Can puppy training help prevent reactivity?

11 Aug

When people think about puppy training, they often picture teaching a puppy to sit, stay or walk nicely on a lead. While those skills are useful, they're not actually the most important part of raising a puppy.

As a dog trainer working with reactive dogs across London, I've seen first-hand how difficult life can become when a dog feels overwhelmed by the world around them. ‘Reactivity’, in it’s general term, is hard to deal with. Whether that’s a dog being seemingly aggressive to other dogs or people, one that can’t settle, one that lunges and barks at everything - it’s a challenge - I get it.

That's one of the reasons I started running puppy classes. Not because I wanted to teach perfect obedience, but because I wanted to help puppies develop the confidence, resilience and life skills that can support them as they grow into adult dogs, promote great behaviour for the future and ensure both you and your dog thrive together.

What is reactivity?

Reactivity is usually a dog's emotional response to something they find difficult, overwhelming, exciting or worrying.

For some dogs this might be other dogs. For others it could be people, traffic, visitors, unfamiliar environments or unexpected situations. The behaviour often appears as barking, lunging, pulling, growling or an inability to focus.

I’d like to change the perception that reactivity isn't about a dog choosing to be ‘bad’ or ‘stubborn’. More often, it's a sign that they're struggling to cope with something in their environment.

Can puppy training prevent reactivity?

Dogs are individuals. Genetics, health, life experiences and unexpected events all play a role in behaviour. However, what we can do is help build strong foundations.

The skills that often support confident adult dogs are the same skills we focus on in puppyhood:

Confidence around new experiences
Calmness in different environments
Positive exposure to people and dogs
Positive reactions to negative experiences with people and dogs
Switching ‘off’ around other people and dogs
Emotional resilience
Focus and engagement with you as their guardian
Learning how to settle
Building positive associations with the world around them

These foundations can help puppies develop into dogs who are better equipped to navigate everyday life.

Why confidence matters

One of the biggest focuses of my puppy classes is building confidence and reliability.

Many owners assume socialisation means meeting as many dogs and people as possible e.g. on walks and using day care to meet lots of other dogs. But when a puppy that expects to be able to meet every single person and dog that can lead to frustration when they can’t, and frustration can lead to ‘reactivity’. In reality, effective socialisation is about helping puppies feel safe and comfortable in a wide variety of situations which leads to calm behaviour. And just to clarify, this doesn’t mean not having fun along the way!

The goal isn't to create a puppy who wants to interact with everything. The goal is to create a puppy who can experience the world without feeling overwhelmed by it.

Calm, confident dogs

When I work with reactive adult dogs, we often spend time helping them develop skills they never had the chance to learn as puppies. That's why my puppy classes focus on much more than obedience.

We're building foundations that can support:

Calm behaviour around distractions
Confidence in new situations
Better communication between dog and owner
Positive social experiences
Emotional resilience

In short, we're helping puppies become calm, confident dogs.

Puppy training classes in South London

My puppy classes in Tooting, South London are designed specifically to help owners build these foundations from the very beginning.

Classes are kept small to allow individual support, and focus on real-life skills that owners can continue using long after the course has finished.

If you're interested in giving your puppy the best possible start, you can find out more about my puppy classes here.

Alex Wallace