Is My Dog Reactive: What Is Dog Reactivity?
When dog owners come to me for dog reactivity issues, most of them come with this question: “Is my dog showing normal behavior, or are they reactive?”
Dog reactivity has one distinctive feature:
- It’s over the top.
- It’s extreme.
- It is out of the normal reaction to what other dogs naturally ignore.
A dog has reactivity issues when they show an increased reaction involving non-stop barking, hyperactivity, and uncontrollable excitement.
Yes, that is correct. But a dog reactive on leash and an aggressive dog will have a different approach to the object, causing them fear.
To explain the difference, here’s a quick analogy.
Let’s say you’re at a park having a lovely time when suddenly, a cat prances in front of your dog.
To a dog with no reactivity or aggression issues, they’ll simply ignore it, or they’ll notice it but not react as much.
To a fearful reactive dog with unpleasant experiences with cats, a cat is a big deal. They’ll react more intensely, such as jumping restlessly and barking non-stop in the hopes that the trigger will go away.
However, if a reactive dog is turning aggressive, their fear escalates their behavior from only driving the threat away to actually hurting and attacking the trigger.
Bottomline: a reactive dog shows elevated emotions, while an aggressive dog is ready to hurt.
