Dog reactivity on leash

Reactivity — lunging, barking, screaming on the lead at dogs, people, bikes, or vans — is usually a cocktail of distance, history, and handler mechanics. It is not a breed sentence and it is not fixed by a louder sit.

The working rule is threshold: find the distance at which the dog can still look, breathe, and eat, and train there. Flooding (walking into the crowd “so they get used to it”) is how you buy a worse week. Management — route choice, visual barriers, a feedable harness setup — is not cheating. It is the condition that lets a protocol exist.

The published spokes start with on-leash threshold: find the distance, pay the look, leave before the explosion. For dog-to-dog on lead specifically, see leash reactivity to dogs. For people and bikes, see leash reactivity to people and bikes. For yard barrier runs, see fence fighting. For predictable games at working distance, see pattern games at threshold. For look-at / look-back pay at that same distance, see engage-disengage — a different structure from pattern games. Use the puppy socialisation map so you are not accidentally rehearsing panic in week twelve, and read editorial policy for how this publication treats behavior modification claims.

If a dog is injuring people or dogs, skip the internet. Manage, and see a qualified professional. Nothing on Dogmindlab is a diagnosis, a guarantee, or a substitute for in-person help.