19/04/2026
Reactive Or Aggression?
PLEASE READ
Im going to say it how it is.. today I had an idiot tell me to muzzle this beautiful girl because he couldn’t recall his dog while I was training Polly, Polly is a rescue dog who will lunge and be vocal if another dog comes near her. Today Polly was on the lead under full control by myself while in a session and due to the fact I wouldn’t allow this man and his dog to approach, he told me to muzzle Polly and she shouldn’t be in the park because she’s ‘aggressive’ proceeded to say his dog is allowed to go up to other dogs and say hello as his dog is friendly and even though i informed him Polly doesn’t like other dogs in her space and we’re training. He couldn’t respect that and just labelled her as ‘aggressive’ not once had Polly gave the dog an ounce of attention throughout this whole encounter.
Reactivity and aggression in dogs often get lumped together, but they’re not the same thing and confusing them can lead to misunderstandings about a dog’s behaviour and lead to more issues
Reactivity is about overreaction to a stimulus. A reactive dog might bark, lunge, growl, or pull on the lead when they see something like another dog, a person, a bike, or even a loud noise. The key point is that this response is usually driven by heightened emotion, not a desire to harm.
How to tell the difference.
Fear or anxiety? That thing is scary, make it go away!
Frustration (especially in dogs that want to greet but are restrained)
Overexcitement (they just can’t regulate themselves in the moment)
However, reactivity can lead to aggression if aggression if ignored or treated incorrectly.
If you managed to read this rant please share it so other idiots can learn the difference between the two and not jump to conclusions all the time. Friendly dog or not. Your dog is not entitled to do what it wants to other dogs!
