Living with a reactive dog like Olivia has taught me how to meet her needs in ways that may be less than ideal in a perfect world, but are still ideal for her! I would love to be able to take random, leisurely strolls in our busy Chicago neighborhood whenever she or I have the urge, but that is not something that benefits Olivia. Sure, we still take frequent drives to the industrial area or woods that we have found success exploring, but these require planning and extra driving time that isn’t always feasible for us based on schedule, the weather, the day of the week, etc. 

To still meet Olivia’s needs when these activities aren’t doable, I will often bring my laptop upstairs to our rooftop while I work. Out there, we can throw the ball around, partake in nosework, sunbathe, and there’s always new sights, sounds, and smells to investigate each day. If the roof isn’t an option, I open some of the windows in our home so she can watch, sniff the air, and feel the breeze. I’ll usually add in some indoor play, shredding or nosework activities, and snuggle time too. I try to see when and where there is room for me to bring her on little adventures, whether it’s to a friend’s house, sneaking a walk in in the suburbs while I’m running quick errands, or a quick play date with a dog friend a couple miles down the road.

This has elevated my work with behavior cases as I can get creative with my clients to help them meet their dogs’ needs. It also helps me relate to them when they express their dismay at not being able to take their dog on a walk through the neighborhood or leave them home alone to go have happy hour with their friends.

In episode 139 of Enrichment for the Real World, I talked about knowing when to let Olivia process the stimuli around her, and when to intervene and help her make the choice to move on. Though this concept is important in any pet/human partnership, reactive or otherwise, the idea of when to give our pets the freedom to work through what they’re experiencing on their own vs. encouraging them to make choices that will likely result in a more positive outcome is something I lean into especially heavily in behavior cases.

I talk about teaching pets “good choices” in three parts:

• Phase one: The Preschooler. Our pet is just learning what this new skill or behavior is, how to do it, and that it will be reinforced. This is the “hand-holding” phase and is a necessary first step. We don’t expect a preschooler to learn something new then immediately be able to apply it on their own. They need us to help them continue to learn when, where, and how this is beneficial to them.
• Phase two: The Middle Schooler. Our pet now knows how to “do the thing”, but they don’t always know the right time to apply it. We will give them a bit of room to work it out, but are still right there to encourage movement in the right direction (literally and figuratively).
• Phase three: The Adult. Our pet is fairly self sufficient and has the skills and ability to apply them individually. However, if we get into a particularly tough situation, they still need the support of their human to help navigate.