What It's Like Adopting a Reactive Dog

So, what's it like adopting a reactive dog? Well, how much time do you have? The answer to that question isn't black or white. It isn't ever linear. It is nowhere close to simple. The answer is always changing, depending on the day.

In the beginning, it was confusing, it was frustrating, and honestly at times it was embarrassing. Confusing because we didn't understand why she was reactive. Frustrating because it was a puzzle we couldn't solve. Embarrassing because we felt like we were being judged by neighbors, friends and family.

We did some research and realized that we needed to find Luna's threshold to her triggers, which seemed to only be people that she doesn't know. We also realized that included people that she couldn't see. Whether it was dark outside or behind a fence, if she didn't recognize your face or smell, she would reactively bark. As time went on, and we read more about other adopters with reactive dogs, we learned that Luna's reactiveness was mild compared to other dogs. We realized that we had nothing to be embarrassed about. We do everything we can to keep Luna far enough away from her triggers, so she won't react.

Little by little. Day by day. Treat after treat. Praise after praise. Luna's threshold starts to get narrower by the day. We can walk around our new neighborhood with no issues if someone is on the other side of the street. She still doesn't like what she can't see, but that isn't a concern for us anymore — as long as it isn't too early in the morning or late at night. When she reacts, we give her commands and, most of the time, she listens. We praise and reward.

Of course, there are times and situations that we can't control her reactions, but we've learned how to get her back to focusing on us instead of the distractions. She has good days and bad days just like you and I, but lately, the good days far outweigh the bad. As I mentioned in the last blog, Luna will be starting specialized training at her daycare in the near future. We know that this will make her an even more well-rounded and confident dog. We know that she can overcome her fears. We have seen her do it around us. We have seen her do it around everyone at her daycare. Since day one, she has always just wanted to please the people she trusts. We look forward to being able to take her on her first vacation with us as a well-behaved happy girl. We look forward to having friends over for a cookout. We look forward to having family over on a random night for dinner. We can't wait to have family come to our house for the holidays.

To sum it all up — having a reactive dog is, well, an adventure! It's an adventure that we never thought we would be taking but wouldn't change for anything. Come back next week to see what we're up to next!