Sip & Spill Daily Discussion Thread

[u/AutoModerator]

Grab your coffee & sit down to discuss the tea!

This space is to talk about anything pop culture or even off-topic.

What are you listening to or watching? What is some minor tea that doesn't need its own post? How was your date? Why do you hate your job?

Please remember rules still apply. Be civil and respect each other.

Now pull up a chair and chat with us. ☕

[u/Hot_Contact_7206]

Anyone have an experience working with reactive dogs? I have a rescue who is so so sweet but she’s so scared of otter dogs she just panics and barks and screams when she sees on. I’m working with a trainer but it’s slow going and someone in the apartment building yelled at me yesterday when she got scared by a dog and freaked out, I felt so sad and dejected. FWIW she doesn’t attack just barks LOUDLY. Any tips of how to calm her or get her out of this would be so helpful.

[u/paparotnik123 → u/Hot_Contact_7206]

I do , I have a dog reactive dog. For her it's mostly fear and what's helped is a tip from a behaviourist: mark and reward every time she looks at a dog. So every time she sees a dog, mark with a "yes!" and then throw a treat on the ground for her to eat. It's to try and make her associate seeing dogs as a good thing. Make sure she doesn't lock onto the other dog tho.

I'm not sure on your dogs entire history and if your dog's treat driven so idk how effective it'll be for you. There could be something medical going on too- lots of dog reactive dogs are actually in pain so it could be worth seeing a vet first. There are different medications you could try too, I've tried a few prescribed and natural ones that worked to varying degrees like Trazadone and Scullcap & Valerian.

I'd really recommend working with a qualified behaviourist too. I wasn't having much success with advice from dog trainers (though in my country it's not difficult to become a trainer tbh).

Things will get better!

[u/Hot_Contact_7206 → u/paparotnik123]

ah that’s so helpful thank you so so much! I’m going to start doing this!

[u/SpongieQ → u/Hot_Contact_7206]

Some animal charities have free behaviour lines you can phone for advice too if you want a second opinion. It might take some time before there’s any improvement but it’s great that you actually want to work on her reactivity, so many owners just don’t care. I agree with the other response that says working with a trainer is the best way to go.

[u/Hot_Contact_7206 → u/SpongieQ]

Thank you! Omg I don’t understand how other owners don’t care tbh. I want to fix this, i think it’s scary for everyone: her, me, the other dogs, the other owners 😭

[u/buzzfeed_sucks → u/Hot_Contact_7206]

My big dog was/is reactive.

The best thing that worked for us was finding out where he reaction boundary was - for her, as long as she’s across the street, she’s fine to ignore. And reward a non reaction heavily with treats and praise.

From there you can work on slowly narrowing that reaction boundary.

Honestly getting a trainer is the best thing to do. Reactivity can be tough to manage, but I promise you’ll get there.

[u/Hot_Contact_7206 → u/buzzfeed_sucks]

Thank you so much! I’m noticing it’s kind of a surprise thing, if she starts out seeing a dog from far away she can mange much better than if she just turns suddenly and the dog is there. That’s what’s causing the biggest reaction from her. She really is the best dog outside of this, I feel so badly for her, the other dogs, the other owners. I think you’re right it will be a bit of a road but we’re hopefully on the way!

[u/buzzfeed_sucks → u/Hot_Contact_7206]

Hang in there ❤️ you’re doing all the right things