When Your Rescue Dog Is Reactive: Before You Give Up, Get Help
You adopted a rescue dog. You love them. At home, they may be affectionate, funny, well-behaved and completely devoted to you. Then another dog appears-and suddenly you barely recognize your own pet.
Dog reactivity is an intense response to certain triggers-such as other dogs, unfamiliar people, noises or situations-that may show up as barking, lunging, growling, puling or trying to escape. Reactivity is often driven by fear, anxiety, frustration or overstimulation, and it does not automatically mean a dog is aggressive.
The barking. The lunging. The pulling. The inability to settle down. It can be frightening, embarrassing and heartbreaking, especially if you’ve had dogs your entire life and have never experienced anything like it.
But here’s something important that we’re learning firsthand at Pet Parents’ Place:
A reactive dog isn’t necessarily a bad dog. And reactivity doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to give up. Sometimes it means it’s time to get help.
Our Experience With Mazie:
Our rescue dog, Mazie, is a wonderful dog at home. She’s loving, affectionate and well-behaved. She has been through obedience training and knows the things we expect of her. But we found Mazie is reactive around unfamiliar dogs. Recently, a visit involving another dog brought that reality home for us. Mazie’s reaction was intense enough that we knew we couldn’t simply hope the problem would go away. We needed professional help.
So we talked with her veterinarian. Her veterinarian believes this is because Mazie spent the first year of her life in an animal shelter and wasn’t properly socialized, so many things are scary to her. The veterinarian spent about half an hour with us discussing Mazie’s history, behavior and reactivity, and gave us hope. We didn’t feel rushed. We felt heard. I cried. I felt bad for the tough start our girl Mazie had, and I was sad that we didn’t have the outgoing, pet-loving dog we had envisioned.
But perhaps most importantly, we left with something we hadn’t had before:
A plan.
Obedience and Reactivity Aren’t the Same Thing
This was an important distinction for us. Mazie has been to obedience school. She can be a perfectly well-behaved dog. Her problem isn’t that she doesn’t know how to sit, stay or follow directions. Reactivity is different. Dogs can react strongly to other dogs, people, noises, situations or other triggers for a variety of reasons, including fear, anxiety, frustration or previous experiences. Sometimes, particularly with rescue animals, we simply don’t know everything that happened before they came into our lives.
That doesn’t mean we can’t help them.
We Decided to Try Medication
After discussing Mazie’s behavior with our veterinarian, she prescribed Reconcile, a veterinary form of fluoxetine-the medication many of us know by the brand name Prozac-to help Mazie’s anxiety and make it easier for her to learn that the world around her doesn’t always have to feel scary. It’s important to remember that Reconcile, Prozac and fluoxetine, are all Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors-not sedatives. I especially love the name Reconcile. To reconcile means to restore harmony or bring things back into balance, which seems like a perfect description of what we’re trying to do for Mazie-help her feel calmer and more at peace with the world around her so she can lean that everything is something to fear.
These medications aren’t instant fixes. Fluoxetine can take several weeks to begin producing noticeable behavioral effects, and every dog is different. Medication also isn’t appropriate for every dog. That’s a decision to make with a veterinarian who knows your pet and can discuss possible benefits, risks and side effects.
For Mazie, it’s one part of a larger plan.
Next Comes the Right Kind of Training
We’re not planning to tackle Mazie’s reactivity on our own. We’re going to work with a qualified professional experienced specifically with reactive dogs. And in many ways, that person will be training us as much as Mazie. We need to learn to recognize her triggers, understand when she’s approaching her threshold, manage distance appropriately and help her develop a different emotional response to situations that currently overwhelm her.
We’re looking for reward-based training that uses techniques such as gradual desensitization and counterconditioning—not punishment, intimidation or deliberately overwhelming her with the thing she fears. Our goal isn’t necessarily to make Mazie love every dog she encounters. Our goal is to help her feel safer and give her better ways to cope.
Before You Return a Reactive Rescue Dog, Ask for Help
You might wonder if maybe you need to take the dog back. Sometimes behavioral problems are severe, and there are options. This may be the most important part of our story. When a newly adopted dog displays frightening behavior, it can be tempting to think: I can’t handle this. Maybe this was a mistake. There are circumstances in which a family truly cannot safely manage a particular dog. Returning an animal to a responsible rescue or shelter may occasionally be the safest and most humane decision. No pet parent should be shamed for making a decision involving genuine safety concerns.
But one reactive episode—or even an ongoing reactivity problem—doesn’t automatically mean you’ve adopted the wrong dog. Before you give up, get help. Start with your veterinarian. Ask whether pain, illness, anxiety or another medical or behavioral issue could be contributing to what you’re seeing. Then look for a qualified trainer or veterinary behavior professional with genuine experience working with reactive dogs. There may be options you don’t even know exist.
Rescue Dogs Don’t Always Arrive With Their Whole Story
One of the realities of adopting a rescue animal is that we don’t always know what came before us. Was the dog properly socialized as a puppy? Were they frightened by another dog? Did they spend important developmental months in a shelter? Did they experience instability, neglect or trauma? Or were they simply born with a temperament that makes certain situations more difficult?
Sometimes we’ll never know. Our job isn’t necessarily to solve the mystery of the past. It’s to understand the animal standing in front of us today.
Reactivity Is Part of Mazie’s Story. It Isn’t Her Whole Story.
Mazie is still the same dog we loved before we talked with our veterinarian. She’s still funny. She’s still affectionate. She’s still our rescue girl. Rescuing her has now taken on an entirely additional meaning. Now we simply understand that she has a challenge that needs some attention. And strangely enough, acknowledging that has brought some relief. Instead of wondering what we’re supposed to do, we’re beginning to know what to do.
We have veterinary guidance. We have medication we’re going to give time to work. We’ll find the right professional trainer to help us. And we’ll learn right alongside Mazie.
There May Be More Hope Than You Realize
If you have a reactive rescue dog, please don’t assume that the first frightening incident has to be the end of your story together. Ask questions. Talk to your veterinarian. Find qualified behavioral help. Learn what your dog is communicating. Be patient with your dog—and with yourself. Behavior change takes time, and there are no guarantees. But there are tools, professionals and treatment options that may help.
A reactive moment doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve adopted the wrong dog. Before you give up, find out what your dog is trying to tell you. There may be more help—and more hope—than you realize.
If sharing what we’re learning with Mazie helps even one rescue pet parent stop, ask for help and give their dog another chance, then Mazie’s experience has already done some good.
Mazie Will Always Be With Us
We love our girl Mazie. We’ll never give up on her. In our book, when you adopt a rescue pet, they’re with you for life. We love her quirks, her cuddling, her energy…all the things that make us smile. I am just so thankful that we found such a great, knowledgeable veterinarian that gave us so much understanding and hope for all of us.
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Resources
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
Information for pet owners about animal behavior, veterinary care and finding appropriate professional help.
American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB)
A resource for locating board-certified veterinary behaviorists and learning more about behavioral medicine.
Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT)
A searchable resource for credentialed dog trainers and behavior consultants.
International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC)
A professional organization with a directory of behavior consultants who work with dogs and other animals.
Merck Veterinary Manual
Veterinary information about canine behavior problems, behavior modification and medications used in behavioral treatment.
A Note From Pet Parents’ Place
This article describes one family’s experience and is intended for general educational purposes. It is not veterinary or behavioral advice. Reactivity can have many causes, and treatment should be individualized. Consult your veterinarian about changes in your pet’s behavior and before starting, stopping or changing any medication. Seek qualified professional behavioral assistance when aggression or safety is a concern.
