Leash reactivity is one of Petcademy’s most common behavioral challenges. If you’re wondering whether or not your dog is leash reactive, ask yourself this: do they bark, pull, jump, growl or lunge at other dogs when on leash? If the answer is yes, your dog is leash reactive. If the answer is no, we still recommend learning about leash reactivity to help navigate potential interactions with leash reactive dogs.
What you'll learn in this article:
- Equipment to help you manage leash reactivity
- Basics of loose leash walking
- How to use distance management and counter-conditioning techniques to prevent reactivity from escalating
Choose the right equipment for your walks
Selecting the right leash, collar and harness will help set you and your dog up for walking success. Here are our recommendations:
The basics of loose leash walking
Practicing loose leash walking will help your dog develop good walking habits that will, in time, make it easier for you to manage your dog's leash reactivity. Tactics to practice with your dog include:
- Walk quickly. If your dog is focused on keeping up with you, he’ll be less focused on trying to get ahead of you.
- Switch directions often. If your dog thinks you always walk straight ahead, he is more likely to be out in front of you. Turn him into a vigilant backseat driver by being unpredictable! Once you switch directions, your dog will go from being in front of you to in back of you…Clever, right? Get in the habit of making swift, unpredictable turns and your dog will be forced to pay more attention to you, which means less attention will be spent trying to get out as far in front of you as possible.
- Reward regularly. Outside, you are probably less interesting than everything else around you. Do you think he’d rather spend time with the human he sees hours a day, or that discarded chicken bone over there? You can build your interest-factor by becoming a periodic dispenser of good things as soon as you hit the sidewalk. Here’s the thing: You don’t have to reward him for walking well; approach it from the point of view that by keeping him focused on your rewards, it’ll result in nice walking without you even having to focus on it. A few examples of when to reward him on walks: Reward him any time he looks at you. This might mean giving him a treat, or just praising him, or even whipping out a toy. Pick an arbitrary marker and reward him whenever you come upon one, like every fire hydrant you pass or every red car you see.
- Reward at your leg. It’s important that you deliver your reward to your dog where you want your dog to be: Usually this is by your knee, hip, or ankle, depending on your height and your dog’s size. My favorite method for rewarding dogs outside is using a lickable treat — that usually means liverwurst, cream cheese or peanut butter in a tube or a LeanLix, which is like a hard treat that comes in a deodorant style, or a Bark Pouch, which is like a lickable treat in a baby-food style pouch.
Using distance management to prevent leash reactivity
These techniques will help you manage your dog's leash reactivity and help them develop a better association toward other dogs over time:
- Create enough distance between yourself and the other dog. Because your dog is fettered, he thinks he needs to bark in order to create distance between himself and the other dog. By creating that distance for him, you are helping reduce his stress levels and keep him under threshold (i.e. not barking).
- Walk your dog at your side. Easier said than done, but this can be accomplished with loose-leash walking training. If you have not yet mastered that, distract your dog with treats as you move past the other dog.
- Position your body between your dog and the other dog. For instance, if the other dog is on your right, make sure your dog is on the left side of your body. Creating a physical divide will help create a sense of security for your dog.
- Give your dog LOTS of treats. Depending on your dog’s level of reactivity, this might mean handing your dog a great treat the second you spot another dog, or tossing the treat in a direction that’s away from the other dog. Especially at the beginning, we recommend continually feeding your dog treats until the other dog is far enough away that your dog is calm.
- Encourage eye contact. The goal is for your dog to eventually look at you every time you encounter another dog, because he knows that whenever he sees another dog you’re going to give him something delicious!