06/11/2025
Reactivity versus aggression and the difference came up on a colleague's FB page. I have been thinking about this and how to explain it to everyday people. They can both look very scary and can be hard to differentiate. Usually, one is said to be rooted in fear. My mentor calls it defensiveness. Forward aggression to cause harm versus defending something to make a perceived threat disappear.
Let's compare this to reactive people. Most people who have jerk-like behavior are not really jerks. Usually they are having a bad day, or maybe had something happened to them that caused them to be extra sensitive to an occurrence. I am on a committee where a lady said she expected there to be an argument about terminology after we all agreed on what she suggested. And it showed. This person was. interupting everyone, being combative, and pushy. This may be labeled as reactive because she was overreacting when there was really no threat. We all agreed with her anyway, but because of her own made-up fears or (likely) past experiences, or just plain old insecurity, she was on the defensive, and came out verbally swinging, and assessed the situation accurately later. Perhaps her tactics have worked in the past, and she has gotten her way by being pushy and rude. But I could see through her instantly. Her energy was nervous, not aggressive, which actually made me empathize with her a little, but still not excuse her behavior.
Reactive dogs are kind of like this lady. They come out swinging even when there isn't any threat. They have learned that reacting makes things go away, which is their goal. They also usually feel unprotected by their human. I have taken many reactive dogs away from their owners for assesssment and usually the dog's tail is down or tucked because they are really afraid. But around their owner, they have learned what they think "works" and what the owner is inadvertently promoting.
These photos are from a dog introduction we did during the fearful feral dog immersion. One of our dogs was presenting wary towards dogs and also growling and staring at the other dogs. We wanted to get a good read on her, so we used Kelly's dog (very experienced greeter dog) to evaluate her. Turns out the dog was afraid of little Harlan, as you can see by her posture and tucked tail. She very appropriately told him to buzz off, so this wasn't full-blown reactivity. We also supported her and had Harlan love away. But in the wrong hands, this dog could become reactive to other dogs, under too much or the wrong kind of pressure. She just needed time to decompress and learn her dog friends weren't going to hurt her, then she started playing with them. This sequence shows Harlan's approach and the dog turning away. Then in the other corner, Harlan tries to approach again and she snaps at him. It was not meant to harm, just to move away. Then Harlan left her alone and they relaxed.
