Teaching Self-Regulation: Exercises for Reactive Dogs

Reactivity. It’s a hot word in the world of training and behavior and it’s an extremely broad label to cast on a dog. Reactivity could define a dog’s behavior who is barking and lunging, trying to bite another dog. It could also be a dog who is barking, backing away with their tail tucked. Reactive dogs could be fearful, frustrated, anxious, overstimulated, painful, stressed out, and so much more. This is why I prefer to say that they are sensitive dogs. Dogs with big feelings that are just trying to use their behavior to communicate with us. Isn’t that kind of what behavior is all about? 

When a dog has big feelings towards something it can often be difficult for them to stop those feelings. Let me give you an example. A dog sees another dog and they absolutely love other dogs. Like, a lot. So they start barking, jumping, and pulling as hard as they can to get closer to the other dog thinking,  “WOW, maybe we can play today!” But, that dog walks on by. No greeting or play today. Where is all of that energy supposed to go? What about a dog who gets upset about cars or motorcycles? It comes whizzing by and WOOSH your dog goes from a cool cucumber to a whirling dervish and you are using all your strength to keep your dog out of the roadway. Well, the car is gone but your dog is still very worked up. Where does all that energy go?

You can think of your dog’s ability to calm down, settle, or relax as a muscle. The more we use the muscle the stronger it gets. If your dog only gets to flex their “on” muscle when they're reacting towards something then they can only practice flexing their “off” muscle in that context too. 

How do we flex the muscles of self-regulation in a healthy way? We practice “on-off” exercises that allow your dog to get worked up and then, settled down, and back again! Here I’ll explain 2 exercises you can try with your dog to flex their muscle of self-regulation. 

Default Sit

1. Beginner: Count out 10 treats in your hand. With your dog’s attention, start walking around. Stop and cue your dog to sit. Deliver 1 treat, then repeat for all 10 treats. 

2. Intermediate: Count out 10 treats in your hand. With your dog’s attention, start walking around. Stop and look at your dog. Wait for them to offer a sit on their own without your prompting. Deliver 1 treat when they do, then repeat for all 10 treats.

3. Advanced: Count out 10 treats like before. This time instead of walking, you’ll run. Race to a spot in your home and stop. Wait for your dog to sit on their own, then repeat for the 10 treats.

Bonus: Try with your dog on a leash inside. Try outside on a leash or off-leash in a secured area. You can even try around distractions like an open bag of treats or a friend nearby.

Off Switch with Play

1. Beginner: Pick one of your dog’s favorite toys. Get them excited and engaged with the toy. Play for a few moments with them and then stop. Ask for a behavior such as sitting, down, or touch. Then, resume play.

2. Intermediate: Begin by engaging your dog with toy play (fetch or tug work well) Cue your dog to drop their toy. Then wait for your dog to offer another behavior (sit or down work nicely) Before engaging in play again, ask for another behavior like touch. Then, resume playing. 

3. Advanced: Begin by engaging your dog in play, the longer you play the more worked up they will likely become. Then, stop playing and go sit down a few feet away from them. If they approach and offer a behavior, get up and resume play again. 

There are many ways to teach your dog to exercise their muscles of self-control. Try these out and see what works. If you’d like more guidance, check out our free mini course, The Distracted Dog, to get even more training skills delivered right to your inbox. Click here to enroll today!