There are several reasons why a dog may become reactive. Pain and underlying medical conditions, frustration and hyperarousal, genetics, and learning experiences are the most common. If your dog is suddenly exhibiting reactive behavior, it is of utmost importance to have your dog seen by their veterinarian to rule out pain and underlying medical conditions.

In the beginning we want to rule out pain or medical conditions, address unmet needs including physical exercise, mental stimulation, and enrichment, remove exposure to triggers as much as possible, teach reactivity foundation skills, and gradually expose dogs to their triggers in a controlled manner. Effective reactivity reduction training takes compassion, time and consistency.

If your dog shows intent to harm people or other dogs or has a history of such behavior, the training is similar but we have additional safety protocols in place which might include muzzle training your dog. We do work with dogs that have a history of causing harm to people and dogs. That being said, if this describes your dog, we encourage you to have your dog evaluated by a veterinary behaviorist. Our favorites are Dr. Chris Pachel at the Animal Behavior Clinic and Dr. Valli Parthasarathy at Synergy Veterinary Behavior. Both are located in Portland, Oregon.

It depends but the short answer is that reactivity training tends to be life-long. In addition, if there are underlying medical conditions, then those need to be treated prior to training. That can be a lengthy process for some dogs. In general, you can expect to be working on training foundation skills for several weeks up to months, and working on gradual exposures for a similar amount of time.

We offer reactivity training in Portland, Gresham, Troutdale, and Happy Valley. Virtual lessons are offered world-wide.