#173 - 5 Ways You’re F*cking Up Your Leash Reactivity Plan

Dealing with leash reactivity can really be a drag (only moderate pun intended 😂). Jokes aside, if you have a dog that does the whole barky, bitey, lungey thing on leash, to dogs, to people, or to the leaf that blew across the neighbor's roof, and you’ve been feeling like a failure, or are just really freaking tired of still working on this, grab a chair and join Ellen and Emily for today’s episode. 

We’re talking about 5 ways we see leash reactivity plans get f*cked up, and no, it’s not because anyone is bad at this. It’s because we’re complex humans, with complex lives, complex pets, and complex environments. We help clients be human and help their pets every day, and today, we’re sharing what we’ve learned. 

TLDL (too long, didn’t listen): 3 Key Takeaways 

1️⃣ You’re interrupting more than reinforcing – If you’re doing more interrupting of the eruption than reinforcing chill beforehand, you might be teaching your pet that exploding is part of the sequence. 

2️⃣ Sessions need to be short – Probably even shorter than you expect. Triggers stacking IS happening, so keep it short, and use your escape routes liberally. 

3️⃣ You don’t know how or when to get out – Before making things hard, get really skilled in easier environments, and that means practicing knowing how and when to get out of Dodge. 

For the full episode show notes, including the resources mentioned in this episode, go here.

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