21/02/2026
Reactive… to social with her new buddy’s ☺️
When Bella first started with me, other
dogs felt overwhelming.
Barking. Lunging. Big emotions.
Now She’s enjoying calm, structured social time with the amazing Gizmo and Bayley 🐾🐾
Her body is softer.
She’s making better choices.
But here’s something really important to understand with dogs who suffer reactivity👇
Reactivity isn’t always about a dog being “fully recovered.”
Especially when a behaviour has had years of repetition. Neural pathways become strong. Reactions become rehearsed.
The goal isn’t perfection.
The goal is regulation.
Can they recover quicker after a heightened moment?
Can they disengage?
Can they come back down instead of staying escalated?
That’s real progress.
And we also have to remember, with reactive dogs, every day can look different.
Trigger stacking is real.
If a dog has already experienced stress earlier in the day (noise, frustration, lack of sleep, unexpected encounters), their threshold lowers.
Meaning what they handled calmly yesterday… might feel too much today.
That doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
It means they’re over threshold.
Our job is to read the dog in front of us each day.
Adjust.
Support.
Guide.
Bella’s journey isn’t about being a “perfect” dog.
It’s about building resilience, confidence and better recovery.
And watching her now choose calm social interactions with Gizmo and Bayley?
That’s growth. 💛
If you’re navigating reactivity, progress isn’t linear, but it is possible.
