Breaking the Barking Cycle: Finding Effective Reactive Dog Training in Ottawa

Dog: Has been barking and lunging at dogs/people/cars/prey on walks for several years

Owner: "When I see his trigger approaching I pull him off to the side and have him sit and wait and give him a treat" 

Me: 😬

What's wrong with that approach?

I will tell you.

Many reactive dog training techniques seem similar to this on the surface…

…some kind of version of marking and rewarding the dog for looking at the trigger…

…or doing a sit for a reward when the trigger approaches…

… or some other distraction offered when the trigger is at a certain distance…

The idea is...

You give them something else to do instead of barking and lunging… 

.. or try to use something positive to create a good association hopefully before the dog can react.

There may be a drop in the AMOUNT of reacting after a while.

For many mildly reactive dogs, this is usually the case.

But in the short clip below, Douglas Elliffe Ph.D explains why these sorts of approaches can make a behaviour we don’t want..

… like reactive barking and lunging.. 

..MORE sticky and persistent…

And harder to get rid of completely.

If you have time, watch the whole podcast episode between him and Ivan Balabanov.

It’s full of amazing information that is directly related to dog training.

And it’s shared by a professor of psychology who has no agenda to push about what dog training methods are best.

He just shares what science is showing.

The big takeaway for reactive dogs is…

Owners can actually be creating a chain of behaviours where making the dog do that sit for a treat or marking and rewarding for looking at a trigger reinforces the barking and lunging (or in other words, makes it more likely to continue happening)...

That's because the reward/distraction they give their dog only comes when they are managing their dog and trying to avoid a reaction.

If that's a bit confusing... I'll break it down with examples.

Looping back to the methods I mentioned at the beginning...

.. most owners aren't marking and rewarding for their dog looking at a leaf blowing across the street.

Or pulling them aside, asking for a sit and giving them a treat for approaching a dandelion.

And they definitely don't do any of these things with their dog when they are alone in a forest or private dog park rental.

Well.. depending on the dog's issues, maybe they are.

But I think you get the point.

All of these distractions and commands and rewards ONLY come when the trigger and possibility for barking and lunging are around.

It turns into one giant cycle for the dog where triggers have VALUE and doing certain things (like barking and lunging) can get the attention/treat/distraction that may not have been given if the trigger and reaction WASN'T around...

... The reactive barking and lunging is redirected into a sit which is rewarded with a treat... and so on...

This is where reactivity gets super sticky because  maybe 9/10 times the command or management given and rewarded will work.

But then the dog will react randomly.

Sometimes at very specific things.

Like men only.

Or only dogs of the same gender as them.

Or dogs that look a certain way.

Or people wearing uniforms.

The reactivity still pops up.

For years and years.

The dog never learns that it is not necessary...

Or that the owner can handle situations where they feel they need to be defensive.

Ok so is reactivity impossible to beat then?

No.

When approached right…

… dogs don’t need to struggle with reactivity for months and years.

If this all sounds scarily similar to your struggles with your dog, reach out.

I can help clear things up for your dog AND you.

So that you can start working as a team and get out of the endless reactivity cycle.

- Vivian

PS. I’ve just spoken about why mark and treat and distraction methods can make reactivity last longer…

But so can just bringing the hammer down on a dog by punishing them with a prong or e-collar when they react.

There are better ways than “stick and carrot methods” to really help dogs feel better around the things they bark at.

If you need help with reactive dog training in Ottawa, click on the below link...

..and get in touch today.