Before getting a dog, I thought I had a pretty good idea about all there was to know about dog ownership. However, all of that changed when I became the owner of a reactive dog.
As the owner of a reactive rescue dog and a reactive not-rescue dog, I thank you for speaking up about this situation. As dog owners, our job is to protect our pups and the public. Mine will never be dog park dogs, go on walks with others, or be off leash (at least not intentionally). They are BIG and combined outweigh me, so I walk them separately and try for the less-busy times of day/night. They are happier, I’m less stressed, and it makes us better neighbors.
Totally relate to all of this. I have a reactive dog as well and before owning her, I was completely oblivious to dog reactivity. I write a little about our journey on my Substack Callie Hikes and how owning a reactive dog can complicate a lot of things, especially when trying to do on trail activities. I’ve definitely also had my fair share of awkward yet dangerous situations when first trying to deal with my dog’s reactivity. It’s a massive learning curve. However, this topic needs to be talked about and I look forward to reading more!
Not sure where my post went...? But I will state it took a year and a half of positive counter conditioning and group dog training to get where my rescued girl and I are. She now has dog play dates with neighborhood dogs and is not reactive to 90 percent of dogs on our walks. She is only off leash in a fenced back yard. We went to the dog park early in the day and we would leave after 4 to 6 other dogs showed up. She sees me as her protector, I think. Or at least she trusts me, which is a sweet feeling. 😋
As the owner of a reactive rescue dog and a reactive not-rescue dog, I thank you for speaking up about this situation. As dog owners, our job is to protect our pups and the public. Mine will never be dog park dogs, go on walks with others, or be off leash (at least not intentionally). They are BIG and combined outweigh me, so I walk them separately and try for the less-busy times of day/night. They are happier, I’m less stressed, and it makes us better neighbors.
Totally relate to all of this. I have a reactive dog as well and before owning her, I was completely oblivious to dog reactivity. I write a little about our journey on my Substack Callie Hikes and how owning a reactive dog can complicate a lot of things, especially when trying to do on trail activities. I’ve definitely also had my fair share of awkward yet dangerous situations when first trying to deal with my dog’s reactivity. It’s a massive learning curve. However, this topic needs to be talked about and I look forward to reading more!
Not sure where my post went...? But I will state it took a year and a half of positive counter conditioning and group dog training to get where my rescued girl and I are. She now has dog play dates with neighborhood dogs and is not reactive to 90 percent of dogs on our walks. She is only off leash in a fenced back yard. We went to the dog park early in the day and we would leave after 4 to 6 other dogs showed up. She sees me as her protector, I think. Or at least she trusts me, which is a sweet feeling. 😋