Comments on: What Is a Reactive Rover?

By: Stop barking: If you know why dogs bark, you can stop it effectively

Stop barking: If you know why dogs bark, you can stop it effectively — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 02:40:55 +0000

[...] at other dogs while on leash, you need to figure out why your dog is barking/lunging. My article What Is a Reactive Rover might help you figure out why this behavior is happening. If you’re in Seattle or [...]

By: Behind the Behavior » Blog Archive » Protecting Your Dog on Walks

Behind the Behavior » Blog Archive » Protecting Your Dog on Walks — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:08:40 +0000

[...] a particular breed of dog is that they just approach or reach out without thinking. In my article, What Is a Reactive Rover?, I discussed different types of leash reactivity and why dogs behave the way they do on leash. [...]

By: Nancy in WI

Nancy in WI — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:59:52 +0000

Vanya is some of everything, I’m beginning to think! Although the Anxious Woo Hoo’er category is a new one for me, and seems to describe him well. He gets along with dogs he knows; he loves to greet little dogs, but overwhelms them a bit; he screams with intense frustration if he’s blocked from greeting a dog (and screams exactly the same way if he’s blocked from greeting a person, but he can sit and then meet the person and be utterly adorable and adoring); and the few times he’s gotten to greet off leash, he’s been a brat after a few seconds. Distance work is entertaining, but it’s not really leading to steady improvements. We just keep plugging along, now with the help of prozac and l-theamine.

I wish Greta and Christine could come to the midwest. We do have amazing trainers in Madison WI (Dogs Best Friend and Blue Dog), but we don’t have a class where Vanya can stay under threshold and yet still have a chance to learn to be calm in the proximity of other dogs.

By: headaches

headaches — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:05:25 +0000

Sup, just thought i should say that your website is the best!I’ve written it down so I wont forget it!

By: Shellie

Shellie — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:00:03 +0000

As a CAS client for the last year, I can tell you, my dog is exponentially improved as a result of what we’ve learned from Miles & Christine!! My dog is an “Anxious Woo Hoo’er”, and had built up barrier frustration and fear, as a result of being an exuberant puppy who wanted to jump & kiss and greet everyone (dogs & people) he met. In my not knowing how to channel all that love, he learned to be fearful, instead of learning he didn’t need to *LOVE!* everyone up close.

Thanks to CAS, I am learning to recondition these fear factors, and as a result, my dog has earned much more freedom in his daily life and I am able to relax and enjoy our time together without stressing out over every little thing we see that might have caused a reaction in the past. Christine’s Reactive Rover class, by being outside and allowing closely monitored / student appropriate proximity practice, is *much* better suited to our needs and learning style than traditional classroom training. I HIGHLY recommend it!

By: Christine Hibbard

Christine Hibbard — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 04:42:46 +0000

My class in Seattle is called Reactive Rover and it is in large part modeled after Greta’s class called Feisty Fido. I encourage everyone in the Vancouver, WA or Portland, OR area with a dog reactive dog to check out Greta’s classes: http://www.dogdaysnw.com/classdetails.html

By: Greta Kaplan

Greta Kaplan — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 07:48:32 +0000

What a nice breakdown on leash reactivity. Some leash reactivity is real aggression, some is characterized mainly by information seeking (“anxious woo-hoo’ers”) and some is driven by frustrated friendliness. We can work all three types in the same class, but they will be handled differently, especially when close to each other. I always enjoy seeing my Feisty Fido students perform appropriate greetings for the first time, once they know how, and know they are safe!

Greta Kaplan, CDBC, CPDT
Companion Animal Solutions
Portland, OR