Here's a video from a dog event with Peyton. There is some audio, mostly me talking about what's going on in each clip. It demonstrates the "backaway", which we've already talked about as your primary tool for getting through walks, and other sudden stressful scenarios.

Enjoy!

Reactive Dog Photos

In this photo, I'm rubbing Peyton's body. He tends to sit down when I rub him, but it's okay if your dog stands, as long as they learn not to be squirmy.








Here, I'm rubbing Peyton's cheeks, from the edge of his mouth to his ears, back and forth. I do this while saying in a soothing voice "good boy". I try to tell him he's a good boy when he looks at me, but you can see in this picture that he's trying very hard to look over at a different dog. You can tell that he still doesn't have the confidence to fully ignore the other dogs.

I love this picture because you can see quite clearly how hard Peyton is trying to look over at the other dogs. He really believes that if he looks away, the other dog will hurt him. He's obviously stressed: bug eyes, ears laid back, etc. Also notice how much he's leaning into me, how flexed his front legs are. He's really pushing into me, in fact I almost fell over backward! Dogs lean into pressure, so this is common with an anxious dog. Many dogs who lean hard against their owners or other people are quite anxious. Some appear normal, or just a little over-excited, but it's a sign of some insecurity.