Ian Dunbar and Claude help Jean Donaldson work with a leash-reactive shelter dog.

Jean show us the baseline leash-reactive behaviors that certainly may have contributed to this dog being surrendered to the shelter. At the sight of another dog, the dog becomes unmanageable, barking, lunging and pulling so strongly that it’s impossible to hold on to her.

At this point, she is also too aroused to be interested in Jean or the treats. Without the dog being interested in the rewards, Jean will instead utilize a painless negative reinforcement technique using a head collar. She emphasizes the purpose of the correct fit, saying that it is imperative to have nose loop loose and the neck strap snug. This allows her to use a “pressure on/pressure off” technique. The contrast of the tightened nose loop to immediate release of pressure, effectively rewards the correct behavior. The instant slack in the leash slack rewards the Sit.

She tightens the nose loop in response to the reactive behavior, lifting up and forward. Now she has the leverage, and is easily able to get a Sit. Putting her into a Sit helps her relax, and now she is relaxed enough to take a treat and focus on Jean. They practice with several pass-bys, and because the shelter dog is under control, she is more calm. Once the shelter dog calms down, Claude responds accordingly and she can now behave herself well enough to say hello. Their interaction this time is much more relaxed and successful. The shelter dog will get more sessions to improve this behavior, and Claude basks in the joy of a little butt scratch.