Maybe my dog’s behavior isn’t so bad afterall

[jess531]

My husband and I are dog-sitting for my parents this weekend. My parents’ dog (L) is 9 years old, and we brought along our 3 yr old reactive dog (E). E and L have spent time together and get along fine.

L is not reactive at all, she loves everyone. Everyone always comments about what a great dog she is. My family has had her since she was a puppy. So when we got E as an adult rescue, I had never dealt with reactivity before and compared her to L, and wanted her to be friendly to everyone like L.

Well, this weekend I have been very grateful for everything that my dog, E, does well. L is a terrible listener outside, she walks in a million different directions, takes forever to do her business, doesn’t listen to come or wait. E was actually the well-behaved dog in comparison! Inside, when I ask L for a command, I don’t get a response, but E is right there with a “sit” or “wait”. Not to mention, my parent’s dog is terribly spoiled. All my dog, E, really wants is affection from me and my husband and she’s happy.

I am so glad that I spent this weekend with both dogs. I have gotten some great perspective on all of the things that my dog is great at and how, even though her reactivity is very challenging at times, the hundreds of hours of training has paid off in other ways too. God, I love my dog so much!

 

[joey1234]

@jess531 I know the feeling! My dog is also extremely reactive to other dogs, but without other dogs nearby he is very well behaved! He knows all the basic commands, several special ones that we've implemented, does not get up on furniture, does not beg or steal food, and listens to people who are not me or my fiance!

As reactive dog owners, we work so hard for every victory. While they aren't perfect (mine is a hound with typical hound stubbornness), it's always so wild seeing other people's dogs run roughshod because they stopped training after the dog was a year old.

 

[themanwhosinned]

@jess531 It sounds like you've really built up a good bond with your dog! I think you're absolutely right that all the extra training we give our reactive dogs pays off.

 

[jess531]

@themanwhosinned Thank you! Yes, agreed, the bond with my reactive dog is so strong. I know she’ll always have my back and she knows I’ll have hers

 

[joshuawithmartin]

@jess531 Isn’t it so interesting?? I’ve met so many “normal” dogs and so many “behavior” dogs and overall, I’ve actually found the behavior dogs so much more manageable and easier to live with!

I think a big part of this is just due to necessity since the guardians of the “behavior” dog usually have to work on so many tricks and management strategies and cues, whereas guardians of “normal” dogs often don’t feel the need since they don’t really have any issues.

 

[jess531]

@joshuawithmartin So true! My parents went crazy teaching their dog “fun” commands like twirl and paw, but no commands that are useful in real life.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@jess531 I think reactive dogs, because we work with them so much, end up being the best trained dogs out there. My ACD is the best and I am so proud of him, because we are always working with him, he’s always looking to listen and I swear he speaks human half the time. I often get compliments on him and how well he behaves unless he’s reacting of course

 

[heartsrose74]

@imagebeastmarkbeast Completely agree. I think reactivity forces many of us to work and train our dogs much more than those without reactivity issues.

 

[yellowking]

@jess531 I’m so happy for you that you had this great experience! Also, thanks for sharing it with us.

Reading this reminded me of all the great stuff my reactive dog has going on. Sure, we can’t take him to the brewery, but when I tell him “drop it” or “that’s enough” I know I never have to worry that he won’t listen. When people come to visit who are allergic to dogs or nervous about them, I know I can put him on a place command on one of his (many lol) beds and he will stay there like the very good boy he is. So, again, thank you. Thank you for giving me such a nice moment, too.

 

[jess531]

@yellowking Aww so glad that I could remind you of all of the positives of your reactive dog! Being a reactive dog owner is stressful and even though I know we all love our dogs to pieces, I think it’s so easy for us to get wrapped up in what they are doing wrong. It’s so nice to get some perspective.

 

[carolhanson]

@jess531 This is so true. My dog is reactive towards other dogs (unless he is introduced in a way that we have learned for him).

But took him to the vet today. He went ballistic is in the waiting room, and got some funny looks but as soon as the door shut, he was silent and wad well behaved. The vet even suggested we took to home and waited for him to sleep so we could roll him over and look at his eye... but we were like, we can do that right now. The vet was so impressed at how placid and good he was at doing what we told him to do! So yeah, hes a nightmare sometimes but brilliant in lots of over ways!

 

[jess531]

@carolhanson Yes! I think reactive dogs are honestly just too smart for their own good sometimes

 

[carolhanson]

@jess531 I agree. I think they're reactive as they're more like humans, and dont wanna be friends with everyone they meet. I certainly dont ! They like to chose their friends... and tell everyone else they dont trust to 'Back The F Up.'

 

[lilyb27]

@jess531 I was so proud of my girl when she just came to me when I asked her at the park, while the owner of the “normal” dog was running around trying to catch his. Or when I hear that other dog destroy your home and mine never destroyed anything at our place! Those are small victories which help me when I getting tired…

 

[amandabroken]

@jess531 I have to remind myself that my dog is actually incredibly well trained, just not in the conventional sense (like tricks or more advanced obedience). I also have to remind myself how much extra work we had to do to get our foundational skills set up.

My dad's dog loves every person and dog, but he's an extremely destructive chewer and he can be exhausting because he has so much energy. My dog has never chewed anything she's not supposed to and settles so well at home so we can just relax together. So much of owning a reactive dog is valuing what they do right, working through what you can change, and accepting and managing what you can't .

 

[lightlight]

@jess531 My parents have a dog reactive husky (poor puppy socialization, and bad pet parenting on their part) and when he was about 1 year old to 2 he was a holy terror running away, tearing up beds killing cats, biting dogs etc. My parents would just yell at him like thatd u know make it stop. When i got my dog she had a lot of anxiety was leash reactive. Shed tear up the trash if we left her inside for a few hours by herself or eat things off of counters while we werent looking. By this time my parents husky had mellowed out to the point where he only is dog reactive and has a high prey drive. They love to act like my dog is this holy terror or i dont know what im doing with her when in reality their dog doesnt come when called, begs all the time and is just over all a stubborn husky. My girl has been doing so good always giving eye contact and is slowly getting so much better with all of her issues.

 

[seangibbons]

@jess531 I actually sort of have both in my house. My 11 year old dog was one that I acquired when I was honestly just too young and naive to have gotten a dog on my own (and he was actually my second dog on my own , the older one has since passed away). I did some trick training fun stuff when the original 2 were younger, but definitely didn’t do any real behavior work or major training of any kind. Fast forward to my mid 30s, and I now have Pepper, my behavior challenge. It’s really “interesting” living with both of them because I can ask and expect so much more of my young reactive dog. I’ve tried to catch my older dog up because the difference is so stark, but as a sleepy senior hound dog, he is just not interested. Murph will definitely be my last untrained dog though, that’s for sure.

 

[peacenothate]

@jess531 Lucy has a lot of returns under her belt, but she is especially eager to please. She's a much better listener than Moses who is like L. She has far better recall with less training thanks to her separation anxiety. She takes far less interest in small animals including this big rat that Moses got set off over which was actually a good thing at the time cuz we didn't know about it til then and we were able to catch him before he could find a mate. She listens almost as well outside as she does inside.

 

[blessart]

@jess531 Such a good perspective! Thanks for sharing this.