This question was inspired by a viral vid of a dog boutique in NY that gives private shopping sessions to reactive dogs and it sent me down a rabbit hole of wondering why NOTHING caters to dogs/dog owners in this demo. I made a mock-up of some ideas here but it’s all just scratching the surface I think.
As a reactive dog owner, what kinds of things would you like to see offered or normalized?
@applefaceee Edited to add: I can't get your link to work
My idea: Sniff spots are awesome, but most of them are outdoors. I live in a climate where we usually have snow half the year and the city does a terrible job of keeping the sidewalks cleared. (My dog would be fine, I on the other hand have a tendency to slip wherever there's black ice)
I would love (and happily pay) to take my dog to a big empty warehouse or shopping mall or anywhere indoors to help burn off that energy. (Even if all we do is walk on leash and do heel training)
@surendered12345678 Have you looked into training facilities that offer agility? Most of them will offer ring rentals where you can use the agility ring privately (typically it's an hourly rental). The idea is for people to come work on agility with their dog, but there's no reason you couldn't just let your dog have a run-around. The only hiccup there is that you might need to block some of the agility equipment if your dog is not trained on it (which becomes a safety issue). Some training facilities will also offer the option to rent their training room.
@surendered12345678 In Manchester here in the UK there is a soft-play facility for dogs that you can rent out an hour at a time as a private facility, though they do also do things like breed specific group sessions and things too.
One one of my two pups are reactive, but it's on the cards for next time we're in Manchester visiting family
@applefaceee This is very specific, but I would love to see a better variety of muzzles in brick-and-mortar stores. One of my dogs is a bite risk and the other is a scavenger, and the scavenger has kind of an oddly shaped snout. It was a pain to find the right muzzle for her online. Being able to actually see and handle wire basket muzzles, silicone scavenging muzzles, etc in person it would have helped me find the right fit much faster. Most places I’ve been to just have Baskerville muzzles, which are fine for some dogs but not completely bite-proof and don’t fit certain face shapes.
@niaa YES. Ordering basket muzzles online gets really hit or miss, especially with people 3D printing them. Also, more fun colored muzzles. My girl had a bright pink one and a purple one, we got a lot of compliments. I think it would help normalize muzzle wearing if more options were readily available.
@niaa This is a great one. I’m very familiar with (and love) baskervilles because I’ve worked with a lot of pits but they are not ideal for pointy faces and there are so many other options out there.
@applefaceee I think some of the reactivity friendly classes and trials for dog sports can still be tricky for reactive dogs (with a bunch of dogs hanging out in the parking lot between runs and dogs on the premises in plain site), it would be nice to have more options for tracking and nosework, and maybe even disc or dock-diving practices individually, where the dogs could work in smaller groups or there were some more boundaries set around dogs wandering outside. A number of these sports market as though they are reactive dog friendly, but find it really depends on the trainers and facilitators.
@crt1990 Agreed. The in-person nose work classes near me market themselves as a good option for reactive dogs, and they are, once it's your turn to run and you and your dog have made it to the search area and if the search area is indoors. But:
The parking lot is small and therefore full of a certain density of dogs.
Local weather often means it's not really safe to keep dogs in cars, so dogs out in the parking lot are often out in the parking lot (leashed, but with no visible or auditory barriers).
The facility has two rooms for classes, and if the second class isn't nose work, there's no guarantee that handlers are observing (or have been educated about) reactive dog etiquette.
Most exterior searches, including vehicles, are not reactive dog friendly, and there's not a great way to make them be.
@janieve Yes, had the same experience here. The class we attended marketed itself as the same, but people would hang out with their dogs in the parking lot (so you needed to pass by a bunch of dogs on each run), and same with the trial I went to with our other dog - lots of dogs hanging out in the parking lot.
The facility is definitely a factor too, at other sport practices there are dogs visible everywhere, so our pup isn’t at the level that she would be comfortable with this.
Definitely want people to do what they need to keep their dogs safe, but these sports sort of feel accessible currently for reactivity at a fairly low-level, unless you have a mindful instructor.
@applefaceee So, similar to how there are single family restrooms at some locations where there are also shared M/W's restrooms, I'd love to see places that have self-serve dog wash stations have a single tub room near a private entrance to get reactive dogs into the one-tub bathing area and out again.
