🐾 Rethinking Reactivity: Changing How We See Our Dogs Is the First Step to Helping Them

If you live with a reactive dog, you’ve probably spent a lot of time wondering:“What am I doing wrong?”“Why can’t my dog just be normal?”“Why does this feel so hard?”

I want to start by saying this clearly: reactivity is not a failure — of you or your dog.

But helping a reactive dog often requires something that feels surprisingly difficult at first:👉 a shift in how we think about reactivity altogether.

Because when we change our mindset, everything else starts to change too.

💭 The Traditional Way We’re Taught to View Reactivity

For a long time, reactivity has been framed as:

• Bad behaviour

• A lack of training

• A dog “testing boundaries”

• Something that needs to be stopped or corrected

This way of thinking puts enormous pressure on owners. It makes every reaction feel like a personal failure — and every walk feel like a test you’re constantly failing.

But here’s the truth:

Reactivity isn’t a training problem. It’s a coping problem.

🧠 Reactivity Is Communication, Not Disobedience

When a dog barks, lunges, freezes, or growls, they’re not trying to embarrass you or be difficult. They’re communicating that something in that moment feels too much.

That might be:

• Fear

• Anxiety

• Frustration

• Overwhelm

• Physical discomfort or pain, just to name a few.

If we only focus on stopping the outward behaviour, we miss the message underneath — and that’s where real change actually happens.

🧩 Looking Beyond the Behaviour

One of the biggest mindset shifts I encourage is this question:

“What is my dog trying to tell me?”

As a Holistic Canine Behaviourist & Dynamic Dog Practitioner, I look at the whole dog — not just what they’re doing, but how their body, emotions, and environment are interacting, alongside other factors such as genetics, life experiences, health, and diet.

A problem with any of these factors can drastically lower a dog’s tolerance for stress and reduce their resilience levels — and that often shows up as reactivity.

When we stop seeing reactivity as “bad behaviour” and start seeing it as information, everything changes.

🚫 Why “Pushing Through” Often Backfires

Many well-meaning owners are told to:

• Expose the dog more

• Ignore the reaction

• Power through walks

• Be firmer, stricter, more confident

But for reactive dogs, more pressure usually leads to more stress, not resilience.

Imagine being afraid of something and being forced closer to it, over and over, without feeling safe. That’s not how confidence is built — for humans or dogs.

Reactive dogs don’t need to be pushed.They need to feel safe enough to learn.

✅ A Different Approach: Helping the Dog Feel Better, Not Just Behave Better

When we shift our mindset, the goal changes from:

“How do I stop this behaviour?”

to:

“How do I help my dog feel safer, calmer, and more comfortable?”

That approach includes:

• Creating distance from triggers

• Working below your dog’s stress threshold

• Rewarding calm, choice, and curiosity

• Supporting physical comfort and movement

• Reducing pressure on both ends of the leash

Progress becomes less about perfection — and more about small, meaningful wins.

💬 Changing Your Mindset Changes Your Dog’s Experience

This shift isn’t just about training — it’s about the relationship.

When you stop viewing your dog as:

• Stubborn

• Dominant

• Manipulative

• “Trying to get away with it”

…and start seeing them as:

• Sensitive

• Communicative

• Doing their best with the tools they have

You naturally respond with more patience, empathy, and clarity.

And dogs feel that change immediately.

🐾 Final Thoughts

Helping a reactive dog isn’t about control — it’s about connection.

It’s not about obedience — it’s about understanding.

When we change how we think about reactivity, we change the path forward.

And that shift — more than any technique — is often where real healing begins.

If you’d like support from a professional who persoanly understands where you are right now, then I would love to speak with you.

Let's have a chat: You can book a FREE 20 minute discovery call with me using this link: https://calendly.com/canine-reactive/discovery-call

Their is also a FREE safe community you can join where you can get sound advise, non-judgmental support, and no longer feel like you are alone. The Canine Reactive Support Hub is ready to welcome you:https://www.facebook.com/groups/275353517943614

You and your dog are not broken — you’re learning together. 💛