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If you\u00a0<\/span>haven\u2019t<\/span> read Part I<\/a> or Part II<\/a>, please do so before <\/span>proceeding<\/span>. Part III, our final part of our Reactivity in Dogs blog series, provides specific tools that I have used to help reduce or manage my dog’s reactivity. Your mileage may vary.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Many of Polo\u2019s behaviors can be managed by training<\/span>\u00a0with kibble<\/span>. For example, if\u00a0<\/span>we\u2019re<\/span>\u00a0in the car and he sees someone through the window, he will bark<\/span>\u00a0and lunge at the windows<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>To<\/span>\u00a0keep him calm<\/span>\u00a0and quiet<\/span>\u00a0in the car, I trained him to jump down into the footwell of the car for\u00a0<\/span>pieces of food<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>You can practice this in the car while parked in the garage, and when you try it while moving,\u00a0<\/span>it is<\/span>\u00a0safest to have a friend in the car to toss the\u00a0<\/span>food<\/span>\u00a0for you.<\/span>\u00a0Be creative about solutions to this\u00a0<\/span>problem and<\/span>\u00a0understand that\u00a0<\/span>you\u2019re<\/span>\u00a0trying to keep your dog from becoming triggered or flooded, where learning and training\u00a0<\/span>are unlikely to be effective.<\/span>\u00a0If your dog is not food motivated, this kind of training is more challenging but still possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Similarly, if you are concerned that your dog may bite while at the vet, if he\/she is trained to wear a muzzle, your veterinary team will feel much more comfortable and will be less likely to use restraint techniques that may trigger your dog. I purchased a basket muzzle for this purpose. So far, Polo is happy to eat kibble out of his basket muzzle like a small bowl, but we haven\u2019t gotten as far as buckling it behind his ears.\u00a0<\/span>Click here for more information about muzzle training and different styles of muzzles.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Your dog\u2019s triggers may be completely different than mine, but given some creativity and work,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0likely you\u00a0can also\u00a0manage some of the issues with positive-based training.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Polo has tried a variety of medications to relieve his anxiety. Without medications, he will alert bark in the home all day long \u2013 at noises neighbors make, barking dogs, anything he hears or sees.\u00a0Talk to your veterinarian – there are a variety of options available, only some of which are listed below.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Polo\u2019s ideal home would be in the country where he\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0have to see foot and bike traffic daily. But since we live on a busy street in Minneapolis, we had to adapt our property to better meet his needs. Though our yard is fenced,\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0still able to see through it well. So, we added a\u00a0<\/span>black mesh fabric<\/span><\/a>, doubled, to help decrease visual stimuli while he\u2019s in the yard.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If, like Polo, your dog likes to hover around windows and alert bark at people walking by,\u00a0<\/span>opaque window film<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is much better than leaving your blinds and curtains closed all the time.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>One more thing\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0tried, with mixed results, is a\u00a0<\/span>ThunderCap<\/span><\/a>. This funny\u00a0contraption\u00a0is a mesh cap that goes over Polo\u2019s head and attaches to his collar.\u00a0(Heads up \u2013 this product\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0work with a harness.)\u00a0I\u2019ll\u00a0admit I could do more positive training with this cap. Without such training, Polo still leaves it on his face, but if you leave him alone, he will pull it off with his front feet. While wearing it, however, he\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0bark at people walking by, even right in front of our fence. It diminishes his vision just enough that they\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0bother him.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Reactive\u00a0dogs\u00a0benefit from\u00a0smelling their surroundings.\u00a0Similar to\u00a0how deep breathing and mindfulness are helpful to humans;\u00a0sniffing\u00a0helps them connect with their environment and better regulate their mood. For that reason,\u00a0we often feed Polo via a\u00a0<\/span>puzzle toy<\/span><\/a>. He enjoys working out how to remove the food, and his nose never stops sniffing!\u00a0If your dog has never played with puzzle toys before, start with an easy one and work\u00a0up to\u00a0harder ones as he\/she becomes more adept.<\/span><\/p>\n Have you ever heard the phrase \u201ca tired dog is a good dog\u201d? This is true, however, for a reactive dog, not just any exercise will suffice. If you take\u00a0your dog\u00a0on a\u00a0thirty-minute\u00a0walk,\u00a0of which he spends several minutes barking, it doesn\u2019t take a genius to recognize that he may come back from that walk more anxious and upset than when he left. For this reason, focus on doing a\u00a0brief \u201csniff walk\u201d instead.\u00a0Sniff walks are\u00a05-10 minute\u00a0walks\u00a0that are carefully timed to take place\u00a0when\u00a0and where\u00a0other people and dogs\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0outside, or to otherwise be trigger-free if your dog\u2019s triggers are different.\u00a0Be creative! You may need to walk your dog earlier or later than most people do.\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0been known to walk Polo in industrial parks because, on evenings and weekends,\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0completely deserted! If your local cemetery allows dogs, that can also be a good\u00a0option. You can gradually make sniff\u00a0walks\u00a0longer if your dog is responding well.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another good\u00a0option\u00a0for trigger-free exercise is\u00a0<\/span>Sniffspot<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0Sniffspot\u00a0is an online service like Airbnb.com but\u00a0to rent\u00a0backyards!\u00a0You can\u00a0filter by how large the property is, whether\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0fully fenced or not, and whether dogs or people are\u00a0visible from the property.\u00a0You can rent for as short as 30 minutes or up to several hours.\u00a0We’ve loved\u00a0this service\u00a0to allow Polo to\u00a0have the\u00a0run\u00a0of\u00a0a large property,\u00a0off-leash,\u00a0and not get\u00a0overstimulated!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Pheromones can also help calm your dog\u2019s anxiety. Most of these products mimic the calming pheromone that a mother dog emits while nursing her puppies, and there are a variety available. I use\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>pheromone diffuser\u00a0offered by Thundershirt<\/span><\/a>\u00a0because\u00a0I trust their products.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n White noise (like a fan)\u00a0helps drown out background noise of people\/things happening outside, and before we got Polo\u2019s medications figured out, white noise saved us. We ran the vent fan on our\u00a0stovetop, or\u00a0played a white noise simulator on our phones.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another\u00a0great\u00a0audio\u00a0option is\u00a0<\/span>Through\u00a0A\u00a0Dog\u2019s Ear<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0This classical music has been clinically proven to relax dogs, and it\u2019s\u00a0pretty great\u00a0for humans, too!\u00a0Though\u00a0you\u00a0have to\u00a0pay for CDs, you can try some tracks for free on YouTube.\u00a0There is also a Spotify premium channel.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d\u00a0be surprised if you\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0heard of\u00a0<\/span>Thundershirts<\/span><\/a>, but just in case,\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0similar to\u00a0swaddling an infant and apply gentle, constant pressure to calm anxiety. Polo\u00a0wears one most of the day.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Similarly, Polo enjoys\u00a0being\u00a0carried\u00a0in\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>sling<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and will calm down if\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0agitated. Obviously,\u00a0this\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0a great\u00a0option\u00a0for owners of large dogs, and some small dogs may not enjoy it either.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I hope\u00a0<\/span>you\u2019ve<\/span>\u00a0found an idea or two in this blog series to help your dog\u2019s reactivity<\/span>! Again, I encourage you to seek the help of a veterinary professional. Reactivity is challenging and draining to face alone, and you don\u2019t have to.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nPositive Training<\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\nTo Reduce Anxiety<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n
1. Medication-specific <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
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<\/p>\n2. Barriers for Visual Stimuli<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
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<\/p>\n3. Use That Nose!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
![\"dog,](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/1.png\")
<\/p>\n4. Say What?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
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<\/p>\n5. Give \u2018<\/span>Em<\/span>\u00a0A Hug!<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
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