Winnie will not come to me when I call her, and she often urinates when I approach with hands to pet or pick her up. Yet I am her favourite personā¦.
You would never guess that I adopted this little girl a year ago, or that she is around 11-12 years old.
From watching this interaction with her, what kind of past do you think she had?
Winnie will usually scream or urinate when anyone tries to pick her up, including me, and Iām her person! She will not come to me when prompted, unless treats or squeaky toys are involved, and given the opportunity she will then she will run to her bed, usually cowering and sometimes peeing along the way.
Up until now she has always followed me around, and jumps right onto my lap (in a chair) when she wants attention. Iām starting to have everyone in the family only approach with food for now to see if we can desensitize her to being picked up, and eventually fade out food/toys entirely.
Iāll post our progress along the way!
#wewillneverknow
Letās talk about dog reactivityā¦.
Reactivity happens when a dog becomes overly aroused by stimuli around them. Often times, dogs that become reactive have gone through a pretty stressful event in their life, and more than not, it happens at a dog park.
Reactive dogs come in all shapes and sizes, but they usually act the same. They are very aware of their surroundings, become fixated on the trigger, stiffen up, make themselves look bigger, bark and sometimes even jump/lunge.
Having a reactive dog can be so challenging. It can be mentally and physically exhausting and can make going for walks absolutely daunting.
Here are 5 tips to help your reactive dog on walks:
1) Choose the timing of your walks. Donāt go when your dogs triggers will be out in full force. (Dogs, Cars, People, Kids etc.)
2) Keep a watch out for triggers before your dog sees them. This will give you the ability to maintain your distance and change directions if needed.
3) Do not let your dog fixate on what they are likely to bark at. Your dog can not look away when their trigger is too close (they have tunnel vision).
Use your dogās leash as a steering wheel to guide them into a 180 degree U-turn away.
4) DO NOT punish your dog for barking. Your dog is having a major emotional reaction to something in their environment that is too difficult to handle. Often times reactivity stems from fear.
5. Consider hiring some help. Be sure to do your research on dog trainers in your area. Training has come a long way over the last few decades, but there are many trainers still using old and outdated methods that cause pain or discomfort to obtain quick results. Our dogs are our family members and deserve to be treated with kindness and compassion.
Looking to start some training? Or perhaps you know someone who could use some help with their reactive dog? CrewK9 has gift certificates just in time for Christmas!
Email me (Kate) at [email protected] or text 778-899-5681 anytime!
Ps.The decoy dog is not real (obviously) as th
