08/26/2026
Reactivity 101 was a HUGE success.
We had 4 dogs in this first round: A Bichon, a Teddy Roosevelt, a Corso, and an Aussie. Each dog presents with fear based reactivity to various triggers: People, dogs, fast movement, children, etc.
These teams came SO far and learned SO much. They have some away with coping mechanisms, new training methods, a good understanding of triggers, trigger stacking, threshold, reward schedules, LAT training, and a little bit of tough love. They have learned that avoidance does NOT work, and we must face our (and our dogs) fears head on to make improvements. They have learned to advocate for their dogs.
My favorite part of class was tonight. We went on a field trip to Lowe's and while I was not positive we would make it inside the building, the dogs showed me they were ready, willing, and able. We went in... around the dogs, the people, the machinery, the Halloween decor, the kids, and not a SINGLE DOG had more than a quick "boof," if that.
While we trained in the store, someone stopped and asked what class this was, and when I told them it was a class for reactive dogs, they were FLOORED! How cool is that?! 4 reactive dogs, in a store being perfectly well behaved citizens. Just amazing!!!
I am so so proud of these teams and can't wait to see them grow further. We will see some of them move on to Reactivity 201, and I will be hosting another Reactivity 101 class later this fall!
