It takes us a few seconds to hand our dogs a treat so they may have moved onto another behavior by the time the reward comes. Markers help us communicate more effectively with our dogs. The marker is a contract: You must reward your dog if you use it (even if you use it accidently). The word “yes” marks the behavior you like: the sit. Think of trigger stacking like a staircase: Each trigger is a step that brings your dog closer to his threshold.įinally, you’ll need to decide on a marker to use, something that marks a behavior and says to the dog, “At the exact moment you hear this, you’re doing something I like and a treat will follow.” Common markers include clickers or verbal markers such as “good” or “yes.” For instance, every time your dog sits, you say “yes” and give him a treat. To use our spider-phobic person as an example again: Seeing a small spider one foot away is OK, but if she sees a small spider one foot away every 5 minutes for the next hour, she’ll be on edge and the next one may cause her to react. Each small trigger on its own may not send him over his threshold into reactivity, but when piled on top of each other, they do. Your dog can also experience “trigger stacking,” which means there are a lot of little triggers that accumulate over a period of time. For instance, a small spider a foot away may be OK, but a large spider a foot away could be scary to the spider-phobic person. While distance is a key factor in determining threshold, there are other factors to consider. As an example, let’s take a person who’s afraid of spiders. A spider 20 feet away doesn’t elicit a response, but a spider one foot away is scary and elicits a fearful response. The next step is to figure out your dog’s threshold, the point at which a trigger produces an effect or behavior change. Keeping a journal is a helpful way to pinpoint your dog’s triggers. Triggers can be very specific, such as men with beards, strangers who make eye contact, or dogs larger than your dog. A trigger is something in the environment that elicits a change in behavior. Common triggers include strangers, dogs and bicycles. What else do I need to determine before working on this behavior?Īfter determining the cause (fear or frustration) behind your dog’s leash reactivity, you need to identify the triggers. In fact, many dogs who show leash reactivity do not show these behaviors off-leash. Keep in mind that leash reactivity doesn’t necessarily mean that your dog is aggressive toward people or other dogs. So, try to keep the leash loose rather than taut, and take slow, deep and even breaths in order to help yourself feel calmer. For a frustrated dog, the leash is keeping her from doing what he wants, adding to the frustration.Īlso, your stress can be communicated to your dog via the leash, which can add to her stress. Because of a perceived threat in the environment, a fearful dog’s body is undergoing a physiological phenomenon called “fight or flight.” The leash creates an inability to flee and without that ability, a fearful dog will instead try to create distance through “fight” (e.g., snarling and growling) behaviors. What does the leash have to do with my dog’s reactive behavior? Is he fearful or frustrated? The answer to that question can shape the behavior modification approach you use. The first step in working with your dog’s reactivity is to determine the underlying cause behind the behavior through his body language. It’s his way of saying, “Hey, you look fun! Come meet me!” It’s her way of saying, “Hey, you! You make me uncomfortable! Stay away from me!” A frustrated dog, on the other hand, displays distance decreasing body language, such as playful barking and bounciness. There are two main reasons why dogs display leash reactivity: fear or frustration. A fearful dog wants to get away from the thing she’s afraid of, so she displays distance-increasing body language, such as snarling and growling. Fortunately, you can do something about this behavior. Does your dog lunge, growl and bark at the end of his leash when he sees an unfamiliar person, dog or object? If so, he is displaying something called “leash reactivity.” This behavior can be pretty scary if you’re experiencing it for the first (or even hundredth) time watching your sweet dog go from Dr.
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