Owning a reactive dog...

When it comes to Reactivity, all dogs are reactive, otherwise they would not be alive. I started my journey into Dog Training and Behaviour Management when my now 7 year old Border Collie Eira, (Dreamwork Game of Shadows) started to become 'on lead reactive' to some other dogs. Eira had always been generally a very happy, placid, intelligent, easy to train, responsive, beautifully loyal Collie. 2 years younger than my other dog Misty, sisters by the same parentage, from day one, she slotted into our family, learning a lot from Misty, passing her Good Citizen Dog Scheme Gold award aged only 18 months..! It was at this time, that I noticed her not being able to cope if other dogs 'invaded her space'. She began to react negatively, curling her lip, staring, growling and snapping at them if they came too close, so I tightened the lead, I withdrew, worse thing I could have done. Where had my happy collie gone?!! So, I decided to try and find out what was happening in her mind and emotions. What was making her do this? Where had I gone wrong? I believe, if you have a problem, don't cover it up, or apologise, or withdraw.... but manage it. I spent time with a Dog Behaviourist who really helped me to understand what was happening, and more importantly why. I took on board all his advice and it blew my mind..! Suddenly, I understood her needs, and emotions. I started to put his advice into practice, that of showing Eira that she didn't have to 'take control' of a difficult situation, that I was there for her. (Off lead she could escape, on lead she couldn't, so  had to take control herself. I wasn't seeing her anxiety) So, I became her strong leader, in acknowledging her alerting, her training, on the walk, around food, and play, all dogs need a leader to respect. Even today, I still need to be aware of what is happening around us, and I continue to work with Eira. She has become my best teacher in the dog world on this wonderful journey of understanding Dogs.
​Never give up hope, be a calm, consistent leader your dog desires.