11/04/2026
When did we stop seeing a dog as a dog, and start seeing only the behaviour we can see from the outside? When did it become all about passing judgement on… a DOG?
Because I don’t see a reactive dog in these photos. I see the most ridiculous dog alive. Dirk, Turkey, Dork-us, Dirk the jerk, Dirky, Dirkles. I see a dog who will ignore every dog on earth for a 2 second belly-rub (you guys, he literally throws himself at the ground for a scritch-scratch, see photo 1 for footage)
And genuinely happy, which is the part that matters. I see a dog who was regulated today, made good choices and trekked through the leaves like a truffle pig sniffing for his treats. He went for a walk with a friend, looked at so many dogs that I lost count, and preferred to play with me over checking out a dog who was barking at him.
“He’s reactive” is one way to describe him. It’s how you’d describe him on his hard days, and it’s how you’d describe him on the good ones too, like today: it’s not something that just goes away, and he doesn’t owe anyone an explanation for it. It’s a tiny part of who he is as a dog, not all of who he is.
Reactive dogs deserve just as much space at the park as any other dog. And so many of them lose that, because their people stop coming. I get stares, comments and rude remarks on the regular, from people who feel THEIR dogs deserve more space than another dog who is just trying to exist and GASP share the same space. Outings for the owner of a reactive dog quickly stop being enjoyable and instead become something to just “get through”. And then the dog is the one who loses. Dirk deserves fresh air, sniffs, friends and every good day that comes his way. We also deserve the opportunity to enjoy remaining present with our reactive dogs without needing to rush through.
How many dogs have we already written off over 30 seconds of them having a hard moment..? As if judging them makes us a better dog owner because our dog doesn’t react? Lol, no.
So next time you see a dog struggling, or reacting, remember they deserve the same grass and the same fresh air as your dog. See the whole dog and give them the space they need to enjoy being a dog (without the label).