19/11/2025
Do you know the difference between overreactivity based on fear and overreactivity based on frustration?
If your dog is fearful, you will see either of the three behaviours:
fight (it is not literally fight but looks like it-lunging, barking, growling)
flight (the dog is trying to get away from the 'threat')
freeze (the dog stops moving)
If the dog is frustrated it can manifest in lead biting or biting on the fence because they are thwarted by the leash or fence to get to another dog or person (or anything else they want to get to).They redirect the energy onto the lead or other barriers.
You can see this when a dog bites on the crate because they want to get out.
Overreactive behaviour can be seen in 'good dogs' too when something happens in the environment that makes them fearful.
Have you ever seen overreactive behaviour in your dog? What was it based on?