The PNW Pittie: My Reactive Dogs

I have heard many say that the reason that they do not take their dog for a walk is because their dog is badly behaved while on leash. Q: What is the best way to help a dog with bad leash manners? A: To walk them on leash, of course!

Shiloh's profile picture, courtesy of Seattle Animal Shelter

Meet Shiloh, a three year old Pit Bull Terrier [type] dog. He was adopted from foster care through the Seattle Animal Shelter last July. I first saw Shiloh's profile on Petfinder.com and was immediately drawn in by this picture which really captured his soulful and kind eyes. After filling out the adoption application, speaking with shelter staff, and meeting Shiloh's foster mom, my family was finally able to meet him in person, including my eight year old mixed breed dog GG. It was love at first sight for me, and as I am learning, I always fall for the dogs with "issues".

I absolutely LOVE dogs who are shy, fearful, anxious, leash reactive, dog reactive, people reactive, biters, chewers and destroyers. Shiloh's "issue" is leash reactivity and I love him for it! I realized a long time ago, shortly after rescuing my first dog Nalla, that a dog's issues are just a reflection of our own; and by OUR own I mean those issues that belong to human beings in general. When we work through our dog's issues, we learn more about ourselves and are able to better help, understand, and relate to dogs and people alike.

Nalla in 1998

My girl Nalla was reactive to everything (dogs, cats, people), and unlike Shiloh who just wants so badly to befriend everything and everyone, Nalla's reactivity was on the fearful side. She was a biter and was also aggressively afraid of children. As you can imagine, I had to be so careful with her... she was obviously a HUGE responsibility! When it came to kids, she wanted nothing to do with them and actively tried to stay away from them. In addition to working with Nalla on her issues, I spent a lot of time trying to teach kids and their parents to ask before trying to pet a dog, and to not run up to a dog that they do not know. As a person owned by reactive dogs, this has probably been the biggest challenge for me!

Nalla in 2010

With time and a lot of work, Nalla trusted me fully and depended on me and my voice to get her through various life situations. We eventually were able to go to off leash parks regularly, but every single time I had to calmly and confidently talk her through every situation. Like many fearful dogs (and humans), she was a bully and would pick on the other fearful dogs and ignore those who were confident. When her body posturing would suggest she was about to pick on another dog, I would use my voice to let her know that everything was okay. She had learned to trust me to be her "leader", and therefore never ventured beyond my sight or voice range.

We had to work almost daily to maintain this point of progression. More often than not, a dog's issues will never completely go away but it is more than possible to bring them to a point where they are able to be an active part of the social world. This may never mean doggy play dates, or wrestling around with kids (or for other dogs, it may never mean dog parks), but that is okay! It does take love, trust, time, and some determination but it is absolutely worth it! I will always know Nalla to be one of the most magnificent creatures to ever walk this Earth and am so proud that we walked together.

Remember: "Life is a journey, not a destination." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson (Transcendentalist)

...and so began my love for dogs with issues. What I have learned from them, and continue to learn from them, is invaluable.

With that said, I want to let everyone who made it to our walk this morning know how much I truly appreciate your understanding and 'roll with the punches' attitude on what was a really challenging walk for our dogs... especially for my friendly-reactive dog Shiloh!

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~Lake Washington (south-end trail)~

It always takes a few minutes at the beginning of each walk for Shiloh to learn to be calm when standing near each of our other WalkABulls members. Some dogs he warms up to very quickly, others take longer. Once we get going on each walk, Shiloh hardly notices the other dogs in our group but still he chooses to react to those dogs who are not a part of the group, especially the poodles, so it seems. How do we deal with this? Keep practicing! More walking!