How to Fix Your Dog's Reactivity With 1 Simple Trick!

First, I’ll share some techniques and tricks. Then, I’ll dive into the real game-changers—the stuff most people overlook that will cause nearly all of your dog’s progress.

1. Tricks of the Trade:

• Limit Visibility: Start by limiting your dog’s visibility to their triggers. Close the blinds, curtains, or block off parts of the house/yard so you have more control over when and how often your dog gets triggered. This is a great first step.

• Gradual Desensitization: Turn your dog’s triggers into a game. The specific game will depend on your dog’s personality. Finding the perfect game for your dog will give you tons of leverage to improve their behavior. By becoming more interesting than the trigger, even if only for a brief moment at first, you get a small win that you can build on.

• Control Freedom: You’ll also need to control your dog’s freedom until they show they can handle it responsibly. This might mean more kennel time and keeping them on a leash in the house. When they’re out of the kennel, make sure they’re always in the same room as you until you can trust them.

2. The Real Gem: Mental Exercise

What will turn the tide on your dog’s barking and make it a thing of the past? A game that wears them out more mentally than physically!

Play? Yes! Good old-fashioned play can fix your dog’s reactivity!

But I’m not talking about just tossing a ball around. I mean something deeper—something that seriously challenges your dog’s brain and makes them feel like a dog again.

3. The Breakthrough: 

What will finally give you leverage over your dog’s triggers? Finding a game they love more than the adrenaline rush from being triggered. 

The real problem is… they like being triggered! Until they like something else more, you have no shot at stopping the barking.

  You might have tried:

• Treats

• Making them sit

• A bark collar

• Closing the blinds

4. But here’s what will actually work:

• Find a Game They Love: Identify a game your dog loves. It could be tug, fetch, or something else that excites them.

• Become More Playful: Be engaging and less serious. This is huge!

• Add Rules to the Game: Make your dog stay focused to win, forcing them to choose between their triggers and playtime with you. Gradually, you’ll start winning more each day.

Once they love the game more than getting triggered, their behavior will completely flip.

You need one-on-one guidance from a dog trainer. That’s all that’s holding you back from a life with your dream dog.

Don’t put it off. Bite the bullet. Make the investment. And enjoy life with your dog now.