Reactivity: Your Dog’s Way of Saying, ‘Lead Me, Human!’
Pet Influencer CarrieAnn MonteLeon
Reactivity in dogs? It’s not just “oops, bad pup!”— it’s a leadership hiccup because dogs crave clarity, structure, and a confident human to follow. Without it, their natural instincts take over.
Dog owners can inadvertently turn their pooch into a reactive rockstar with some classic leadership bloopers. I thought it would be great to go into some of the mistakes that we humans can make with our dogs and some ways to fix these behaviors.
Wishy-Washy Rules will lead to leash reactivity, as in: some days leash-pulling is fine; the next, it’s a no-no.
The Emotional Rollercoaster:
Yelling “STOP!” or nervously clutching the leash when Rover spots a potentially rival pup. The Dog Says: “If you’re freaking out, then I am freaking out.”
Dogs will always mirror your emotions, and because we love our dogs, there are always strong emotions attached.
Expecting Fido to magically understand how you expect the walk to go or to finally get it, without a heads-up.
Your dog thinks, “Okay, I’ll just bark at EVERYTHING to be safe!” When this happens now their hyper-vigilance is activated, and as humans, we become increasingly frustrated with our dogs usually holding the leash even tighter.
As humans, we inadvertently make the mistake of allowing our dogs to decide what to sniff or when to sprint, but this lets them believe that they are in control of the walk.
Dogs don’t dream of running the show—they want a calm, confident leader. Set fun, firm rules. Stay cool as a cucumber (even when they’re not). Show them the ropes with a wag-worthy smile. Take the leash—and the lead-back!
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