09/05/2026
This is something people don’t like to talk about and a lot don’t fully understand it without living it. Riley was my 5th Aussie and I had never had it with the breed before.
Having a reactive dog means you always live in management. For example, Riley is dog reactive. Riley is very, very good at ignoring other dogs that she doesn’t care for but it only takes one time of a dog crossing her personal space and me not intervening to put us back to square one and having to rebuild her trust in me to make sure she’s safe when other dogs are around. I failed her a few weeks ago and a dog got in her personal space and she over corrected him. She left no marks but corrected about 20 seconds instead of once. This would cause a major dog fight if the dog she did it to wasn’t submissive.
Now we’re back to square one and she’s on a leash staying close learning she can come to me instead of reacting that way because at this point she thinks she has to do it herself. That’s all it takes to undo months of work. One time. Will she ever get over this completely? No. This is 100% a genetic problem from improper breeding. She was raised and exposed to numerous different scenarios to help her be neutral and always protected and taught to be confident in herself so it has nothing to do with proper socialization. She is a fearful dog and fearful dogs either “flight or fight” and she chooses the 2nd one when it comes to other dogs. Her entire life I will have to be her advocate and not let her around dogs that will trigger her to make her fail. Management is hard but necessary to be a responsible owner. If any of you have a dog reactive or human reactive dog, there are ways to still help them live their best life. Bless you for not giving up on them.
