How NOT to solve your dog's reactivity with an e-collar

Space is your friend when it comes to training reactive dogs!

“Reactivity” is a common problem for dogs.

It’s so prevalent that you can find whole classes dedicated to helping owners resolve their dog’s barking and lunging. Often, other dogs trigger the meltdowns, but The Thing can be anything: people, bicycles, garbage trucks, traffic, etc.

It’s an embarrassing problem that leaves a lot of owners dreading walks and wishing they could just stay home (hint: you can! Altering walks is both allowed and encouraged for reactive dogs!)

I love helping families reduce their doggy’s outbursts around The Thing. It is possible.

But guys. Doing it with an electronic/shock/stim collar is not the way.

It seems like a strategy that would work, right??? Dog has an outburst -> punish dog for outburst -> dog learns not to have an outburst.

Here’s the problem: there’s a strong likelihood the dog will associate the punishment with The Thing — not with his behavior.

This is a HUGE problem for dogs who are reacting because they’re scared. These dogs need more happy feelings about The Thing. Not more yucky feelings. They’ve already got enough yucky feelings. Yucky feelings are the reason they’re reacting.

Increasing the yucky feelings just increases the chances of reactivity because now The Thing predicts a LOT of yucky: “every time I see The Thing, my neck hurts. Man, I really hate The Thing!”

The dog will actually start having outbursts sooner — when The Thing is further away — because he really wants The Thing to stay away. He’s trying to avoid the yucky feelings.

The dog is not learning outburst = discomfort. He’s learning The Thing = discomfort.

Instead of punishing the dog for outbursts around The Thing, I expose the dog to The Thing in such a way that he does NOT react. Only under those conditions can I exchange those yucky feelings for happy ones and create a calm dog who listens to his handler.

That’s how you train a reactive dog.

For more details, check out my other blog post on teaching reactive dogs to stay calm.