18/08/2026
Do you know where the word freedom actually comes from??? 🤔
The word goes all the way back to Old English frēodōm.
It was used to mean things like self-determination, free will, liberty and release from restriction... and that is exactly why the word feels so important to me when we talk about reactive dogs.
Reactivity can take away so much of that freedom, can't it?
The freedom to walk somewhere without constantly scanning for another dog.
The freedom to explore without feeling overwhelmed.
The freedom to make choices.
The freedom to recover when something difficult happens.
The freedom to enjoy the world rather than constantly feel on edge in it.
For the human at the other end of the lead, freedom matters too.
It might mean being able to walk locally again, to go somewhere new or to stop planning every outing around avoiding other dogs.
That is where Freedom for Reactive Dogs comes from. It does not mean every dog should be able to go everywhere, greet everyone or live some picture-perfect version of a “normal” dog’s life.
It means helping each individual dog gain more choice, more safety, more confidence and more opportunity to enjoy their life. When a word has meant self-determination and liberty for more than a thousand years, I can’t think of a better one for what we want to give back to reactive dogs, can you?
