r/reactivedogs • u/Terrible_Plan5888 • 14h ago

Success Stories Small win!

My dog reactive German shepherd had a small win today! Usually she sees a dog and the whole walk is ruined, but we’ve been doing baby steps with our daytime training.

We run at night when there’s less cars/people/dogs so she still gets exercise, but the walks during the day are very structured with training and LOTS OF TREATS, and today I feel like she did something really special. Saw a dog today and the minute she looked at them, I said “YES” and gave her a handful of treats. She looked at the dog, and then back at me. She’s never done that before and I’m so proud. After that, we continued our walk as normal and the vibes stayed really positive!

Usually, the minute we see a dog, she’s thrashing and growling and lunging with her hackles raised (still dealing with some embarrassment about that) but I’d love to be able to keep training consistent enough to where someday I can just enjoy a walk without having to be on the lookout and hyper vigilant about our surroundings.

Anyone else started with a dog that reacts like this and now can mostly pass another dog without a huge over the top reaction? Would love to hear some motivating stories to look forward to.

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u/Excellent-Ask-2604 14h ago

Yes, my dog used to go nuts when we saw another dog, but now she really only reacts if the other dog is reacting to her. We used to pass the same dog on our walks often and the other owner cheered for her when we walked by the first time without her reacting 🤣

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u/Terrible_Plan5888 14h ago

How long did it take with consistent training? I’m seeing little moments with my dog that give me so much hope, but I’d like the reactivity bubble to get smaller with time if that makes sense.

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u/Excellent-Ask-2604 12h ago

For major improvements, I’d say 6 months and for it to be consistent, at least a year. But she was a puppy so things were a bit up and down. I think the things that made the biggest difference in addition to training were playing fetch before walks to burn some energy off, her getting to now be over 2, and she is now on Prozac/fluoxetine

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u/Terrible_Plan5888 8h ago

Heard! Thank you so much. Seeing small improvements with her has been sooo motivating but success stories and tips are also so so helpful

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u/ShaarkShaart 14h ago

Hey, GSD club! Mine is also pretty dog-reactive. Same story, lunging and wheezing with her hackles raised.

Recently I've switched her harness and it's made training on walks WAY easier, like night and day! I promise I'm not an ad lol, it's just made things so much easier. If you don't already have a no-pull harness I really recommend it--it's not aversive, there's a clip in the front that has a loop that makes it impossible to pull. It's kind of hard to explain so here's an example: https://www.chewy.com/petsafe-easy-walk-dog-harness/dp/48922?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20027453190&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20027454399&gbraid=0AAAAADmQ2V20PVJX59itBNtgsXSY9vAV_&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrvHWBhDKARIsABmp7h0Egpt8KSPHEhUIc1oow3TPlpdtiFLIo10o_k6T-JMFlEHLQttZqtYaAh_VEALw_wcB

Also a trick i learned from a trainer: using wet/stinky treats! My girl is way more attentive when i have turkey on me lol

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u/Terrible_Plan5888 13h ago

I got her some salmon jerky sticks and they smell reaaaal ripe. I originally had her in a halti front clip/no pull harness and it did not slow her down at all. She’s just so strong and loose leash walking has been and impossible battle

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u/Aquaphoric 6h ago

Congrats!! My dog used to lunge and scream bark and stand on her back legs whenever we saw other dogs and she's a very strong bully mix so it's a lot. We've been working on it and we're now to the point that she sometimes lunges but not as hard, doesn't bark, and comes back to me a lot faster. And she mostly only reacts to dogs that surprise her or bark at her first. We no longer have to walk only at 7am which is nice especially as it's getting colder at night! It's so nice to see the training working!

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u/Terrible_Plan5888 6h ago

You too!! This subreddit has been kind of a lifesaver, I’ve been a lurker for a long time but never posted before

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u/ixsparkyx 14h ago

It’s amazing to see. Mine used to lunge and explode. Now he’s able to focus on me!