Long Term improvement
Reframing Reactivity
Welcome!
Reframing Reactivity
Fearful and over-reactive behaviour will not go away on its own. Your dog will not grow out of it. left untreated, both the frequency and the intensity of the problems will increase.
Reactivity is one of the hardest behaviours to deal with but have you ever wondered why that is? You may never have even thought about reactivity before you got this dog, but now when your dog starts reacting, you find yourself reacting too! You may get stressed at the very thought of going for a walk.
Of course, it is not their fault. They are acting in response to an emotion – that might be fear, anxiety or frustration – and, when they react, that can make them feel better in the moment so they keep doing it.
But we can teach them a better way.
We can give them new ways to respond that also feel good and over time they can start to ignore what once caused a meltdown or maybe even enjoy meeting other dogs or new people.
In order to make this shift, we need to create a more calm space for our dogs. They can’t learn when they are stressed.
This is why we’ve designed a custom program – Reframing Reactivity. This program will give you all the support you need and we are with you every step of the way.
In Reframing Reactivity you will develop the right skills to teach calm and accommodate your dog’s reactivity! You’ll learn easy and fun practical ways to keep your dog’s focus when there are distractions, how to manage situations where things are less than ideal and how to bounce back when everything has gone belly up!
What can we help with?
- Suspicion of unknown people
- Suspicion of other dogs and animals
- Resource guarding – food, toys, people, slippers – high value items that the dog doesn’t want to lose
- Chasing and catching live animals – natural predatory behaviour with certain breeds
- Chasing cars, joggers, skateboards, bikes, lawnmowers, roller skates etc.
- Separation distress – may include panting and pacing, whining, howling and damaging the home or themselves
- Touch sensitivities – grooming, handling, routine husbandry procedures
- Sound sensitivities – fireworks, traffic, hoover, hairdryer, wood fires crackling, household noises
- Dislike of travelling – cars, vans, buses, trains and planes
- Abnormal repetitive behaviours – spinning in circles, self-mutilation, sucking on clothing, toys, objects, obsessive licking, staring, fly snapping, chasing highlights and shadows
- Excessive barking – a variety of reasons why a dog starts barking and what maintains the behaviour
- Inappropriate digging and chewing around the home
- Over-excitement, lack of impulse control, boisterous behaviour, jumping up, adolescence
- Toilet training – setting puppies up for success in the first place, helping older dogs where the environment has changed and they need a new routine, avoiding eating faeces
- Feeding issues – fussy feeder or negative association with eating or swallowing, suitable nutrition
- Anything else that you are struggling with, even if it is rather strange and your dog only expresses the behaviour in a certain place or when they are with a certain person, there will be a reason even if it’s not obvious to us initially, often described as quirky behaviour and just the way they are
- Cat and dog introductions – bringing a new puppy or older dog into a home with other pets, gradual introductions and keeping everybody safe so that they can all have the space and time they need to adjust to the new situation and develop positive associations as much as possible
How long is the training on average?
4 week, 8 week and 12 week behaviour programs are available to really address what the underlying issues
are to your pets unwanted behaviour and implement changes that will create long term improvement. You
will have new skills and strategies to empower you to help your dog after the program has been completed.