Have We Gone Too Far?

When thinking of protecting our Dogs, have we gone too far?

With the nature response to call your dog "your fur baby", we get it - they are part of the family and should be treated like one, however, it's hard not too wonder if we have over-protected our dogs. Have we gone too far? It's hard not to wonder if the correlation between over-protectedness and the rise of reactivies are linked. There has definitely been an increase of reactive dogs, nervy dogs and dogs that are simply unsure how to deal with situations. Before we dive in, we recognise that dogs can have trauma and can also have a natural nervous disposition but to what extend are we actually benefiting them? Are we simply bubble wrapping them into a state where they are on high state of alert? The thing with trauma and a dog with a natural nervous disposition to begin to bring exposure back into their life to show that the "thing" is actually fine and that you will be ok. However, more dog owners are simply avoiding the "thing" because they either don't know how to support their dog, feel embarrassed by their response or it's "there's nothing enough time in the day for us to be consistent" so it's easier to avoid. It's the same with humans. We do the EXACT same and the best thing to do is exposure, it is best to make the time and deal with head on. For example, got a dog who's reactive with other dogs? You can't keep avoiding dogs by not walking at quieter times, avoiding areas or not walking in your area. First, identify whether it's just excitement aggression or fear aggression. You will know if it's excitement aggression because there are no heckles, they don't freeze and when they pass, they are quick to settle. If it's not all these, it's fear aggression and I recommend working with a dog trainer to see why. I recommend working with a trainer if your dog specifically has aggression on the lead, in the car, etc. but fine off-lead. If it is all these, this is excitement aggression and it's simply your dog is so excited to say hello and they start to bark to say "come here, I can't come to you but you can come to me", "omg it's a potential friend" and "I can't believe it's another one of me!" - and we need to start socialising. Dogs are naturally friendly, they love socialising. If you avoid other dogs because yours comes in too hot or struggles to read the room, we can start to encourage them to settle down and relax before saying Hello (we recommend chilling at the park and watch the dogs go past for the exposure or even go to the vet's waiting room). I also believe that if they are coming in too hot, especially in their teenage years, they need correcting - but not from us, from their potential new friends. Dogs are quick to respect other dogs but for us, it's a bit different. So.. the thing about a dog correcting another dog does not lead to a dog fight. A correction might be a bark, small bit of roughhousing or might be a little snip to say "I don't like this, don't do this again". Our natural response is that everything leads to a dog fight and that's not the case, dogs don't like fighting and will try to de-escalate before it gets to that level. If it does escalate further or you feel that the dog hasn't respected the request, separate them. Similarly, WE can cause a dog fight. If we don't let dogs greet properly or even us holding tense in the lead can encourage a dog fight. DO NOT separate a dog mid-meet, it's considered highly rude. Keep the lead slack, keep calm and just watch for a change in behaviour. Positively intercept if they greet cheek-to-cheek and both hold it for a few seconds. Simply, if you avoid letting your dog socialise because they've bite another dog, review whether it was a bite or a snip. If it was a bite, then that might be leaning more to fear aggression and you'll need a dog trainer but again, do not avoid for a quick fix. If it was a snip, this could be correction behaviour and it's your dog simply expressing their boundaries. If your dog presents these behaviours regularly, review whether it's the same situation. It might present an insecurity to that your dog needs working on. They've friendly but might lack confidence The more you avoid, the more it gets worse.