Reactive Dogs Are Still Good Dogs
A friend bought me a t-shirt with that printed on the front, and I believe it’s 100% true. Especially after our most recent experience.
If you’ve followed my blog for awhile (pre-Substack), or if you’ve read some of my older posts here that I copied over from my previous blog space, you may know that some time after I rescued Japhy he became dog reactive. The experience has demanded that I become a better dog guardian, advocate and trainer, more attentive, and more cognizant of and responsive to canine body language (particularly Japhy’s, but others’ dogs too). So much of Japhy’s success depends on my ability to set him up for it. This means guiding him through certain experiences rather than leaving him to his own devices, knowing his boundaries and not allowing other dogs (or people) to cross them. With time and training, Japhy is learning how to more appropriately respond to triggers on his own, and this kind of progress has been amazing to witness.
Last year, around this same time, the dogs and I were hiking at one of the nearby canyons and randomly met a woman from Oklahoma who would later become a good friend and backpacking buddy. She backpacked part of The Colorado Trail with the dogs and me last season and fell in love with Japhy and Hazel. It wasn’t long after we got off trail that I received a text message from her that was a picture of a dog in a shelter that looked a lot like Hazel but with oversized pointy cattle dog ears. I excitedly responded, “Are you rescuing a dog?!”
“Her name is Ruby,” she replied.
Since then, Debbie and I have discussed the possibility (and improbability, given Japhy’s dog reactivity) of getting the three dogs together. If Japhy and Ruby could get along, we could all backpack together. It sounded great. And stressful.
Japhy has met some dogs that he gets along with. A friend in Colorado has a black lab whose name gets a head-tilt from Japhy whenever I say it. Some neighbors down the street have a short and stocky pitbull named Patrick that Japhy and Hazel love. Generally speaking, Japhy seems to do okay with other submissive dogs, and small dogs. But bigger, more confident dogs scare him, and he reacts. Japhy is also an introvert. He would much prefer to hang out quietly with the humans and get belly rubs than engage with other dogs. He has short spurts of interest in playing with other dogs and then quickly wants (and needs) a safe exit.
Recently, Debbie said that she would drive the five hours from Oklahoma to meet me and the dogs at the canyon for a two-night camping trip. We could introduce the dogs in a neutral area, and if they reacted to one another we could keep them separated easily enough. If they got along, then we could more confidently plan a backpacking trip together this season, with all three dogs.
I packed Japhy’s muzzle. Then halfway through the two-hour drive to the canyon I thought better of it. He only wears the muzzle to the vet clinic (something I need to remedy), therefore he likely associates it with stressful events. If he’s already stressed going into this meeting, I’m setting him up for failure. This is precisely why we should be desensitizing our dogs to wearing a muzzle from an early age in a variety of situations, stressful and non-stressful, and I intend to work on this with both of my dogs moving forward. But for this particular meeting, keeping Japhy calm and not stressed was critical. Because I know Japhy well enough to know this, and because I know myself well enough to know that I could handle the situation if he did react (and I trust Debbie enough to feel confident that she could handle Ruby in an appropriate manner), I texted Debbie and asked if she would feel okay if Japhy wasn’t muzzled.
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
For the entire two-hour drive I played out every possible scenario in my mind. I problem-solved each one until I’d narrowed it down to the one plan that had the most potential for success based on Japhy’s triggers and the things that keep him calm. I texted Debbie and explained my plan and its rationale. I told her that we can’t push this, that we need to let the dogs go to each other on their own terms, and if one reacts, we go back to putting space between them. We have to know and honor their individual thresholds. I was concerned that if we messed this up and Japhy reacted, he wouldn’t give Ruby another chance. So I wanted to make as few mistakes as possible.
When we arrived at the campground, we got out of our vehicles and said hello to each other first. It had been almost a year since we’d seen each other, after all. Then we got the dogs out of the vehicles and immediately started walking down the road together, not stopping or letting them make physical contact at all.
Ordinarily, Japhy would start reacting the minute he saw Ruby. But he didn’t, and I think this is key: I didn’t allow myself to be anxious about how this might play out, and I told Debbie to try to do the same. We had confidence in our own abilities to handle the situation. Dogs need this confidence from us. Otherwise, they think they have to handle the situation themselves.
It was difficult, but we basically ignored the dogs. We kept space between them by putting our own bodies between them. Debbie and I walked side-by-side with Ruby on her left and Japhy and Hazel on my right. We just very calmly walked down the campground road as if nothing about the situation was stressful or unusual. We didn’t do what humans have an overwhelming desire to do: just let the dogs run up to each other and “sort it out” on their own, or get overly excited about the introductions, talking to the dogs in high-pitched cutesy voices and just standing there waiting to see what happens. All of that most certainly would’ve caused Japhy to react because of the lack of guided structure. Japhy needs to have a purpose—a job—in high stress situations. Otherwise, he focuses on the stressor and gets anxious. So we gave the dogs something to do during this initial introduction: we walked. They smelled the smells of the canyon, and we didn’t make a big deal out of any of it. When the structured walk seemed to be going well, we let them slowly wander over to one another on their own, while continuing to move forward down the road. It worked! Japhy did not react, and it was beautiful.
Dogs are dogs and humans are humans, and both species have their own set of deep complexities, of course, but our most basic fight or flight responses come from the same general place: fear. And sometimes our most basic techniques for working through that fear—like redirection—can be effective for both species. Not always, but sometimes, thinking about how we might handle our own fear of something (focusing on our breath, for example, which is essentially redirection) can help us come up with solutions for helping our dogs work through theirs (and vice versa). They are animals, but they’re highly sensitive animals that have been bred to be more adaptable to working with humans. They’re very in tune to us, particularly if our relationship with them is strong.
Redirection: walking instead of a risky, in-your-face unstructured greeting.
Also redirection: Debbie and I calmly chatting with one another as we walked, instead of focusing on the dogs and making a big deal about them meeting for the first time. This lowered our stress levels and in turn made for a calmer energy, which the dogs absolutely picked up on.
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to know your dog(s). I owe this successful meeting to all of the hard work that Japhy and I have done together working to identify his triggers and understand what he needs in order to be the best dog. Every dog is different.
My mentor trainer once told me that the difference between a reactive dog and an aggressive dog is that the latter is unpredictable and the former is predictable. It’s such a fine line—one that results in death for too many dogs. We have to learn the difference. This is our responsibility as dog people. Do research about dog breeds before adopting. Talk to other people who have experience with the breed we’re considering. Know our own abilities and limitations. Hire a trainer with expertise to help if/when needed. I choose to rescue Pitbulls because I have the experience and desire and passion for working with them, and because I know what absolutely amazing dogs they are. I know that when things get tough, I’m not going to give up. I also know that too few others are willing and able to do all of those things for them. Ultimately, that’s why when Mani died and I swore I’d never get another dog, I changed my mind. Maybe it’s silly, or self-centered even, but I believe that if there’s one good thing I can do for the short time I’m on this earth, it’s save a few dogs and give them good lives. The fact of the matter is, the quality and depth of my own life has improved tenfold in the process. “Who saved whom?”
Reactive dogs are still good dogs. In fact, they can be downright amazing dogs. They also absolutely can and will learn new ways of responding to fear triggers over time, if they have a human willing to do the work with them.
See photos and video below. I am so, so proud of my Blue Boy. And to be quite frank, I’m proud of myself, too. We did this together. It’s not just that he didn’t react to Ruby. He mostly didn’t react to the bison, either, and on all of our previous trips to the canyon, he had. He was able to calmly watch them when they entered our campsite, and remained calm even after I rather anxiously got up to move us away from them. The only time he reacted to the bison was when one of them turned suddenly and looked directly at him (eye contact = threatening).
He’s such a good boy. ♥️ They’re all three amazing dogs: Japhy, Hazel, and Ruby Roo. And I look forward to going backpacking together in the near future.
Jump down below the photos to watch a short video from our trip to the canyon.
It is my goal with this blog to inspire and educate others about canine adoption, advocacy, and training. For that reason, posts here will never be hidden behind a paywall. If you find value in this blog, and are in a position to do so, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to help support it. Thank you so much.
“There are love dogs no one knows the names of. Give your life to be one of them.”
Such a heartwarming and encouraging story. I love how you gave so many examples showing us how you and Debbie worked together in making it possible (setting up the pups) for such a positive experience. And those pictures!!!! The best!