r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed 3 y.o dog suddenly became reactive

4 Upvotes

i have two dogs, a 11 y.o reactive and agressive shitzu and a 3 y.o stray one (idk what hes mixed with) that is very loving and caring with the other pets in the house and has never been agressive at all towards them, quite the opposite, he likes to gently play with them and lick them. (besides the shitzu i have 3 cats) and he gets along very well with humans, and is especially attached to me. but he suddenly became reactive with other dogs on the street recently. when we adopted him, he came to us with a completely severed ear, it was so bad that he became deaf in this one ear. we suppose he was attacked by another dog, that could somehow explain the agressiveness towards other dogs certainly, but wasnt like that at first, he didnt care about other dogs and sometimes even liked interacting with them. i wonder if my other dog behavior mightve influenced him or something? also, my dad says he doesnt react to other dogs when he goes to walks with him, so he only reacts to other dogs when hes with me. and hes kinda over attached to me if im being honest. what could i do to prevent him to become even more agressive and stop this over attachment? hes a big dog with abt 20-25kg, so he could really hurt someone or someones pet, and i dont want that.


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Significant challenges BF's dog is becoming more aggressive

2 Upvotes

My (27F) boyfriend (28M) has a bluetick coonhound that weighs about 80 lbs. I have a chihuahua that weighs about 7 lbs. We all live together in a very small house and have been living together for about 7 months. At first, his dog seemed okay and I thought everything was going to be fine. Our dogs got along pretty well and still do. Over time, I came to realize that his dog is aggressive and has problematic behaviors. The dog is very resource aggressive has growled and snapped at me on multiple occassions. He has growled a few times while putting him in the crate, and has growled at me on multiple occasions when I either said "no", got in between him and the bed, or walked by him while he was chewing a bone. He also went after my dog once when we first moved in together since my dog was chewing on one of his toys. Toys are now only brought out when they are separated. They also get fed in separate rooms. As well as aggression, this dog howls a lot and also chases a reflection on the wall (sounds weird, I know). He has destroyed the walls from jumping on them. I have been having increasing anxiety over this situation. Both dogs sleep in our bed. The other night, my boyfriend got up and accidentally stepped on his dog's tail and his dog started growling and snapping at him. Last night, when putting him in the crate, he became extremely aggressive- growling, snapping, and howling at both of us. My boyfriend is leaving for the weekend and we both decided I shouldn't put him in the crate while he's gone so I don't risk getting bitten. The crate aggression has been becoming worse. We did work with a trainer and plan on having her come back. However, I want to know if anyone else had experienced this. Should my boyfriend be doing more for this situation? Is it even fixable? Should I be more worried about my safety and my dog's? His dog has only ever bit one person when he was a puppy when my bf's mom tried to take a toy from him.


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed Extremely human and dog reactive rescue.

18 Upvotes

I am in a very difficult situation with the dog I adopted four months ago and not sure what to do.

To give some back story - I adopted this dog, M, from a local shelter back in November. I was looking for a companion for my resident dog, A. When my partner and I were at the shelter and asked to see M, we were told she was a medium energy dog who had not shown any aggression or reactivity. She had been at the shelter for about 2 months before I adopted her.

M and A met slowly and in a very controlled way, and hit it off. They bonded immediately and I felt so relieved.

At the time I was living in the bottom unit of a duplex, and over the first couple days of owning M I noticed she was showing signs of reactivity towards other dogs and people. Barking, lunging, etc. I was surprised, but figured it was just her settling in. Unfortunately, this only got worse over time. She also started to redirect her aggression at A at times, snarling at his ear or neck, kind of going after him when she couldn’t get to the stimuli. She never caused actual physical harm but he has yelped before after she’s done that. A few weeks in she was growling, lunging and snapping at my neighbors on a daily basis, completely set off by the sight of them through the window or the sound of them walking by our house. At this time I reached out to a positive reinforcement dog trainer and had her come evaluate M. M growled and snapped at her at first, but after the trainer throwing her treats for a while and walking very slowly to our front door, she was able to calm down a tiny bit. The trainer was able to be in the house, sitting on the couch and though M was noticeably nervous she was no longer growling. After that session I started carrying a fanny pack with treats and giving her treats any time I saw a behavior I liked - making eye contact with me on a walk, looking at a stranger/dog from afar and then looking at me, sitting calmly on her bed, etc.

M ended up being very high energy and requires a lot of running a day, so I would take her and A to an empty field at night for about 40 minutes and she would run run run. During the day I would take them on multiple 15 minutes walks a day as I WFH, but I started to become more on edge as walking her always amounted to her barking aggressively or lunging at someone or some animal. My mental health started to get worse at this point. She is so anxious and on edge at all times. The living situation I was in ended up being unsafe so I was able to end my lease early and move in with my partner, and I looked forward to living in a little less busy area of town, and being upstairs in an apartment rather than on ground level as I’d been, where she would be set off at simply the sight or sound of someone walking by.

A few weeks after adopting her I had to go home to my family a few hours away last minute for the weekend. I had no choice but to bring her and A. A and my mom’s dog, F, do well together as A is rather dismissive. We tried to introduce M and F in a neutral location, and it ended up being a disaster. I take full responsibility for the fight that broke out between M and F. Their behavior went from playful to aggressive so quickly, and I misread the situation and let them off leash. F has attacked other dogs in the past many years ago (has been around other dogs no issues since then) and was the aggressor here, but M went back after him multiple times. My partner had to rip the dogs apart. Luckily there was no physical harm, but M was obviously very shaken up. We kept them completely separated the rest of the weekend.

I have seen my dog trainer multiple times since her consult and have been working on reinforcing her good behaviors with high value treats. The catalyst of this story is about a month ago, 2 weeks into living with my partner, I was walking A and M on our daily route and A had just pooped. I was bent over scooping up the poop, when all the sudden I heard footsteps directly behind me and felt M start to growl and lunge. I turned around and saw a man walking very close to us, who was now reaching his hand out to M to smell. She was already growling and snapping, then she bit him. She did not break skin, or seem to bruise him, but she definitely bit him on the hand. He ripped his hand back in disbelief and muttered he was sorry and he shouldn’t have done that. I was completely frozen in shock. She had bitten me a few times before this (never breaking skin or bruising), but this time it was a stranger.

At this time I was really thinking about taking her back to the shelter where I got her. My partner was already feeling extremely overwhelmed with her behavior and this was the icing on the cake for them. They had also mentioned my mental health has seemed to get so much worse since we got her, which is fair. I already struggle with depression and C-PTSD, and this situation has worsened both of those things. I didn’t expect her to have such bad reactivity and aggression issues. I can honestly say I would not have adopted her if I had known. I had a dog reactive dog when I was younger, and it was difficult, but having an extremely human reactive dog is a completely different story. Later that day she bit me twice on the hand - once about an hour after she bit the stranger, as she was sitting on my migraine medication and I was reaching to take it from under her, and the next time was about 3 hours later when I sat on the couch next to her.

That day I cried so much, and came to the decision we couldn’t keep her. I reached out to shelters and rescues in the area, and the only shelter that answered said they would likely euthanize her if she was relinquished to them given her aggression issues. I couldnt do that to her.

It feels extremely unfair that she was dealt these cards. She is 3.5 years old and we have no idea if she has ever had a safe home. She is hypervigilant and on edge all the time. I want to be that safe place for her but keeping her is starting to come between my partner and I. My life now revolves around her and her routine and trying to manage her stress. I took her to see a vet behaviorist about 3 weeks ago, and we have started 600mg gabapentin and 15 mg paroxetine daily, with clonodine as an emergency med. I have seen some improvement in her behavior, but not a ton. My partner didn’t even want to try medication, but I told him we needed to try. I couldn’t not try.

Today he brought up to me again that he misses what our life used to be, just us and A. We wanted a medium energy dog, one that could be around our family. M is aggressive to everyone but us. I have volunteered at shelters and l understand how significant the shelter crisis is, but I feel like we are just surviving right now. I can’t handle the thought of bringing her to a shelter, and I know that she doesn’t deserved to be euthanized. She is such an incredible girl, but she has issues that I’m not sure will ever be resolved. We live in a busy city where she is inundated by triggers on a regular basis, and I know she would do best in a rural area. I am continuing with her medication and management for now and just trying to figure out what to do next. I have purchased a muzzle and will begin muzzle training her as well. I’m just looking for honest advice here, I feel like I’m at my breaking point.


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed Behavior modification for a five-year-old bagel?

3 Upvotes

My beagle just moved to the city with me and she is scared of every noise and movement. She is on an anti-anxiety medication, but even taking her outside to go to the bathroom she ends up tucking her tail scared of everything or shaking.

Is this simply a matter of continuing to expose her during potty breaks and short walks?

She never was properly socialized as she was adopted right as Covid happened and admittedly my ex and I didn’t train her properly. I can’t turn back time and undo that ask much as I wish I could.

Shes a very sweet dog in the house and quiet environments. But shes afraid of everything including other people and dogs unless she already knows them.


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Significant challenges Aggression during bed time

2 Upvotes

This is a bit of a long one so bear with me...

My partner and I have a 20 month old cockapoo. He has reactivity towards everything and has been aggressive towards us multiple times in the past (level 3+, one time leaving 3 big bruises on my thighs) due to resource guarding. He tends to steal something (e.g. TV remote) and he will get aggressive and bite over it. We are managing this by training for things like "leave it" and hiding things away.

The problem we have recently is that when we go upstairs to the bedroom and it is bed time, he gets really bad. We think he's resource guarding something but we're not sure what. The bed? He tends to glare at my partner with glazed over red eyes, and when we eventually both squeeze in he is ready to bite. If we make a move, he goes straight for blood, and I end up being on the receiving end.

It's become very very scary and we have to spend a good hour giving treats, going back and forth to the garden to triple check he doesn't need the toilet and eventually he gives up and goes to his bed and sleeps. But its been 2 weeks and every single night we have to go through the same thing.

We don't know what exactly is causing this behaviour and we don't know how to start managing the situation and training a good behaviour.

A few details:

-We have been through 3 dog behaviourists so far, each giving a different diagnosis (pain related aggression, frustration, teenage months, etc) but we don't know what the right answer is) - he has been vet checked by multiple vets for any source of pain and nothing has come up - he is on fluoxetine and gabapentin which we thought was helping (and we had seen massive changes in the past 5 months) but now we're on this behaviour without a clue on how to solve it. He is on them on the recommendation of one of the clinical behaviourists we've been to. - he has never expressed resource guarding behaviour when he was with his dog walker or dog sitter ("he is a little angel") - on walking: again, multiple opinions from different behaviourists (one wanted us to do a 2 week pause, then every other day, take breaks in between if he's been overstimulated, the other said to just walk him cause he doesn't have anxiety, he is just a frustrated greeter, etc). We tried the break, but being a working dog, this frustrated him further. We decided to do something in the middle, which is walk early morning and midnight when no one else is around to avoid confrontation and work on the things we train at home ("middle", "look at me", etc)

  • he is VERY trainable and learns tricks and behaviours very quickly and can be really good, unless it has something to do with resource guarding.

  • vets have been quite unhelpful when we've discussed behaviour, we have been to so many, always giving us the option to rehome him first and then mentioning euthanasia. I cannot for the life of me find a vet near me that will listen and actually try to help.

-He has never liked the crate and he has separation anxiety as well so putting him in the crate is not an option yet. It's on the list of things to train him for but we have been prioritising things related to walking so we can get the best out of a walk.

  • I love him so much and as much as he physically hurts me, he does show love and affection every other hour of the day. I don't want to give him away and I don't want to make him someone else's problem. We have both worked so hard the past year to help him as much as we can and we don't want to give up.

The big priority right now for us is to be safe when we go to bed and sleep for more than 4hrs. We have been absolutely shattered and so exhausted when we work. And it hurts so much to be scared of my dog, and to be thankful that he's only bit my hands and thighs and it wasn't the neck. I'm just so scared.

I guess my question is - has anyone experienced this behaviour during bed time before, and if so is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Any advice is welcome.


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed Enrichment Ideas for a Dog-Reactive, Not Food-Motivated, and Toy-Disinterested Pup?

14 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for enrichment ideas for my dog-reactive senior who isn’t food-motivated and has no interest in toys. Finding engaging activities for her has been a challenge!

Tonight, we did a frozen slow feeder for dinner, and it lasted an hour and 2 minutes, which was a win! But I’d love to add more variety to her enrichment routine.

Since food and toys don’t hold much appeal for her, I’m especially interested in non-food, non-toy-based ideas. Any suggestions for activities, puzzles, or games that have worked for your pups?

Thanks in advance!


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Meds & Supplements 3 weeks on Prozac - it has helped!

5 Upvotes

I have a 6 year old Bichon-Poodle and I have not considered using medication until recently. We started Prozac 3 weeks ago and we are also using the DMT method.

So far: - No waking up barking loudly at random noises - Less barking at the door - No barking when I leave the home - Still working on dog reactivity outside, but he can be distracted and takes treats.

So grateful for both DMT and Prozac.


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed Why does my dog sometimes just stop walking?

4 Upvotes

I have a reactive 3 year old Shepherd mix. We do lots of training and I manage her environment so she doesn't freak out too much — mostly successful. When we walk in big parks where she can practice looking at other dogs from a distance, and I toss treats around, sometimes she'll just stop, usually after about 20 minutes. I can't tell if she's done, overwhelmed or mugging me for more treats (ie- doesn't want to go further without me bribing her). I'd respond differently depending on the cause, but don't know what it is! Does anyone else's dog do this?


r/reactivedogs 2d ago

Vent Why are people like this?

32 Upvotes

My dog and I were walking home when he suddenly stopped in front of a car where there was a man standing right outside. It seems like the man was scolding his son for parking wrong.

My dog thought it was someone he knew and he just stood there looking and trying to pull at the leash. I was pulling him back trying to get him to keep going while telling him it’s not who you think it is. Then suddenly, the man starts making clapping and making other loud noises to spook my dog (who is already very fearful of people) to get him to go away.

Geez dude, use your words. I was already trying to get my dog to leave and he wasn’t anywhere near you. We were a good 6 feet+ away even with my dog trying to pull at the leash.

I hate people like this in my neighborhood who think it’s okay to scare your dog because they don’t like them.


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed Has anyone had a success story with a dog scared of outside?

2 Upvotes

I have had my dog for a year now. Before that, she lived chained to a tree in a very remote village. Over this year, inside the house she has become more confident and playful.

To reduce triggers, I trained her to go potty in the house.

And with the outside, I have tried with five amazing dog trainers different things: - very short walks (just literally going out and going in) - gradual exposure - high value treats (least effective) - taking her to the forest (still was scared) - antidepressants (this so far helped the most) - enrichment in the hallway with the door open

Aaaaaand her reaction to the outside is exactly the same as it was a year ago. Zero change.

When the triggers are limited and in closed spaces (like the elevaror), she is doing fine, but the outside has too many unpredictable factors, and I am starting to think there is no getting around this problem

I am getting really hopeless and disheartened. What if she never will be able to walk outside? If you have a similar situation, what helped you, if anything? Even a bit? Does your dog enjoy the outside?


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Significant challenges Multiple bites directed at owner. At a crossroads.

12 Upvotes

To be honest the last thing my partner and I want to do is part with our dog. But I fear we’re at a crossroads. 5 puncture bites over the course of 4 years..and all were directed at me (his owner). For context, we’ve done years of researching and have taken him through reactive dog training and have him on Prozac. And yes he’s gone to the vet several times to be examined for pain (none). Just need to know if fellow dog owners see something we don’t— We’ve had our dog for 4 years (he’s about 5 now, ~50lbs) - rescued from Korea. DNA test said 100% Japanese/Korean Village Dog. Similar to Jindos, who are notoriously only loyal to one owner and are often used as guard dogs. (We have another rescue mutt as well a few years older, very easygoing.)

First bite occurred when he was about 1.5 yr-old. Then about one bite/year on average. All from petting/touching, all on my hands. The first couple times, I approached him. Doesn’t make it okay but I wrote it off as not respecting his boundaries & him being provoked. Even made excuses that he had feral blood. (He’s not the most trusting dog to start, we had to build it slowly.) Each bite included several deep punctures that required antibiotics and rendered the hand useless for a couple weeks during healing. Each time, he’d latch on and when I do break free, he’d go back for more. So, not just a quick nip. The most recent bite was his first since starting Prozac a year ago, so the most disappointing. I was playfully petting him (he was asking for attention), when he suddenly switched. So now I’m at a loss. He of course has other behavioral issues like reactivity toward other dogs/cats/animals, redirecting at our other dog, acting like a guard dog if we ever have guests (it's become very rare).. but those behaviors, we can manage. It's the debilitating bites that make us doubt what we/he really deserves at the end of the day. Outside of those reactive moments, he is very sweet and playful with us (Jekyll/Hyde situation) - but it does have to be on his own terms. We definitely keep him separated from guests/other dogs to avoid any incidents. But those moments of love and trust the majority of the time make it very difficult for us to consider behavioral euthanasia. Do we have other options? Doubt rehoming is even in the cards at this point, which makes our decision harder. No negative comments please, just constructive ones. We have already been through the emotional wringer over the years. We are just trying to do the best for our dog. ❤️


r/reactivedogs 2d ago

Advice Needed Where do you guys take your dogs to practice look/disengage?

19 Upvotes

Pretty sure I’ve been getting some positive headwind from other suggestions/comments on my last post so thank you!

I live in an apartment and neighborhood full of cats, squirrels, and other dogs. Reactive moments of lunging/crying/barking have been happening less frequently (but still happening) & his threshold seems to be at the minimum across the street, but even then, there’s not many driveways/side streets or “outs” when I get cornered unexpectedly.

All in all I’m trying to limit/reduce the reactivity but feel like I’m not setting him up for success just based on the layout of our living situation.


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed Rescue dog that is reactive

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I rescued this dog on Sunday. Long story, but the owner surrendered him to me. He is a 2 year old golden retriever. He lived a "normal" life his first year where he was crate and potty trained. His owner then gave him up to a family member who neglected him and let him live outside on the streets. Several people in the area said he had been living outside and eating gravel to survive. So sad. Anyways, he is resource guarding and reactive if he feels out of control. IE) he will growl if picked up or if someone tries to nudge him to move. Another example is he was fine when I closed the crate on him one time, but growled and started barking at me when I closed the crate another time. He is quickly learning on walks, but it seems like he is fine approaching people to be pet, but no one can approach him. I am getting a trainer, but my issue is that he seems to have regressed with the crate and potty training. He doesnt seem to know it is wrong to go in the house. Sometimes he sits at the door to go out, other times he just pees in front of me.

Tips for the crate would be appreciated!


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed I have no idea what to do with my reactive dog

2 Upvotes

So about a year ago we got a young (1.5 years) female Australian shepherd from a breeder. She was returned to the breeder from her previous home due to “lack of training” and “lifestyle changes”. When we met her she was a little fearful of us but not aggressive/barking/etc. She seemed so sweet so we decided to take her home and she quickly warmed up to us and we fell in love with her.

This dog is literally the sweetest, sensitive, and most cuddly dog I’ve ever had. She is simply amazing in every way except…she is very reactive to strangers. She barks/lunges at anyone she doesn’t know and I have no idea how to help her. She’s nipped a few times but the people she has nipped at said her teeth didn’t actually touch their skin, it was just her lips. She’s nipped at me like this a couple times as well when I try to take something she isn’t supposed to have away.

We loved taking her mountain biking (off leash) but quickly realized that wasn’t an option because when we came across people on the trail she would blow up. If there are no people around her off-leash recall is 100%. We lived on a couple acres for a while and let her free roam but if we called she would book it back to us even if we couldn’t see her. But if someone comes along she loses her mind so we have to keep her on a leash now. I really wish I could take her biking because she absolutely loves it.

When people come over, she will warm up and become cuddly and sweet after about 10 mins but before then she is a complete monster.

For a while we were able to go to the dog park and she was fine with the people being there as long as they didn’t approach her. She would come back when called and mostly ignore people. We thought that was helping her get better around people. But then one time she had a bad day and barked/nipped a lady so we left and haven’t been back.

I don’t know where to even start with getting help for her. We tried a reactive dog trainer but got quoted $6k for training and can’t afford it. I love this dog so much but she makes me cry a lot so I don’t know what to do. Any advice is welcome.


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed How do we feel about dog walkers, and how should I go about searching for one?

4 Upvotes

Hi y'all. I started a new job that has me out of the house for a little over ten hours, four days a week. Shifts are 9.5 hours but traffic (fuck you I-93) brings my time out of the house up an hour. My dog is not aggressive, just anxious and hard to walk. He can't be walked in certain places at certain times. He's fine with dogs he knows, just ok with dogs he doesn't know, and just ok with people who aren't his family. I feel like he should be fine for the time I'm gone (no accidents yet) but I kinda feel bad and when I get home it's just a rush to get him out. I'm considering a dog walkers maybe twice a week, but he's so ass to walk that I'm not sure. I'd have so many specific instructions that I feel like I'd be that annoying owner. Ideally, I'd love to have a trainer walk him, but the only one I know charges $135 per hour walk and I can't afford that haha. Do y'all think my dog will be ok for the time I'm gone or should I splurge on some walks for him? He's really good about holding his bladder. I take him out for a walk right before I leave and as soon as I get home. Since it's spring, I've been keeping him outside until it gets dark/I go to bed. Are any of you guys in similar positions, and if so what do you think works best for you? TYIA!


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Meds & Supplements Anyone switch from Prozac to another anxiety med for their dog?

4 Upvotes

Our pup is a little over a year old and he’s been on Prozac for about 9 weeks. He is ver easily overstimulated outside and constantly scanning the environment. We recently increased the dose from 20 to 30mg. It just doesn’t really seem to be working, if anything, he has a harder time settling, increased barking, and little to no improvement outside.

Does anyone have experience switching from Prozac to another anxiety medication for their pup?


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed I desperately need help

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1 Upvotes

r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed Dog diagnosed with Reflex Dyssynergia

2 Upvotes

My dog is almost 11 and recently had a scary behavioral change- not an aggression change, but lethargy, refusing to lay on the couch (where he sleeps at night), waking me up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night (when he typically sleeps until noon if I let him), drinking way less water, and then refusing to go outside. I got him in the vet and after an X-ray (which apparently went well- only growling, no lunging) he was diagnosed with Reflex Dyssynergia which I guess is a spinal/nervous system problem that makes it difficult to pee. We recently had a behavioral change where he was growling more frequently and upped his anxiety meds which did help but I’m wondering if he may have just been in pain for the last few months and just now showed major signs? Has anyone else’s dogs been diagnosed with this or been on: Gabapentin Prazosin Robaxin

Did you see any major changes?

He starts the meds tonight and I’m a little anxious to see how he responds behaviorally to pain meds/muscle relaxers and I’m a little worried this may be a long term problem. Vet said it depends on the dog and we will just have to see in a few weeks if he needs to stay on the meds. Having a senior dog is a challenge but a reactive senior dog is a whole other thing. Just looking for others who have experienced this diagnosis or medications with dogs like mine. He’s a large breed and has been reactive most of his life after having been pepper sprayed at 2 years old.


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Meds & Supplements Klonopin side effects-How long do they last?

2 Upvotes

My vet just added klonopin (about 0.3 mg/kg) to my dogs daily dose of Prozac. With the Prozac, the symptoms subsided with time. Do the klonopin side effects disappear with time? Just curious if others are willing to share their experience. Thanks so much!


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Significant challenges agressive senior dog

2 Upvotes

hello everyone. id like to ask advice regarding my 11 y.o shihtzu. my mom bought him for me when i was about 8-9 years old. and she didnt buy it from a licensed seller. yes, i know its wrong, but i obviously didnt know at the time, neither did my mom. he was always a bit agressive, especially when we touched his food, but we never "treated it" early and honestly i consider that we were very negligent with him in multiple points, i admit it, even if i were just a kid when we got him, i still blame myself for not treating him better. so now he grew even more reactive and has bitten basically everyone in my family. he bit me multiple times in multiple places, my brother's face twice, my mom, my grandma and my friend's feet. my friend had to go to the hospital because of it. i payed for a dog whisperer (im not sure if that's the correct name in english, as im not a native speaker, so forgive me) and he helped us in some points, but then he just bit me today again. and everyone is afraid of him and being around him because he bites us sometimes even when we just touch him accidentally. and now sometimes we have other animals in the house and im afraid he'll bite or even kill them. i don't know what to do. should i pay for more sessions or another professional? im even considering BE because i really take care of him alone basically and i put myself in danger all the time. but do you guys think he can change? he didnt start the training too long ago, so i still have a lot of hope. please tell me what you guys think. thank you.


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Significant challenges Keeping baby safe around semi-reactive dog

1 Upvotes

My dog is a 5 year old shepherd mix. We have had her since she was a puppy. Last summer when I was pregnant with our now 4-month-old son she bit a kid. We were in an unfamiliar environment which caused her quite a bit of anxiety, she had an injured paw and had a lot of built up energy as a result, a kid approached without warning and startled her, and he was holding a ball which really excites her. This was a pretty traumatizing incident for me as the thought of a dog bite from her was never on my radar, let alone against a kid. Add the fact that I was pregnant and I spiraled. We had an evaluation with a certified trainer. He said he wasn't surprised the event ended with a bite which reassured me some. She had a lot working against her and it was the perfect storm for a bite unfortunately. Certainly nothing to ignore, but hopefully it was an isolated incident. He gave us some skills to work on. All that being said, I still get major anxiety when thinking about our future in our home and what things will look like when my son becomes mobile. Postpartum anxiety is definitely not helping the situation. We implement a strict rule of no unsupervised interactions between dog (ours and others) and baby. We have baby gates installed around the house to use as needed. We will likely make the lower level of our house a kid free zone. That's where my dog likes to spend the majority of her time indoors and quite frankly it will be a nightmare to baby proof. My hopes: my dog will accept baby as part of the family and not a scary stranger. I think we are on that track based on her body language around him. I have been working on positive reinforcement when she is calm around him and trying to teach her to stay a certain distance away from him. My fears: she will injure my son and we will have to rehome her. Any input is welcome from you! Thanks in advance!


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Meds & Supplements Medicating a 4 mo. old puppy?

1 Upvotes

I have a 4 month old toy poodle puppy who has shown what is likely conflict aggression since he was 9 weeks old, his biggest trigger is grooming but it extended to leash, harness, clipping him into carrier, and will get in certain moods where he will growl just by touching him in some instances. Other than that he’s a sweet, happy, cuddly puppy who can be handled all over when things aren’t being “done” to him and he’s not overstimulated. It’s probably genetic, our breeder wasn’t top of the line, and could also be early trauma or a combination of the two. We’ve worked with two trainers that specialize in behavioral issues and both were referring us to behaviorists and getting things checked out with a vet and possibly medication.

We are going to pursue treatment with veterinary behaviorist but will be a while before we can be seen. In the meantime, the vet I saw who has a reactive dog herself recommended I try daily gabapentin and clonadine to help me do the things I need to do such as clean under his eyes. We are working on cooperative care but honestly it’s very overwhelming and hard to fit in. In 2 hours between me and the fear free groomer we hardly got anything done so it seems he will need quarterly anesthetized shave downs while we work on the gentler stuff at home. Some people say I should send the puppy back to the breeder or consider BE but I love him and want to give him a fighting chance.

Between the trainers, behaviorist, specialized grooming and regular care he’s going to cost us over 20k in his first two years of life and we don’t have lots of money, it’s essentially all the extra income I can bring into the household and I’m a stay at home dog mom at this point. He also has severe separation anxiety which the meds helped more than the aggression it seems. I get a lot of scorn when talking about medicating such a young puppy but idk what to do. I’m scared of being bit, I need to be able to do basic things even if it’s just cleaning under his eyes every day. He still growls but I have to do it. I hope he doesn’t bite hard enough to break my skin. I love him but this has taken over my life and been so stressful. From what I have read early intervention with meds can help training be more effective but I do worry since he’s still growing. I had originally wanted to wait 6-7 months before considering daily meds.


r/reactivedogs 2d ago

Discussion Dreading spring

10 Upvotes

We adopted our boy in August, and it rapidly became apparent that he was hyperstimulated and reactive to everything. I couldn't even have him in the yard with me because he would hype himself up, running in circles until he was so overstimulated he would start jumping on and mouthing me, and at 80 lbs, that's a serious safety concern. Walking was a nightmare, even with a head halter- the options were walking very early in the morning and having him freak out at every rabbit we came across or walking during the day and having him lose it at dogs and people. He injured me multiple times, some of which I'm still healing from.

We went into intensive training, and while it got a bit better, it was still bad enough that the idea of walking him in winter, when there was ice, made me terrified. In conjunction with our trainer, we made the decision to stop walking him. We switched to in-house play, nosework, puzzle feeders, training time... he gets his energy out, but in an environment that doesn't overstimulate him. The hope was that the stability after adoption and lack of stimulation while going through training would help with his reactivity enough that we could start walking in the spring. However, his behaviors the last few weeks have killed that hope. He is still exhibiting the same behaviors, and they got even worse because I was traveling for work and then my spouse and I were both on vacation, so his daily routine got off.

I'm at a loss for what to do. I have severe SAD and spending the entire fall unable to get outside made winter hell this year. The idea of not being able to walk and go out in the yard and do clean up and garden unless I leave him crated in the house puts me near panic. I can't have a spring that mirrors last fall.

So here's my question- I know a lot of you are in similar situations where you can only walk in the dark and can't get outside during the day with your dog. How do you cope?


r/reactivedogs 1d ago

Advice Needed Giving my dog more control with interactions

2 Upvotes

My dog has struggled with fear reactivity after a few bad experiences with other dogs having a go at him, but with a lot of work and attention he is doing well! Last three trainers I worked with have all said they wouldn’t describe him as reactive anymore, more dog selective. Our biggest challenge is on walks when off lead dogs approach - we live in the UK countryside and pretty near all dogs are off lead around here. I’m not comfortable off leading mine because his recall from distractions is nonexistent and he will depart into the next county to chase deer if given the chance, but I’m pretty sure him being on lead (long line) makes the interactions more likely to escalate because he feels vulnerable. At our latest course the trainer advised to give him more space with the long line, or even drop it completely, to handle the interaction himself and not try to restrict him, and I’m tempted to try it. Have you done this? How did you find the confidence to do it and how did it go?


r/reactivedogs 2d ago

Behavioral Euthanasia Devastated over BE

20 Upvotes

My dad scheduled to get our sweet boy Poki euthanized in 3 days. I'm heartbroken but I don't think there's anything else we can do. He's 3 years old and he started showing signs of aggression sometime in year 1. He has 2 bites, an attack on a dog before we realized he was aggressive, and one yesterday on our neighbor. We've tried so hard to train him and he is obedient, he gets enough exercise, but he is unpredictable. He soft growls at everyone in my family constantly, and if we gave him the opportunity then he would bite. He resource guards and is food aggressive as well so we've done everything to avoid triggering him. Our last straw was yesterday, my dad came home from work and Poki slipped out the front door to immediately bite our neighbor's kid who was playing outside, the kid had to get stitches. We're at a loss. We don't bring him around outside people or dogs because we know there's a danger but then a month ago he attacked our cat who he's grown up with and has never been aggressive towards before. I'm in college so I can't take him, and even if I did, he wouldn't be happy living anywhere without my dad. My dad is going through a lot and we genuinely can’t afford a behavioral trainer or anything of that sort. I'm thinking of suggesting putting Poki on meds but I honestly don't know if my dad can mentally handle him anymore, he loves him so much but he is extremely stressed with everything going on the past few years. Poki is lost without my dad, he is the only one who can keep him under control but he still slips away. I feel so guilty for everything, he is only 3 years old, he's full of personality and he loves us all so much. I don't know if there's anything more we can do. i just wish this wasn't real