Our approach
Reactivity is an emotional response, usually fear or frustration. We change the emotion, and the behavior follows.
What the science has moved away from
The alpha and pack-leader idea
The idea that dogs misbehave to climb a rank and must be dominated came from studies of unrelated wolves housed together in captivity. Wild wolf packs turned out to be families led by the parents. The researcher who popularized the word "alpha," L. David Mech, later spent years asking people to stop using it. Reading a dog's behavior as a power grab usually misses what's really going on: fear, excitement, or a habit no one has taught differently.
Correction-based tools
Prong collars, choke chains, shock collars, and leash pops can stop a behavior in the moment. Studies link them to more stress and fear and poorer welfare, with no advantage in effectiveness. For a dog who already feels threatened by other dogs, pain that shows up whenever another dog appears can make that feeling stronger.
What we do instead
- Reward-based training. We reward the behavior we want, so your dog chooses it more often.
- LIMA. Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive: the professional standard of using the gentlest method that works.
- Desensitization and counterconditioning. We work at a distance where your dog can still think and pair their triggers with good things, so the trigger starts to predict something positive.
- Management. We set up your home and your walks so your dog stops practicing the old reaction while they learn a new one.
Read more
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior position statements
- Vieira de Castro et al. (2020), PLOS ONE: training methods and companion dog welfare
- Cooper et al. (2014), PLOS ONE: electronic collars compared with reward-based training
- Mech (1999), Canadian Journal of Zoology: alpha status in wolf packs