How to Train a Reactive Dog on Leash (tutorial)

In this reactive dog training tutorial, I give you the step by step tutorial you need to be able to train through your dog’s reactivity on leash. If you dog is aggressive or you have a dog who is aggressive on leash, then this how to train a reactive dog on leash tutorial will help you! Check out my channel for other dog training tips for aggression and reactivity in dogs.
0:00 - Intro
2:36 - Step 1
7:59 - Step 2
10:57 - Step 3
14:13 - FAQ
22:40 - More Free Resources
Watch my MOST COMPREHENSIVE Tutorial on Aggression & Reactivity Next: Most Complete Aggressive Dog Training Tutorial (using Positive Reinforcement) • Most Complete Aggressi...
The Engage/Disengage Game was designed by Leslie McDevitt in her book, “Control Unleashed.”
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Do you have a dog dealing with anxiety? Is your dog reactive to dogs, people, or sounds? Maybe your dog is dealing with aggression. Then you might be the right fit for my signature program, The Recovering Rover Program. In the RRP, I coach you on how to treat your dog’s mental health. To find out more, go to www.getacalmdog.com/ or email me at [e-mail] (don’t forget the second i 😉). You can also DM on any social media.
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Disclaimers: Jenna Romano is not a veterinarian. Always consult a veterinarian before giving your dog any food. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Jenna Romano will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death to you or your dog. This video is not instructional. This video is for entertainment purposes only.

[@getacalmdog]

Watch my MOST COMPREHENSIVE Tutorial on Aggression & Reactivity Next: Most Complete Aggressive Dog Training Tutorial (using Positive Reinforcement) kzbin.info/www/bejne/poa2gomalqaJa8U

[@divinelydona]

I've been sifting through Engage Disengage videos all week. I'm so glad I found Dog Liaison! This has provided the details I need without being unnecessarily wordy and long. Thank you!!!

[@getacalmdog]

Yay!!! I'm so glad you enjoyed this video. Thanks for commenting. 🤩🤩

[@ivan3465]

First time I heard something of practical value from a “only positive” trainer. Thank you, I really needed this 🥰 Btw. That’s exactly the same technique how we were desensitised dogs on fireworks, yrs ago 👍

[@thecfga]

This is one of if not the best video on dog reactivity i've seen yet! Thank you so much for your detailed explainations!

[@getacalmdog]

Yay! Yay! Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

[@StacyBS]

I think you're the first fellow trainer who I've also used the term "engage - disengage"! I use that all the time.

[@diana828100]

Things get Rocky ! that's my rescue pup's name and he is reactive and aggressive and loving and adorable and stressful and I want to make our relationship work thank you

[@loveskating4eva]

Hi, I have just come after watching your video about positive vs balanced trainers which was excellent. I am currently learning to become a dog trainer, however the debate on other videos got me questioning myself. Thank you for making the choice so easy. Also as I have a reactive dog myself (hence what got me so interested in dog behaviour to begin with) its amazing to have a tutorial of how to do it for free. I have looked for good ones for so long and paid so much out for her myself

[@sunnykim6991]

Oh my God. This one I really needed it . wanted to find out. Thank you so much

[@seanoconnorshalloffamedogt5910]

Thank you Jenna, I really appreciate how you cover both scientific theory and practice.

[@megansuter3911]

This video was so helpful! I’ve been doing a similar protocol and we’ve hit a wall. Now I know how to tweak my approach. We’re signed up for a control unleashed course next month. Sounds like this protocol incorporates some of the things we will learn there.

[@tripletrouble2192]

Love your channel!

[@luiza177music]

Amazing video, thanks so much for making this!

[@nici932]

THIS is what I was looking for! Thank you for these great information, this is so so helpful :)

[@getacalmdog]

Yay! Yay! Yay! Oh, you just gave me all the feels. I'm so glad this helps you. Best of luck to you and your dog on the Recovery journey.

[@amorzaki]

suuuuuper informative, thank you for explaining the science behind it too!

[@getacalmdog]

Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for watching.

[@shellzzabat5950]

Our situation is different in that she is trained to be around other dogs. She was calm whenever other dogs in the mountains approached. Even if they barked, which was rare because most of the dogs were trained to be non-reactive. Then we moved to the city. There were dogs constantly barking at her whenever they saw her. Whether she was on the balcony or waking nearby these dogs would bark. There are so many random dogs in this city. Now she's become very defensive every time we go out and there's a dog walking nearby or when she sees a neighbor's dog come back from their walk and she's upstairs in our balcony. It's like a trigger for her and she loses it. All that training gone. It's absolutely frustrating. I know she thinks that they are threatening her and instead of waiting for a bark from them, she instead initiates. It's so bad that if I try to call her back, she'll growl back at me or yelp as if I am hurting her so I will back off. She's very smart being a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and Border Collie. She can be stubborn. I would like for her to be comfortable around other dogs again as before.

[@milenapip]

Thank you sooo much! This information is solid gold!

[@getacalmdog]

Awwww yay!! That makes me so happy to hear. Thank you for watching.

[@sunnykim6991]

I agree 100%

[@ser3nitynow119]

I love your channel! It has so much informative content that has really been helping me make my dogs much happier. I have a three year old female Dogo Argentino who has developed reactivity issues towards other dogs since the pandemic hit... During the lockdown, she was stuck in the house for so long without being able to go do all the fun things we used to do, so I think she became very bored and frustrated, which manifested into aggression when she sees other dogs. She has gotten into a few fights at this point where she has pinned dogs down with her body and mouth after their owners let them run up to her without asking me first (thankfully no injury, just loud and intense). She's a very large guardian breed dog, and I do not want this situation to become anymore serious than it already is, so I have been working hard to enrich her life and rehabilitate her so that she's comfortable and happy around other dogs like she used to be. It was difficult finding good information that clearly explains the reasoning behind behavioral issues in dogs with methods/instruction to develop positive changes in unwanted behavior until I discovered your channel. It's only been a couple of weeks since I began implementing the training methods you explained in this video, as well as some other life enrichment activities you covered in other videos, but she has already made a ton of great progress so far, and it seems like she is much more confident and happy while on walks. Thank you!!!!

[@braveheart7203]

Can you show us a video of this with a dog who isn’t already non reactive and highly reactive.

[@emmabladez]

When its fear reactivity and we start to create distance, some trainers say that it is reinforcing their behaviour because they make the "scary thing" go away. If you could clarify that would be awesome. 🤗

[@getacalmdog]

I do that in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3yxZI2KoNmge68 😉😉

[@emmabladez]

@@getacalmdog 🙏 🙏

[@nhoadragon]

What would you suggest to someone that have reactivity when clipping nails, or when it is time to groom with a clipper. I really like your video, with the scientific research to back it up. Looking forward to it.

[@Watsons_UK]

Thank you my dog is big and snaps a lot and lunges so thank you

[@getacalmdog]

I'm so glad you found it helpful! Best of luck to you and your dog in the recovery journey.

[@emilycadotte5905]

Thanks for this video! My fearful reactive dog and I have been practising this for several months now, with a lot of success with some of her lesser triggers (men, bicycles) but mixed success with other dogs. We live in an apartment with no backyard in a residential city neighbourhood. She was a stray from a remote rural area. Every walk is over-stimulating for her, although I think she's slowly becoming desensitized. You mention in your video that training sessions should last no longer than 15 minutes. Ideally we avoid her triggers as much as possible on walks and do specific training sessions at appropriate distances when the opportunity arises, but this often isn't possible. How would you approach normal walks in this case?

[@getacalmdog]

Hey there! Congrats on having so much success with her Hooman triggers! Regarding the dogs: "Regular walks" is relative to every individual dog. But what I would say is that I generally recommend my clients go out with a PRE-DETERMINED quantity of triggers. For example, say you want to come into contact with 5 people and 2 dog/owner combos. Well, that would mean that when you hit about 4 people plus 1 owner/dog combo, you start walking back home. Regardless of the distance you've travelled. This way on the way back, you're likely to hit you quantity goal. But what you absolutely DO NOT want to do is go out for a walk, hit your goal of 5 people and 2 dogs all in the first half of the walk, and still think, "oh but I've got all this other distance to travel home." This means that likely you'll come into contact with more or harder triggers on the way home and likely your dog won't be able to handle it. It will give her an opportunity to become stressed and demonstrate undesired behavior. Does this make sense?

[@emilycadotte5905]

@@getacalmdog Yes that's super helpful! I think we're already sort of intuitively doing this--if she's having a good time, we stay out longer, if we've run into a few problems, we typically head home. But I guess we should quit while we're ahead if we have a handful of positive encounters. It's been a much longer journey than I expected but she's worth it! Thanks for your thoughtful reply :)

[@Sugoitxu]

Thanks for the video! What can we do if he doesn't take the food?

[@StacyBS]

Does your dog only NOT take food when in the presence of the trigger? If so, try adding more distance or otherwise reduce the intensity of the trigger.

[@melissashurkin1644]

Hi Jenna, thank you for this phenomenal video! I'm curious about one thing: A big source of my dog's reactivity is the doorbell. I live in an apartment in an urban area where it is impossible for him to not hear the doorbell. So, it's not possible to build distance from the trigger to give him a mild experience and then move closer to it. I'm also not sure how I can start rewarding him for disengaging from the trigger when the doorbell is reverberating throughout the apartment. :-) Is there a way to apply your technique to this scenario? If not, do you have other techniques, advice, or insight for addressing doorbell reactivity? Or maybe this is a topic for a future video, since I'm sure it's an issue for many people. Thank you for sharing your expertise and amazing gifts with the world!

[@getacalmdog]

Hey there, Melissa. This is a *super* common problem that many people face. You're right that *distance* is not how we would Counter-condition a sound. Instead we would manipulate the volume and tone. Plus, we would make sure we're removing the spontaneity of the doorbell (at first) so that your dog can predict when the sound will occur. (Again, this is at first.) But to answer your question, yes... You would still use counter conditioning. You would still pair the doorbell sound with something super amazing at first to classically condition. THEN you worry about what behavior you want your dog to display when the doorbell occurs.

[@melissashurkin1644]

​@@getacalmdog I will try it! Thank you for responding so quickly!

[@savannahpabon6340]

Hey! Love your channel and this video. I've cried for months because I would watch my german shepherd puppy and she would always be lunging and barking at people every-time on walks. She also completely ignores me and looses all focus the second she goes outside. Although she wont accept treats outside! How would I follow this tutorial if she doesn't like treats (step 1 and more) Im going to try this tutorial when I see her next week!

[@coralboggess1154]

You need to find a really great reward like cheese or lunch meat or boiled chicken maybe peanut butter on a spoon?

[@loveskating4eva]

Also what if you have to walk past the person? I have just been going further away and then she keeps constantly looking back at me for a treat

[@sarahcm]

Yes, this is what I struggle with, too -- what if a person comes around the corner etc. or you just can't stay farther than your dog's "reactivity distance" away? I try my best but it can be really challenging when we live around a lot of other people, and then I don't know what to do and can't get his attention once he starts lunging/barking

[@morty_911]

It would be great to see a before/after of a highly reactive dog. I only see calm and relaxed dogs.

[@DaveWells300]

FF trainers will never show you that because they can't. All they do is talk and quote "science".

[@loveskating4eva]

Ok the only different part is the reinforcing a different behaviour. What does the separate behaviour acheive?

[@loveskating4eva]

Also how I currently train her is exactly like this. I now call it hunt the human because shes just like mummm theres a person over there do you see them? can i get my reward please

[@berfont1994]

What if my dog is too distressed outdoor, even without people or dogs around he seems to be over aroused by the smell and change in surroundings.

[@michelewood925]

I tried avoidance and treats and desensitizing. It just got worse.

[@zajinra]

cuz this doesnt work and only works for specific breeds since its positive reinforcement only. exact rzn why theres pitbull attacks.

[@dagmarklapeer9909]

It's not possible everytime to be far away from the trigger. There are many dogs outside

[@sarah5092]

How do you apply this if your dog doesnt take treats?

[@getacalmdog]

Hey there! Check out BAT 2.0 by gricsha stewart

[@asmrmetalman1061]

problem with my dog is she is not particularly food or toy motivated. I have my work cut out for me

[@DaveWells300]

And this is exactly why positive only training doesn't work

[@tphalange9030]

1. Commenting for algorithm; 2. Can you talk about why dog is suddenly triggered/ aroused during walking on leash, and growl and bite/nip the owner, when there seems to be nothing happening?

[@michelewood925]

This is nothing like my dog. She would be lunging or pulling and has no interest in treats.

[@stevef1163]

Again all talk no action. Show us video of yourself actually HANDLING and working a dog for more than a few minutes. I’d like to see video of a dog that you yourself trained from beginning to graduate.

[@DaveWells300]

This is silly. You need a balanced approach tailored to each dog. I'd like to see you take a reactive dog from a shelter and train it with positive only. It will never happen. You FF trainers are just wasting peoples time and hurting dogs.