03/09/2026
A lot of professionals will convince you that your dogs reactivity comes from a place of fear and panic, and although this can be a major cause of these behaviours-more often than not what we’re actually seeing is a dog who is struggling from not getting access to the thing they want. In the context of reactivity, it’s our dog getting frustrated at being restricted from being allowed to interact with the other dog. This causes them to lash out in an aggressive looking way to break free of the restriction. Eventually the dog learns this is the appropriate way to act when they see dogs. It usually has nothing to do with fear.
In this video you’re seeing the “reactive behaviour” (the barking, lunging, and jumping) only happens when the dog is being removed from the situation. This shows that the dog in training is more concerned with the dog LEAVING than it is coming close.