My Dog Is Reactive to Other Dogs – What Should I Do?

Living with a dog that reacts to other dogs can make even a simple walk stressful.

You may find yourself constantly scanning ahead for other dogs, crossing the road, changing direction or choosing quieter places and times to walk. Your dog may bark, lunge, growl, pull or become so focused on another dog that it feels as though they can no longer hear you.

If this sounds familiar, you are certainly not alone. Dog reactivity is one of the most common problems I work with.

The important thing to understand is that reactivity isn’t a diagnosis. It describes what your dog is doing. To make progress, we first need to understand why they are doing it.

Why is my dog reactive to other dogs?

Dogs can react for many different reasons.

For some dogs, it comes from fear or insecurity. Others become frustrated because the lead prevents them from getting where they want to go. Some have learned that barking and lunging makes another dog move away.

High excitement, poor impulse control and previous negative experiences can also contribute.

And sometimes what started as a relatively small issue becomes a well-practised behaviour.

Every time a dog sees another dog, becomes highly aroused and rehearses barking, lunging or pulling, that pattern can become stronger.

This is why simply labelling a dog as ​“aggressive” rarely tells us enough.

Before deciding how to train the dog, I want to know what happens before the reaction, what the dog is communicating, how quickly they recover afterwards and what relationship and communication already exist between dog and owner.

Stop waiting until your dog explodes

One of the biggest mistakes I see is trying to intervene when the dog is already at the end of the lead barking and lunging.

By that point, you are very late.

Good training starts much earlier.

Learn to notice the smaller changes in your dog: their mouth closing, body becoming tense, ears or posture changing, staring at another dog, weight shifting forward or suddenly ignoring you.

Those early signs give you an opportunity to communicate with your dog before their arousal becomes much harder to manage.

Management helps – but management isn’t the same as training

There is absolutely nothing wrong with creating distance when you need it.

Crossing the road, choosing a quieter walking route or avoiding an uncontrolled off-lead dog can be sensible management.

But if your entire strategy becomes avoiding every dog your dog might react to, you aren’t necessarily changing the underlying behaviour.

You may simply become extremely good at avoiding it.

The long-term goal should normally be to develop a dog that can cope with the presence of other dogs and a handler who knows what to do when those situations arise.

That doesn’t mean your dog needs to greet other dogs.

In fact, for many reactive dogs, neutrality is far more valuable than interaction.

Your dog doesn’t need to love every dog they see. They need to learn that another dog appearing doesn’t mean everything else stops mattering.

Your relationship outside reactive situations matters

Reactivity training doesn’t begin when another dog appears.

If your dog ignores you around the house, drags you everywhere on walks, cannot settle, has very little impulse control and has never learned to respond reliably to simple guidance, expecting perfect communication around their biggest trigger is unrealistic.

This is why my work with reactive dogs often includes apparently simple things such as lead handling, engagement, place training, boundaries, settling and clear communication.

These things aren’t separate from behaviour work.

They create the foundation that allows us to work on the difficult situations.

Don’t constantly put your dog in situations they cannot handle

There is a difference between carefully exposing a dog to something as part of a training plan and repeatedly overwhelming them.

Taking a dog that reacts at 20 metres and repeatedly walking them within two metres of other dogs isn’t automatically ​“socialisation”.

Equally, keeping them completely isolated from other dogs for the rest of their life isn’t usually a practical solution.

Training needs to be controlled enough that the dog can learn.

That distance will be different for every dog, and as training progresses it should change.

Your dog doesn’t need to meet every dog

This is particularly important.

Successful reactivity training does not mean your dog eventually has to play with strange dogs.

I would much rather have a dog calmly walk past another dog and continue with their day.

Neutrality is an extremely useful skill.

For some dogs, continually allowing or encouraging greetings can actually increase frustration because seeing another dog begins to predict interaction.

Teaching the dog that other dogs are simply part of the environment can be much more useful.

Equipment alone won’t fix reactivity

There is no lead, harness, collar or other piece of equipment that will magically solve behavioural problems.

Equipment can be useful within a training programme, but it needs to be accompanied by good timing, clear communication and an understanding of what you’re trying to teach.

Changing equipment without changing the training often just changes how the same problem looks.

Can a reactive dog improve?

In many cases, absolutely.

But I don’t believe in promising that every dog will become completely unaffected by every dog in every situation.

Dogs are individuals.

Genetics, temperament, learning history, age, previous experiences and the length of time the behaviour has been practised can all affect the outcome.

A realistic goal is meaningful improvement: better communication, better control, quicker recovery, reduced reactions and a dog and owner who can navigate everyday situations with considerably more confidence.

When should I get professional help?

If your dog’s behaviour is making normal walks difficult, becoming progressively worse or creating a genuine safety concern, I wouldn’t wait until the problem becomes completely unmanageable.

Professional help can also be worthwhile if you’ve already watched countless videos, tried different techniques and still don’t understand why you’re not making progress.

The first step in my behavioural work is an assessment.

I need to see the dog, understand the behaviour and talk to you about what has already been tried before recommending the most appropriate training programme.

For some dogs, one-to-one training and owner coaching may be enough.

For more established behavioural problems, residential training can provide the time, consistency and structured daily work needed to establish new patterns before transferring that training back to the owner.

Residential training isn’t a magic reset button.

The owner is still an essential part of the process, which is why my residential programmes include a detailed handover and follow-up support. You need to understand what your dog has learned and how to maintain it once they’re back home.

Getting help with a reactive dog in North Wales and surrounding areas

I work with owners dealing with reactivity, lead problems, poor recall, excessive barking and other behavioural and training issues.

One-to-one training is available in Dolgellau, and home consultations can also be arranged depending on location.

For dogs requiring more intensive work, I offer residential training where the dog stays with me and training becomes part of everyday life rather than being limited to one short session each day.

If you’re unsure which option would be most suitable, get in touch and tell me a little about your dog, their age, breed, the behaviour you’re struggling with and your location.

We can then decide on the most appropriate first step.

Gabby K9s – Dog Training & Behaviour

Dolgellau, North Wales

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