Many people have dogs because they enjoy the social side of having a dog.. chatting to people in the park and watching their dogs bound around and play with each other.

However, for many people I work with this isn’t their reality. Their dog may have had a bad experience with a dog and is now scared, or they could be recovering from an operation, for example. This can make walks – especially in narrow locations very difficult. If you, your self have had a dog who shows signs of reactivity then you’ll appreciate how hard it is and you may be doing the below already.. but if not please read on.

·     If you see a dog who is reactive walking down the street (perhaps they have a jacket that is yellow), or perhaps their handler just looks uneasy.. then walk across the road.. this will give a dog some breathing space.

·     Feed your dog to distract them rather than letting them get fixated on the other dog.

·     Change direction or if you can, wait behind a parked car so that the dogs do not notice each other.

The above steps can really help a dog and their handler. Walking a reactive dog can feel stressful and anxiety inducing and people’s behaviour can really help the dog and the person.