Reactive dogs: why it happens and how to help

Feeling unsafe, frightened, threatened, or having personal space invaded, can make your dog feel the need to protect themselves.  The behaviour of a fearful or anxious dog is aimed at feeling safe again by increasing the distance between themselves and whatever they find scary.  

Barking, lunging and growling usually results in the other dog or person moving away, if they cross the road or carry on their walk. Then, the worried dog learns these behaviours are successful. So, the next time they want to make another dog or person go away they’re likely to bark and lunge again.  

Some worried or frightened dogs will try to increase the distance between themselves and what’s worrying them by running away and avoiding them all together. This can put themselves and their owners in dangerous situations, for example by running across the road to avoid another dog. A worried dog who can’t avoid another dog or person, because they’re on lead for example, might also be frustrated by this. So, emotions can sometimes be mixed and complex.

If your dog shows aggressive behaviour, your priority is to keep everyone safe and help your dog feel calmer.

Dogs normally develop fears in two ways:

• they have a negative experience that causes pain, fear, overwhelm, or trauma.
• they haven’t experienced, or been gradually introduced to things during their puppy ‘socialisation window’, then as an adult, they might find these things scary or overwhelming.

All dogs are individuals. Some are naturally more confident than others. It’s important to help cautious dogs grow in confidence, at their own pace, to prevent reactive behaviours. Forcing a dog to ‘face their fears’ is unlikely to work and can strengthen their concerns.

If your dog’s frustrated, their behaviour is usually a visual and noisy expression of how they’re feeling. They desperately want to interact with or avoid the other dog or person, but they’re unable to do so.  

Some dogs who want to interact with, or avoid, another dog but can’t, might feel like they need to use aggressive behaviours to create space. For example, jumping up, barking, lunging or pulling towards the other dog. They may even redirect this feeling of frustration onto their own lead by grabbing and shaking it. Or even you, their owner, by jumping up and mouthing you.

Off-lead dogs can react out of frustration too if they lose access to something they want to keep. For example, if another dog steals their ball.

Overarousal in dogs happens when they become overwhelmed by their senses or emotion. It’s like there’s so much going on inside that they struggle to control their behaviour on the outside. High levels of arousal can be triggered by both positive and negative experiences. For example, exciting, adrenaline filled ball games or negative interactions with other people or dogs.  

Some dogs can be more prone to overarousal due to inherited traits or individual needs. They may become highly aroused by movement, scent, or an inability to perform natural behaviours. Busy places like pubs, cafés, or crowded parks can also be overwhelming with all the sights, sounds and smells. Anxiety, long play sessions without breaks, or unmet mental and physical needs can all cause arousal levels to build quickly.

When dogs are over-aroused, they might struggle to focus and respond to instructions. You might see some of the following changes in your dog’s body:

• dilated pupils
• breathing quickly which leads to panting
• excess dribbling
• tense body and face
• teeth chattering.

The behaviours you might see are:

• appearing hyperactive
• finding it hard to re-focus or calm down
• jumping and lunging at the trigger
• barking, grizzling or whining at the trigger
• grabbing and ragging on their lead or your clothing
• mouthing or nipping you, other dogs or other people
• air snaps, like barks without noise or lunging towards the trigger
• aggressive behaviours.

Dogs learn from experience. Each dog’s experiences shape how they feel about the world. These feelings then guide their behaviour. The behaviour they use is purposeful – it’s designed to meet their emotional needs.  

Experiences can influence behaviour in the following ways:

No prior experience:

Dogs learn what’s normal and safe during their socialisation period. Say a puppy doesn’t experience certain people, dogs, situations or interactions during this stage. They might then feel worried or unsure when they come across them later in life. The likelihood of a dog reacting fearfully will be influenced by their individual levels of confidence and resilience. Other dogs may lack social skills because they haven't learned appropriate boundaries, or how to communicate appropriately.  

Negative experience:

Negative experiences can cause negative emotions like fear and anxiety. This can affect how a dog feels and behaves in future. For example, if a dog is frightened by someone in a hi-vis jacket with a wheelie bin, they might develop a negative association with them. Next time the dog comes across someone in hi-vis, they might feel scared and try to avoid the person or use aggressive behaviour to get them to move away.  

Positive experience:

Positive experiences are likely to create positive emotions. This is generally useful. For example, a puppy that has a positive experience with dogs is likely to be a social dog when grown. This can also become problematic. For example, if their interactions were unregulated and they have a high expectation of going over to greet them every time. When this isn’t possible, it can lead to frustration and frustration-related reactivity.

Neutral experiences:

We often don’t pay much attention to neutral experiences, but they can be extremely valuable. It’s helpful when young dogs learn that things in the environment are normal and that nothing meaningful happens. This builds confidence, sets realistic expectations for puppies and helps reduce overexcitement.  

Neutral and positive experiences are helpful when changing a dog’s behaviour. If a trigger is paired with nothing bad happening, or something good happening, the dog can feel more relaxed and confident over time.

Just like us, experiencing pain and poor health can influence a dog’s ability to cope and how tolerant they are of others. This is why qualified behaviourists ask for a vet check before attempting to change a dog’s behaviour.  

Illness and injury can cause a dog to react where they might not normally do so. They may also become less social and less tolerant to handling because they’re fearful of getting hurt.  

Without addressing the pain or health problem, a dog’s reactivity is unlikely to change. Here are some things to watch for in your dog:

• becoming reactive in situations that wouldn’t have worried them before
• changes in eating, drinking and toileting habits
• decreased interest in play
• decreased interest in exploring when on a walk
• if their pace slows on a walk and they start to fall behind where they used to be in front
• changes to their gait, for example running with ‘bunny hop’ back legs or becoming lame
• taking a long time to settle once home from their walk
• changes to daily routine like reduced activity levels or resting more
• altered ability to concentrate and learn
• development of new behaviours like licking at a body part or tail chasing.
• becoming more anxious or sensitive to noise.  

If you’re concerned that your dog is in pain or that an illness may be contributing to their behaviour, please reach out to your vet.  Signs of pain, illness and injury aren’t always obvious. Even if your dog appears physically fine, if their behaviour changes it’s best to take them to your vet to rule out medical causes.

Dog reactivity can be difficult and distressing for owners. When dogs show reactive behaviours outside, owners often react themselves by wrapping the lead tightly around their hands. However, this creates tension at the point where the lead attaches to either the dog’s collar or harness. This tension might result in them feeling the collar tighten around their neck, or the harness constrict around their chest, potentially making them panic. There’s a risk that your dog might associate this constriction with the approaching dog or person, which may make matters worse in the long run. So, try to keep the lead loose.

If your dog is anxious, keeping calm will help them as it shows that you’re not worried by anything that might be approaching. If they’re frustrated and jumping up or even mouthing you, then remaining calm will help. The sooner you can move your dog far enough away that their desire to interact with, or avoid, the other dog or person lessens, the more relaxed they will become.

When we think of reactivity, we most often think of dogs that react to other dogs. Common scenarios and reasons for this include:

• Fear and anxiety. They perceive the dog as a threat and need more distance between them.
• Frustration. They might want to play with, or get away from, another dog but are unable to because they’re on lead.
• Pain. A dog that fears getting hurt may try to avoid interactions.
• Resource guarding. The dog may be worried that a dog nearby could take their ball or other toy.
• Overarousal. Lots of fast, high adrenaline play, like chasing, without regular breaks can cause overarousal.
• Trauma. The dog may have had a painful or traumatic experience in the past. This might cause them to act defensively.

We have detailed support for these specific problem behaviours and challenges to help you and your dog.

Dogs might be reactive to people for the following reasons: 

• Fear and anxiety. Dogs might find people scary for a few reasons. The person might smell funny, carry unusual items or act differently to what they’re used to. They might try to interact with the dog in ways they don’t enjoy. Dogs might bark, lunge and growl to get them to move away.
• Territorial reactivity. They’re worried about people approaching them and being in their space.
• Overarousal. Dogs that get very excited around people outside or when visitors arrive can quickly become overstimulated.
• Frustration. An excited dog that is held back on lead could become frustrated that they can’t greet a person how they would like. A worried dog on lead may also become frustrated if they can’t move away. There is a risk of the dog redirecting their frustration elsewhere.

Children can be overwhelming for dogs. They’re fast, noisy and unpredictable. They have toys that can be exciting or scary and whizz past in the park. How a dog behaves towards children might also be influenced by experience – positive or negative. These experiences will shape what the dog thinks the child will do and what the interaction will be like.  

Our page on dogs and children living happily together, provides clear steps to reduce the likelihood of bites and incidents happening - stay close, step in and separate.

Some reasons why dogs can be reactive to children include:  

• Fear. Children are less aware of how to interact with dogs and how their behaviour affects dogs. For example, dogs might feel scared and restricted if a child hugs them. Hugging dogs can put children at risk of being bitten if the dog feels they have no other choice. Dogs might also be startled if a child surprises them or behaves unexpectedly.
• Frustration. The dog may want to play with a child’s toy, or move away from a child, and become frustrated when they can’t.
• Resource guarding. If a child takes a dog’s toy to throw it, the dog may believe the child is taking their ball from them. They might use aggressive behaviours to get it back.

Fast-moving people and vehicles can trigger reactive behaviour in dogs for several reasons.  

• Fear. Sudden unpredictable movement, speed or loud noises can frighten a dog. Especially if they didn’t see the person or vehicle coming. If a dog’s been startled or knocked over by a runner, bike or car in the past, they may associate all similar movement with danger.

• Chase instinct or prey drive. Movement can trigger a natural response in dogs to chase. Our chasing page offers more advice on this.
• Frustration. If a dog is on lead and can’t move away from or towards the trigger, they might show reactive behaviour.
• Overarousal. Busy environments with lots of movement and noise can overwhelm and overstimulate some dogs, making a reaction more likely.
• Learnt response. If barking, lunging and growling at a cyclist, jogger or car has previously resulted in them moving away, the dog is more likely to do this next time. Over time, their response might become a habit.

It’s worth noting that some dogs may act differently towards moving triggers like bikes, cars and joggers due to the lights and reflective equipment on them.

Sudden noises and events can make anyone jump. But it can be very scary for our dogs. Almost half of owners say their dog reacts to loud noises with signs of fear and anxiety. The normal culprits that cause dogs to react are:

• fireworks
• thunderstorms
• gunshots
• bin lorries
• construction.

Most of us have experienced jumping at unexpected or loud noises. The sudden rush of fear that makes our hair stand on end, our hearts race and our blood pound in our ears. We might jerk our bodies or yell out as an instinctive response. It’s no different for dogs.  

If your dog reacts to sudden noises or events, you might see the following:

• subtle signs of anxiety like lip licking, folding their ears back, lowering their body posture and tucking their tail
• their face and body may be tense, their eyes dilated
• some dogs might seek support from their owners, jumping at them, staying close, seeking attention or being clingy
• other dogs might bolt, trying to escape from the noise and find a safe space to hide, this is very dangerous when roads are nearby
• dogs that are scared are unlikely to take food, could tremble, shake, excessively pant or drool
• if they’re very frightened, they may urinate
• aggressive behaviours like barking, lunging and snapping in a bid to ‘scare the noise away’.

Some noises that dogs respond to may not be loud enough for humans to hear or a have a visual element that accompanies them.  

Some dogs can become reactive to noises in general. This can be an early indicator that your pet is experiencing pain. 

Noise reactivity can develop in two ways:  

• Association. Being startled causes the muscles in the body to tense. This can aggravate existing illness or injury, resulting in pain. The dog might learn to associate sudden noises with pain.
• Learnt response. Reaction to a sudden noise can appear to make the noise stop. For example, a dog that barks at a gunshot. They don’t know that the noise wouldn’t have continued anyway. They believe it’s their barking that made the noise stop.  This increases the likelihood of them barking next time they hear gunshots. 

Sudden or close movement might trigger a chase or fear response, leading to reactive behaviours like barking, lunging and pulling on lead. A dog might also feel frustrated if they can’t chase or avoid the trigger.  

• Unfamiliar or unusual objects might be scary or overstimulating for some dogs. For example, a young dog may be afraid of washing flapping on the line if they’ve never seen it before. As well as being unfamiliar, the movement is sudden and unpredictable. They might bark and growl at the washing or try to move away.
• Objects carried by people can change the shape of the person in the dog’s perspective. This could cause the dog to use reactive behaviours. Negative past experiences can also spark a reaction. For example, a dog that had a foot or tail run over by a skateboard might bark, chase and nip at them in the future.  
• Some moving objects might be exciting, like a football whizzing past. If the dog is unable to play with the football because they’re on lead, they might bark and lunge at the ball because they’re frustrated.

Dogs that bark, growl or jump at windows and doors are normally responding emotionally to something outside.  They might be trying to frighten away something scary, communicating their excitement or seeking our support.

This could be because they're:

• excited - a social dog may be excited to see visitors or delivery people approaching
• worried and trying to ensure that dogs and people keep passing by and don’t get closer
• frustrated as they can see birds in the garden, but they can’t chase them.

Dogs and cats can develop deep bonds with each other and live together harmoniously. How dogs behave with family cats and those seen on walks can differ greatly though. 

If your dog reacts to cats and other animals on a walk, they may do so for the following reasons:

• Desire to chase. Chasing is a very rewarding behaviour for dogs. It releases dopamine so dogs feel good when, and after, they do it.
• Predatory drive. Cats and other animals like squirrels can make fast and sudden movements, triggering some dogs to stalk, chase or hunt.
• Working roles. Some dogs, like those used for hunting and guarding may have a stronger instinct to prey.
• Miscommunication. Differences in how animals communicate can mean that well-meaning dogs that want to play don’t understand that the other animal is frightened.
• Overarousal. The flood of emotions and stimulation may mean that some dogs are unable to cope with how they feel. They will have no control over their behaviour.
• Frustration. A dog that wants to get to a cat or bird but is unable to may become frustrated and whine, bark, or act aggressively as a result.
• Fear. A dog that has had a bad experience with cats in the past may be afraid and try to run away.  

Some animals that you meet on a walk might stop when they see you and your dog. This might look like they want to interact, but they may be freezing because they’re afraid. It’s best to guide your dog away from the other animal.

Parks and busy areas can be overwhelming and unpredictable for dogs. If your dog’s reactive, it may be because of:

• Fear. They’re afraid of things within the environment. For example, other dogs, vehicles, loud noises or people.
• Frustration. They may see a group playing with a ball or frisbee and be frustrated when they can’t join it.
• Overarousal. The excitement and stimulation of noise, movement, other people and animals, litter or picnics. This can quickly build until it’s more than a dog can handle.

Some dogs use behaviours like barking, lunging, or growling when they feel frightened or threatened. The aim is usually to create distance from whatever they’re worried about. If those signals don’t work and the dog feels trapped or unsafe, the behaviour can escalate to snapping or biting. In these situations, a dog may be displaying aggressive behaviour. You can read more about how aggression develops here.

Other dogs may bark and lunge because they’re excited or overwhelmed. While these behaviours can look aggressive, there’s no intention to cause harm. For example, some dogs who are excited or frustrated greeters might react strongly on the lead. However, once they reach the other dog or person – or when they’re off-lead – they’re unlikely to bite or show aggression.

If you need help identifying why your dog is showing reactive or aggressive behaviours, get in touch with our Behaviour Support Line.

The causes of reactive behaviour and how it’s displayed is largely unique to the individual involved. In general though, if a dog is reactive or aggressive only on-lead, it’s likely caused by one of two reasons:

• If your dog is afraid of what has triggered the behaviour, the lead reduces their options. As they’re unable to move away from what scares them, they may feel they have no option but to try and scare the trigger away to get the space they need.
• If your dog’s excited to see the trigger or has an expectation that they can interact with the trigger, the lead stops them from interacting. This could cause frustration. The reactive behaviour is an explosive display of their feelings.

We understand how challenging it can be to avoid triggers that are often close by. For best results, we recommend speaking with a qualified behaviour expert.  Take your dog to the vet for a full health check first to rule out any medical causes.  

Until you have a behaviour plan to work on, the following tips should help.

• Take walks in quiet places and at quiet times of day. For example, staying inside during rush hour and walking in quiet places or hiring private fields to avoid highly populated areas.
• Check out potential walking areas without your dog first to make sure it’s suitable.
• When walking, keep your dog on-lead.
• Train your dog to wear a muzzle and use it when out.
• Dogs that are having a bad day or seem to wake up a bit ‘fizzy’ are more likely to be excitable or reactive around triggers that move. It’s okay to avoid long walks on these days. Instead, focus on rest, play with you, enrichment, and shorter toilet walks.

Visit our dedicated muzzle training page for step-by-step training plan with video.

Unfortunately, reactivity and aggression are very unlikely to resolve by themselves. While some influencing factors can improve, the underlying cause of the behaviour will remain. For example, good management decreases the exposure to triggers. This stops the reactive or aggressive behaviour but doesn’t mean that the dog is now relaxed and confident around this trigger.  

If you’d like help with your dog’s reactivity or aggression, you’ll need professional support. Speak to our behaviour services team who can give you free immediate advice and organise longer term support from our clinical behaviourists.

If your dog is barking, lunging and growling at other dogs, it’s best to avoid them or keep your distance while you seek further support. 

This is because:

• The more a dog practises a behaviour, the stronger it typically becomes. Stopping your dog from practising the unwanted behaviour is the first step to treating reactivity.
• It’s important for safety to reduce the risks of incidents happening.
• It’s important to avoid putting your dog in situations they find difficult. This will help both of you to feel more relaxed and more able to enjoy your walks together.
• Avoiding dogs entirely will give you a baseline for you and your behaviourist to work from.

There’s no simple answer to this as every dog is an individual. Some dogs can make such significant progress that their reactive behaviour no longer affects their day-to-day life. Others may improve greatly but still show some reactions in certain situations.

Reducing reactivity isn’t about “fixing” a dog. It’s about changing how they feel about the things they react to. This takes time, patience, and the right approach. For some dogs, once those emotions change, the reactive behaviour is no longer needed. For others, ongoing management may still be necessary.

What matters most is managing expectations and getting the right support. We can help you understand why your dog reacts and create a tailored plan to support long-term improvement and quality of life.

There isn’t a straightforward answer to this. The answer depends on many factors, like:

• why your dog is reactive to the trigger
• how strong the underlying emotion is
• how frequently they come across the trigger
• how long the behaviour has been practised for
• the type of training used and how frequently the training is practised.  

Making use of expert knowledge is a good way to speed up the process by ensuring that the right approach is used and that your dog is learning effectively. We offer reactive dog packages and 1-to-1 behavior training across the country and have clinical behaviourists ready to support you.

It can sometimes feel like your dog’s reactivity is because of something you’ve done, but it isn’t your fault. Things happen in life that we have no control over. Even when we’ve made a detailed plan and think we’ve thought of everything. Also, there are lots of influences on dog behaviour, some of which occur before they’re even born.

You’re not alone and you’re not at fault. If you’re reading this, it means that you care about your dog’s wellbeing and want to support them. That means that you’re doing the best you can for them already. And there’s a lot to be said for that.

When a dog is reactive, it’s normally a sign of stress. This could be fear, frustration or similar. It can also be a learnt behaviour. It does mean that your dog is struggling in the moment, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re an unhappy dog. A walk is just part of their day. Supporting your reactive dog to overcome their challenges will improve their welfare and yours.

No, it’s always best to avoid telling your dog off. Shouting at your reactive dog can make the situation worse, not better. Telling your dog off could:

• increase their worry of the trigger as this could mean they’re likely to continue behaving in the same way and there’s a risk of escalation
• damage the bond between you
• risk them redirecting their behaviour onto you
• discourage your dog from giving warning signals like growling, so next time they might lunge or bite straight away.

Neutering a dog removes their reproductive organs. Studies show both benefits and risks to behaviour associated with neutering, but findings are conflicting. For example, evidence suggests that neutering can reduce some types of aggressive and reactive behaviours, like competition for mating. Other evidence suggests that neutering could increase fear-related behaviour, including aggression.

It’s likely that the contradictions in the evidence are due to the number of factors that influence dog behaviour. For example, hormones, genetics, age, sex, environmental factors, previous learning and more. Each dog might be influenced to a lesser or greater degree by any factor, so the effects of neutering are likely to differ between individuals. There are also alternative options to neutering. You can discuss these with your vet and clinical behaviourist to make an informed decision on what’s right for your dog.

Whether medication can help reactivity will depend on your individual situation. In many cases, medication won’t be necessary. A well-planned training programme is often all that many dogs need to move past their reactivity. For other dogs, medication might be needed to help them calm enough when outside to focus on their training.  

Things that might influence whether medication is used include:  

• the severity of the anxiety and the dog’s welfare
• if the behaviour doesn’t get better despite training
• if the dog can’t regulate themselves on a walk to start, or progress, their training
• if the dog suffers from anxiety in other aspects of their life
• if there are multiple triggers that are not always avoidable.

The decision to use behavioural medication to help with reactivity is one that should be made with your vet and clinical behaviourist. Medication will require a prescription from your vet. Other, non-behavioural medications, like pain relief if a dog has arthritis, could also help with reactive behaviours. When a dog’s in pain, their behaviour may become less desirable. Treating the pain can help with behaviour issues that are influenced or made worse by pain, injury or illness.

Barking is normal communication for dogs. In the context of reactivity, it’s likely your dog is feeling excited, fearful or frustrated. Understanding their body language and watching how they behave will help you understand what triggers the behaviour and how they feel about it. Keeping a diary can help you to track patterns.

Understanding how your dog is feeling in response to dogs or people will help you understand the reason why they’re barking. You can support them, and get to work on reducing the noisy behaviour with more specific advice on our barking page.

And we are always just a phone call away on our Behaviour Support Line. We can help you understand challenging moments and connect you with our other owner support services for additional advice if needed.

The short answer is that trying to get your dog to mix with other dogs and people outside will likely be too much for them. There’s also the risk of causing trauma or injury to other dogs as well as intensifying your own dog’s behaviour.  

We understand how hard it is to support a dog that’s struggling and uses aggressive behaviours. It can feel like everyone has an opinion on what you should do to help your dog. Some of them will give advice based on myth and outdated theories. That’s why we’re so happy you’re here. Science-led, practical advice is what you need and we’re ready and waiting to support you with qualified help. 

In short, no. If your dog feels frightened, forcing them to meet with other dogs won’t make them feel better. The most likely outcome is them becoming overwhelmed or feeling the need to defend themselves. This isn’t fair on them or the dog that they’re meeting. Your dog’s behaviour could get worse if they have a traumatic experience. The other dog could also become afraid of dogs following a negative interaction.

The impact of a dog-on-dog attack can have lasting effects on all involved. It’s important to speak to your vet and a clinical behaviourist as soon as possible. Especially if there’s been physical contact or there’s evidence of injury.  

If you’re not sure where to turn, please call our Behaviour Support Line. Our team of qualified experts can give you immediate advice and can put you in touch with our clinical behaviourists. 

In the short term, here are some tips for avoiding other dogs:

• Walking in places where you know you won’t come across other dogs. For example, hiring a private field.
• Walking in quiet places that aren’t heavily populated by dog walkers. Areas where you can see into the distance and have more than one exit are best.
• Check out potential walking areas without your dog first to make sure it’s suitable.
• When walking, keep your dog on-lead.
• Train your dog to wear a muzzle and use it when out.
• Dogs that attack other dogs are normally having a hard time. Don’t feel guilty about giving them a break from walks. Fill their day with rest, enrichment, play and training. You might still need to do brief toilet walks. This will help them to de-stress.

If your dog is aggressive to people or other animals when outside, using a muzzle can help keep everyone safe. Safety isn’t the only reason that a dog might wear a muzzle though, so it’s useful for all dogs to be trained to wear one. You can find out more about why dogs might use muzzles and how to train them to wear one.  

It’s important to remember that using a muzzle won't change the way your dog feels about the cause of their aggressive behaviour. Most dogs behave aggressively because they’re worried or frustrated. While the muzzle reduces risk, your dog’s welfare is still reduced every time they see a trigger. Working with a qualified behaviourist to change how they feel about the trigger is the only long-term, kind solution.

If your dog is reactive, or has been reactive in the past, it’s understandable that it’s impacted your confidence when walking them. In fact, it’s completely normal to be impacted by stressful events and there are lots of other people who feel the same way you do. It’s okay to build up slowly. Just like when we’re training our dogs.  

Here are some top tips and things to remember:

• Try to make walks as easy for yourself as possible. Start by walking in quiet places and at quiet times.
• Upskill your walking. Learn your dog’s communication so you know when they become worried.
• Harnesses can reduce the risk of injury to you and your dog when reactive behaviour occurs. For example, jumping and lunging risks you being pulled over and using just a collar and lead can cause damage to your dog’s throat. A harness also lets you use a longline so your dog can’t run off and get into trouble.
• Consider training your dog to use a muzzle when on a walk. Even if they don’t need it, it can help to reduce your anxiety about physical conflict which increases confidence.  Other walkers also tend to avoid muzzled dogs and are likely to give you space.
• Some dog trainers offer services where you can walk together to build up your confidence and skill levels. Even walking with a friend or family member can halve the mental load and make it easier to cope.
• Save your strength. You don’t need to do every walk. Ask a professional dog walker or capable friends and family to pick up some of the daily walks. Having a bad day? Protect your resilience and hire a private dog field to walk in. No triggers, no worries.
• Walks don’t need to start from your house. Drive somewhere quiet without blind spots. It doesn’t matter if you go there frequently.
• You don’t need to train every day. Mix challenging walks with days that are less demanding. Take shorter walks in quieter places. Spend time doing what you love to do together. Play is a great way to build bonds. Just don’t forget your ‘me’ time.
• Remember progress isn’t a straight line. Regression happens every now and again. And things happen that are beyond your control. This is normal. Use the information you gain from the situation to make your next attempt more successful.  

Owning a reactive dog is hard, as is trusting them once the reactivity has improved. Please reach out to dog professionals like us for help with your dog’s behaviour. If your welfare is suffering, speak with your GP or charities that support human wellbeing. You don’t need to do this alone.  

Dogs that lunge at others will do so for different reasons. This could include:

• Feeling excited and wanting to play or interact. This could result in frustration if they’re on-lead and unable to do this.
• Feeling afraid and needing more space. Lunging (along with other aggressive behaviours) is aimed at increasing the distance between them.
• Some dogs with historic roles, like herding, might have traits that increase the likelihood of this behaviour. However, all dogs are individual and breed doesn't guarantee behaviour.

If you need support to work out why our dog’s motivated to lunge at other dogs start by understanding their body language and spotting signs of anxiety to identify what they react to.  

Keep a diary to track if there are common trends in your dog’s reactivity. For example, a particular type of dog, time of day, or in a certain location.  

Professional input is important and a trip to the vet can rule out underlying medical problems. Speaking with a qualified behaviourist can help you to identify the triggers, and support your dog to change how they feel around them.