14/10/2026
If you have a reactive dog , very valid points worth considering
As a qualified dog trainer and postural analyst when I see a dog who is reactive I want to do the job properly and thoroughly.
This means pain assessing. I want to know the dog I’m working with hasn’t any underlying pain. Most do. I’m very transparent about this. These are my ethics.
One of the most frustrating things about being a qualified dog trainer and wanting to work ethically is that there are those who don’t. There are unqualified trainers who won’t pain assess and will go to any measure, inflicting any amount of pain to stop a dog behaving the way it is, despite the fact the dog is clearly unwell. There are owners who refuse to take their dogs to the vet or advocate for their dogs, and unfortunately when you see online stories from unqualified trainers claiming that a qualified trainer failed a dog, if they told the truth it would be that the owner doesn’t want to spend money at the vet, yet has money for a trainer and that trainer does not care about the dogs welfare despite clear pain.
I work with many wonderful owners who do advocate for their dogs and are really grateful for me drawing attention to the relationship between pain and behaviour and are so glad that their dogs are feeling better.
Today I received a txt that really warmed my heart. Last year I worked with Piper and her wonderful owner Ruth that I wanted share
Trust the process
Hi Isabella,
I hope you're doing well!
I know we haven't seen or spoken in a little while, but I wanted to give you an update on Piper. I think it was May time.
Since moving her onto Cytopoint, I've noticed a massive difference in her skin and her itchiness overall. We also completed an elimination diet and think she has an intolerance to beef, so we’ve removed that completely. On top of that, I trialled her on gabapentin, and oh my word, that has made a world of difference!
Still working closely with the physio, but even she has said Piper is like a completely different dog and so much calmer than before. We've even been able to move down to monthly maintenance sessions.
Last week at the vets, we sat in the queue with another dog, and she sat nice and calmly, even letting the dog approach her with no reaction. An energetic husky also came in after her appointment, and she watched him with zero reaction.
Yesterday I walked her from my house all the way up to Ketts Park. She was fantastic walking past people and cars. At the park, we watched lots of off-lead dogs running around, including one chasing a ball, which is usually a massive trigger for her. We had a couple of minor reactions the dogs, one was when dog had approached from behind so sort of spooker hrr. On the way back we had one reaction to a runner who passed far too close after I'd already made space. But overall, she was amazing and let other runners go past absolutely fine.
All in all, she is so much better and can cope with most things now. While she still struggles with dogs walking towards us when we are walking, she seems to be coping much better. Certainly if we just sit and watch things and let her process. Sometimes that better than just keeping on walking past the trigger.
Thank you for all your help. Without you who knows where she would be or if her pain would’ve gotten worse.
Your support has been amazing and I cannot thank you enough. I’ve learned so much from you and also Piper.
