How to Desensitize a Reactive Dog
It’s all about the thresholds.
Reactive dogs can bring us a lot of stress. They freak out, lunge, bark at others, growl, and can even put themselves and us in dangerous situations. And then when you get back home, they can be the sweetest creatures. It’s confusing and frustrating. You know your dog is good and tries its best, but the rest of the world doesn’t.
Wondering how to desensitize a reactive dog? You can do so by finding their threshold, slowly introducing their triggers, and building counter conditioning tactics while slowly getting closer to their triggers within the threshold.
It’s crucial to work on dog reactivity because reactive dogs can turn aggressive, which can put themselves and others at risk. We don’t want that.
Don’t worry if you’re overwhelmed. We’ll break it down.
First, let’s go over a few terms to get on the same page.
Reactive dog training term #1: Threshold
I want to first go over a key term before we dive in. I’ve found it personally helpful to introduce and revisit foundational topics often. After all, reactive behavior in dogs is exacerbated by a few common mistakes owners make when they lack the foundational knowledge of dog psychology.
What is a dog’s threshold?
A dog’s threshold is the point where a trigger is strong enough to be noticeable, but not intense enough to cause your dog to switch emotional states.
If your dog barks at other dogs when on a walk, you can identify their threshold as the point right before they begin barking. Let’s say Fluffy typically notices a dog from the other end of the block but doesn’t start barking at it until you’re 100 feet away. That period between the noticing and the barking is your dog’s threshold.
Here’s another example: Fluffy is obsessed with your cat. He gets overexcited every time they cross paths and he chases them around, causing great distress for your feline friend. When your dog first sees the cat, his ears perk up and his body begins to tense. Within a second, he’s barking. The threshold is that second between the ears perking and the barking beginning.
Reactive dogs typically make it clear that they’re over threshold by barking, lunging, growling, whining, or other obvious signs. But there are other signs a dog is over threshold, including:
An inability to redirect their attention: If you typically can get your dog’s attention by calling their name or giving them a treat on their walk, but a trigger causes them to have no interest in the treat or no reaction to your calling their name, they’re over threshold.
Overexcitement: Dogs that jump or run around uncontrollably may be over threshold, too.
Desensitize a reactive dog by approaching the threshold
When desensitizing a reactive dog, you need to bring your dog to the point where a trigger is about to set them off but redirect them before they cross their threshold. Every dog is unique and responds differently to different situations, so you’ll likely need to do some trial and error before you can accurately gauge when they’re about to cross the threshold.
Using those two examples above, we know that the threshold is the period between your dog noticing and barking at another dog or cat.
When you work on your dog’s reactivity, you’re going to approach the threshold and then condition a new response.
Counter conditioning for dog reactivity
Okay, we’re here at the moment between your dog noticing a trigger and their physical response. It’s a delicate place to be. Now our goal is to teach our dog to naturally react in a new way. This process can be slow. Patience is necessary.
How to train counter conditioning to desensitize a reactive dog?
Right in the moment before your dog crosses its threshold, you need to capture their attention and redirect it to something positive and more exciting. The best options are typically treats, toys, or praise.
If you’re thinking I’ve tried that, it doesn’t work. My dog freaks out. I have bad news. You haven’t tried it before crossing the threshold. If your dog freaked out, it was past their threshold. It’s as simple as that.
Here are two examples using those earlier scenarios:
You’re walking down the street with your dog. You know that he usually starts barking as soon as he spots another dog and realizes he’s walking toward it.
Solution: Cross the street and give your dog a treat or mini play session with their favorite toy. Keep distance and don’t walk directly toward the oncoming dog.
**Important tip: Don’t make your dog sit and give it a treat as you wait for the dog to pass. This just adds stress to your dog, to you, and to the oncoming dog and its owner. This method often stresses reactive dogs even more.
Your dog can’t seem to stop himself from lunging toward and chasing your cat.
Solution: Sit with your dog and their favorite treat. Have a friend walk in with the cat. Give your dog a treat as soon as he notices the cat, before he can bark. Have your friend leave with the cat. Repeat and slowly build the scenario to be closer and closer to the real-life situation of your cat walking by, without ever going over your dog’s threshold.
The key to desensitizing a reactive dog: thresholds
Here’s a truth that hurts for some: If you’ve tried to train your reactive dog using the threshold method and they still freaked out, you crossed the threshold.
The above examples are merely two common scenarios. They don’t encompass the vast range of scenarios that can happen when training a reactive dog. Your dog might require more distance, more time, and a lot more patience.
Make sure you’re within your threshold too. If you’ve already had a stressful walk, it might not be a good idea to go into a training session while frustrated. Work on your dog’s reactivity when you feel patient and willing. And when you’re not able to work on their reactivity, avoid situations that trigger it. Sometimes that means driving to a less populated park or walking at less busy hours.
Don’t Worry, He’s Friendly helps reactive dogs in urban spaces thrive. Check out our other articles to learn more.
This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional veterinary, behavioral, or training advice.