Does your dog bark and/or lunge at people, dogs, or squirrels while on leash? Dog reactivity can seem to happen without warning, but there are often some tells in their body language before it happens. So, how can you tell if a dog is about to become reactive on leash?
There are three common body language signs that are often a giveaway that your dog is about to be reactive. Fortunately, we can use dog training for reactivity to address this behavior. Let’s look at these signs in more detail.
The direct stare
One of the first things you may notice is your dog staring directly at the target. Instead of casually looking around, they’ll focus on the dog 50 feet away.
Closed mouth
Another common sign is your dog’s mouth going from open and relaxed to tightly closed. You may notice the corners of their mouth moving forward.
Rigid tail
The third sign is your dog’s tail raising up slowly and going into a rigid position. Their tail may be still or wag slowly. In some dog breeds, such as Siberian Huskies or Akitas, it may even curl in the direction of the target.
A dog’s overall body language
While these three signs are good indicators that your dog is about to become reactive, it’s important to consider their overall body language and the environment around them. To best understand a dog’s body language, you should check out our blog on “identifying body language in dogs” which has been published by our co-founder and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage.
Treating dog reactivity through behavior modification training
We usually define reactivity as barking, lunging, or pulling toward another dog, person, or stimulus (e.g., a car or skateboard), which causes the other animal, person, or stimulus to move away. Reactivity is one of the most common problem behaviors that Beyond the Dog addresses.
For information on how Beyond the Dog addresses reactivity, we recommend you check out Dr. Kristyn Echterling-Savage’s blog on “Reactivity” which discusses the factors that contribute to reactivity, early signs of reactivity, how to treat reactivity through training, environmental impacts on reactivity and the development of reactivity in real time.
We are here to help
You can contact our Pet Behavior Team for a free consultation, where we can chat with you and provide a personalized recommendation that meets your needs. We recommend you check out our puppy training blog or our TikTok channel.
Beyond the Dog offers board-and-train programs and virtual training programs to clients in Houston and to clients nationwide. While our Houston location offers personalized one-on-one training sessions, including training at your home and local Houston neighborhood
We use scientifically proven training methods, backed by over 20 years of hands-on experience. Beyond the Dog Houston is led by our co-founders, Dr. Kristyn Echterling-Savage, a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), and Sean Savage, a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) and Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA).
