Understanding your dog's body language to resolve reactivity
Living with a dog which barks and can react badly to other dogs is challenging enough for anyone, but for Jo it was even more stressful, because she is a registered dog walker and home carer for dogs. Fortunately, Livvy feels secure enough when she is at home in Ross-on-Wye, to meet and welcome doggy visitors into her pack. Just occasionally when out though, she would suddenly shoot off to pursue a passing dog, completely ignoring Jo’s recall.
It was so important for Jo to understand what was going on for Livvy and to help her to deal with seeing other dogs calmly.
Livvy’s recall is normally great, but Jo reinforced it with practise so that Livvy was more able to respond without hesitation when asked. Jo worked consistently and patiently on helping Livvy to learn to walk on a loose lead, to reduce her feelings of being trapped and to prevent Jo’s own stress trickling down the lead to affect her more. She studied her body language closely to pick up all the clues that Livvy was displaying to indicate when she was not happy.
For a while Livvy remained on a lead or a long line so that she couldn’t rehearse and strengthen her chasing issue. Instead, we spent several sessions teaching her how to approach dogs calmly in a controlled environment, to give her attention to Jo when things started to get uncomfortable and eventually how to meet my dog Delphi.
The big moment for Jo was when Livvy made it perfectly clear to her that, despite not finding Delphi particularly worrying any more, she really didn’t want to meet her. The chasing was her way of trying to make the other dog go away, not a confused greeting. She was quite happy to trot along near Delphi but not too close thank you! Once Jo realised this, she changed her expectations of how Livvy feels about meetings. Livvy knows that she should remain near Jo when worrying strangers pass by and is happy with her varied pack of friends at home. She may never choose to be close to dogs she meets outside but knows that Jo will support her to stay comfortable and safe.
