Lunging on Leash

 On-leash reactivity to other dogs is a common problem, creating embarrassment and anxiety for people and dogs alike. There are many reasons that dogs bark, growl and lunge at other dogs. Some of the most common reasons are fear of interaction due to lack of socialization or traumatic experience at a young age, protection or possessiveness of the owner, territorial behavior when on or near the dog’s perceived “property,” object guarding (when toys or other valuable objects are involved), inappropriate greeting behavior on leash and much more. Many times a dog is simply overwhelmed with excitement, but no matter what the cause, in most cases the behavior can be successfully turned around.

 

“On-leash reactivity” is a term trainers use to describe dogs who behave problematically when they see an unfamiliar dog. Usually, these behaviors include barking, lunging, or growling at other dogs. More subtle behaviors, such as stiffening, whining, or marking are often indications of discomfort also would be classified by trainers as “reactive.”

 It is useful to keep in mind that as commonly used, “reactive” actually means any behavior that we humans find inappropriate.However, highly aroused barking and lunging are understandably the behaviors that can make life especially difficult for anyone who has a “reactive” dog.

 Commonly, these behaviors are labeled “aggressive,” but it is important to remember that “reactivity” and “aggression” are two very different things. Many dramatic behaviors, such as barking and lunging, can be signs of excitement and/or frustration and have no relationship to the potential of aggressive behavior. In contrast, a dog might be “aggressive” to others (meaning with the intent to harm) and yet show few signs of arousal when he sees another dog. Thus, “reactive” and “aggressive” maybe correlated, but they are not the same thing.

However, highly aroused dogs that are barking and lunging are at greater risk of being involved in an incident that ends up causing injury, just as fans at a football game can go relatively easily from yelling for their team to fighting the opponent’s fans. For that reason, knowing how to work with reactive dogs, no matter what their original motivation, is often a key component in preventing and eventually treating dog-dog aggression.

 

 Importance of “Threshold”

Critical to all of the methods is an understanding of the concept of threshold. Threshold is defined as “the point that must be exceeded to produce a given effect.” We think of it as the intensity of the stimulus required to elicit the problem behavior. Every dog will have his own level of tolerance, which will vary depending upon the context.

Proximity to another dog is a critical variable with most dogs, so it is essential to know at what distance your dog becomes reactive. However, there are many other factors in which threshold is important: Many dogs can handle a calm, quiet dog but become uncomfortable as soon as the other dog picks up speed. Most dogs are less reactive if they themselves are approaching the other dog, but become aroused when the dog walks directly toward them. Some dogs are not reactive when they see groups of dogs, but become so when they are one-on-one and, for others, it is just the opposite. Therefore, it is essential to recognize all of the triggers that affect your dog and the threshold of intensity that begins to elicit a response.

 Every dog is unique but, in general, you should be looking for changes in facial expressions (mouth closing from an open position, offensive puckering, muscle tension, rounded eyes, a hard stare), as well as changes in posture and behavior (holding his breath, looking away, yawning, obsessively ignoring the other dog, sniffing the ground, changes in tail position, body shifted forward or backward). Some of these postures and expressions are appeasement signals, with a communicative function, and are used to defuse highly charged situations. They may consist of looking away, turning away, lying down or making small submissive movements away from the perceived threat. On the other hand, displacement behaviors, such as sniffing, scratching or shaking, are behaviors that are out of context to the situation. That is, when a dog is confused or undecided about how to act, he may engage in a behavior that is irrelevant to the situation. Of course, not all dogs are equally expressive and, without heart rate tests and MRIs, we can’t know for certain what they are experiencing, but being able to accurately “read” a dog is necessary.

The key is to work with your dog below or at just the edge of this threshold. It is rarely if ever helpful to push an animal beyond the point where he becomes agitated.

 

Teach an Incompatible Behavior

 One of the most effective methods used with reactive dogs is what is called “operant conditioning,” which simply means the dog learns to offer a behavior in order to receive something he wants.

Choose a behavior that is incompatible with the action you are trying to replace and that is easy and enjoyable for your dog to do. We usually practice ‘Watch Me.”

 

• Teach your “watch me” cue in an area with no distractions, gradually working up to asking the dog to turn away from low-level distractions (not other dogs).

 • Choose a reinforcer that is most motivating for the dog and creates a quick, yet positive, response. Food works well for many dogs, but for many dogs, play is often a great choice for positive reinforcement. Tug or retrieving games, for example, for dogs who enjoy them, are not only reinforcing; they help dogs disperse tension. You can also reinforce your dog by increasing the distance between him and the other dog (if he is afraid of other dogs) or let the dog greet another (if he barks and lunges because he is frustrated).

• Next, ask the dog to look at you using your cue when he looks at a familiar dog with which he is comfortable. As always, set the dog up to win by initially giving the cue when the triggers are well under threshold, perhaps when the other dog is far away, or when the dogs are quiet and not likely to be easily distracted by one another.

• Once your dog will respond 90% of the time when mildly distracted, start asking him to look at you when he sees an unfamiliar dog as long as the dog is well beyond his “comfort zone.” Don’t wait until the other dog is too close: ask the dog-in-training to turn his head around when the other dog is a long way away. Have friends help you out so that you can control the distance between dogs. (It’s fine if the dog in training looks at you and then turns his head right back to the other dog. That’s great; it’s another chance to get in another repetition! Just say your cue again and reinforce enthusiastically.)

• Pay careful attention, and look for the time that the dog anticipates your “look at me” cue and turns his head himself when he sees another dog. Jackpot! That’s your goal—a dog who sees another and automatically turns to look at you. When that happens (often after a repetition of three to five spoken cues in the same session) give him an especially valuable reinforcer: ten treats, one at a time, or an especially great game of play or an animated run away from the other dog with lots of treats or play at the end to reinforce him for the desired behavior.

After enough repetitions, almost all dogs will automatically turn toward you when they see another dog, no longer barking, growling or stiffening up. Of course, threshold again comes into play: a dog may be capable of this “Auto Watch” when the other dog is ten yards away, but not yet when it is two feet away.

 • The dog is introduced into a carefully managed situation in which she encounters an unfamiliar dog at the edge of her threshold, at a distance close enough to elicit the beginnings of the problematic response, but far away enough to keep the dog from becoming overly aroused.

• Watch intently for any improvement in behavior. As soon as the dog changes his behavior, expression or posture in ways that suggest he’s becoming more relaxed (the changes, of course, depend on the individual dog).

A great benefit of this approach is that the dog learns to manage his or her own behavior and learns that she can control her environment through her own actions.

 

These methods have the advantage of indirectly conditioning a dog to feel good at the approach of another dog. In every case the dog learns, not necessarily consciously, to associate feeling relaxed and happy when he sees another dog. In essence, the subject dog learns that the presence of a neutral dog (a dog who is calm, non reactive) brings about something good, like chicken or steak or his favorite tug game. By staying below threshold, the dog remains calm and learns to associate other dogs with feeling relaxed and happy.

As your dog is becoming more and more comfortable, he can be moved closer and closer to the other dog, stopping well before threshold. Short, brief sessions are always best.

 

Avoid the Aversive

All of the methods described above avoid the use of physical aversives as much as possible. Responses that include positive punishments such as yelling or jerking the leash can often exacerbate the problem, by either confirming a dog’s fears that other dogs are dangerous, or by increasing the chance of defensive aggression. We have found that in an overwhelming number of cases, it is far safer and more effective to use positive reinforcement to teach a dog what you want it to do, rather than correcting what you don’t.