kids. Just perfection in public. Took her to 4 years of college classes, she would curl up under my legs and sleep. Quiet most well behaved pup. Side story, had a professor who was bit as a kid in the face by a terrier and by the end of the course was bringing her treats and loving up on her. Fully got over his fear and told me he didn't even realize she was in the classroom until about 3 weeks in as she was so quiet and well behaved.
But I couldn't trust her off leash around animals her similar size or smaller. Her drive instinct was too strong. She murdered kittens, squirrels, racoon, birds, gophers.
She was so gentle and sweet with toddlers and young kids being rough with her. She would just stand there an endure the abuse, kiss their fingers, and be a great little pup.
But when it came to critters moving fast she lunges and kills. Can't fault her for it as that was what 1000 years of breeding does.