Sometimes, dogs can display reactive behavior. It’s not something we want, but dogs are animals with their own feelings and emotions, and if a dog isn’t happy, it’s likely that they’ll let us know one way or another.
But if your dog’s reactivity is unpredictable, and you don’t know what will trigger them or when they’ll react to something, you might be unsure as to what to do. Would some of the best dog puzzle toys help, perhaps, or maybe some tasty treats?
If you’re not sure what to try, award-winning trainer Lisa Burton of Listen Dog Training is here to offer some welcome advice.
Burton begins by introducing the concept of ‘trigger-stacking’. Your dog might have what seems to be a pretty uneventful day, but with minor triggers popping up throughout the day. Perhaps, as she suggests, your dog sees a cat in the garden, then gets left alone all day while everyone’s at work and school, then sees the mailman, and finally sees another dog on their walk in the evening – and this is the thing that might then prompt reactivity in dogs.
This can be explained by the stress bucket analogy. Burton explains, “Dogs will ‘stack’ the effects of experiences that occur in relative succession to one another. This means that multiple stressors your dog experiences in a day will pile up, all working to fill his stress bucket closer and closer to the brim.”
When a dog has a full bucket, they may be stressed, anxious, unable to relax, more likely to react, and not able to think as effectively as a calm dog.
The effects of arousal or stress can last for as long as 72 hours – three days. Now, consider how many triggers your dog has encountered in the last three days. Might you be able to help your pup to empty their stress bucket in time for your next walk?
Some of the things Burton suggests are long, calm strokes along the length of your dog’s body, scentwork and scatter-feeding, and long-lasting natural chews. Thinking about the longer term, she advises focusing on raising and lowering your dog’s arousal during training – this should make them better at emptying their bucket as well as making it bigger; in other words, increasing their threshold for stress.
If you’re finding things difficult with your reactive dog, you might find this article interesting, too: Owning a reactive dog is hard. Here's how I navigated the social challenges with my pooch.
