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Why do reactive dogs behave like that anyway?

 If you live with a reactive dog you'll know how their reactivity limits the things you and your dog can do together, the places you can go together and the times of the day you can go there.

It's not easy and the chances are you may have experienced stress, frustration and annoyance at how your dog behaves. It can also be very upsetting to see your dog distressed over things others take for granted.

You'll also know their reactivity is only a part of who they are.

Reacting to things is inbuilt

Reacting to things, whether it is a real threat or a perceived threat is inbuilt. It's a fear response which is essential for survival.
Think of that involuntary reaction when you jump at something before you've even registered what it is you've been scared by.

Why is the dog 'going mad' at things that are just normal, everyday things to the rest of us?
cartoon of dog barking furiously but looking scared at the same time
It's an issue of how the dog processes things, explains dog
behaviour practitioner Andrew Hale*, who does educational work
in this area.

When a dog goes into an apparent fury when they see another dog, for example, what has led to that behaviour?

Andrew explains the sequence:
Sensory input ➡ nervous system response ➡ behaviour
Let's look at this in more detail:

First thing is Sensory Input
Photo of dog with one ear up, listening

This involves the dog's external senses – the dog sees/hears something.
It also involves the dog's internal senses – how they might feel physically at the time (feeling ok, or in pain, or feeling unwell). Also the 'mood' the dog is in at the time. 
A big factor is what the dog believes is going to happen to them as a consequence of what they have encountered.
The dog will also be influenced by their own bias and preferences about things. Maybe they have a bias against a particular size of dog, or a preference for dogs who behave a certain way.

There are many other things that may also be factors, from what might have happened earlier in the day, to who the dog is with at the time and how they react, to the dog's genetics and even the condition of their gut microbiome**.

These things will be unique to the individual dog.

All of the above will combine to form the dog's view of things and if the result is that the dog feels they are under threat, regardless of whether it is a real threat or not, the sympathetic nervous system takes over and prepares the dog for action with:

  • adrenaline production
  • higher heart rate
  • pupil dilation
  • increased lung capacity
  • slowing of digestive activity
It is the “fight or flight” response. The same as in humans.

The sympathetic division of the nervous system is within the involuntary response area of the nervous system. The dog has no say in having the physical responses listed above.

There's a lot listed above - sensory input and nervous system response -  but it happens in an instant.
illustration of flash of light
All this going on in the inside will lead to behaviour on the outside as the dog seeks relief from what is happening within them. This behaviour is the bit we can see.

The behaviour might be:
  • A furious display of barking and lunging. When these displays are based in fear, the dog is trying to scare the other party away. The dog wants to increase the distance between themselves and what is scaring them. This behaviour is often misinterpreted by people as having an aggressive intent by a 'bad dog'.

  • A display of the dog 'fooling around' which might be misinterpreted by human observers as the dog enjoying themselves.
    A dog fooling around can just be having fun of course, but if the context is that there's something going on around them at the time that might be overwhelming them, then it could be a fear response.
    People can also behave in unusual ways when scared.

  • Other dogs might display different behaviour changes such as shying away or freezing their body position.
Each dog is an individual and the behaviour will vary depending on the individual dog.
The behaviour becomes a habit. It is reflexive the instant the dog sees what frightens them.

Why might a dog process the sight of another dog/person etc. this way?

There are many reasons why a dog might process things this way. Here are some common ones:
  • As a puppy they received no socialisation, or poor socialisation
  • They had a frightening experience
  • Poor experiences in general with other dogs/people
  • They learnt it from another dog they live with
I wanted to write about this topic to try to help understanding of what is going on for a dog who struggles with things.
As you can see, there is a lot going on within the dog before the outward behaviour happens.

If your dog is reactive and you want to help them, please work with a force-free behaviourist. This means someone who works with the dog without using coercion or punishment.

The dog needs to feel safe

Working with a dog in a way that causes additional fear to the dog will not lead to good outcomes. The dog's behaviour could get worse and they could start to use aggression instead of the behaviours described above. Or the dog could suppress the behaviour due to the increased fear.

A dog who suppresses their behaviour might look 'cured' but it will only be temporary. The sensory input and nervous system response will still be happening on the inside so will come out as behaviour again in the future. Whereas if the dog is helped to learn to process things differently, that's when things change for the better.

Ursula Linton

* Check out Andrew Hale's Facebook Group 'Dog Centered Care'

** Recent studies have shown that gut bacteria send chemical messages to the brain that effect mood.



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