by The Crunchy Canine | Oct 27, 2020 | Puppy Training
Leash reactivity…what is it? Does your dog have it? Is it aggression?
Leash reactivity is one of the most common challenges dog owners face. If your dog barks, lunges, or overreacts on walks, the good news is that this behaviour can be improved with the right training approach.
What Is Leash Reactivity?
Leash reactivity happens when a dog reacts to triggers—such as other dogs, people, or noises—while on a leash. Reactions can range from mild signs like stiff posture to intense behaviours like barking and lunging.
Importantly, leash reactivity does not always mean aggression. Many reactive dogs are simply excited, frustrated, or fearful.
Why Dogs Become Leash Reactive
1. Overexcitement
Some dogs become reactive because they are overly friendly and want to greet every dog they see. This is common in dogs that frequently visit dog parks or daycare.
2. Barrier Frustration
The leash acts as a barrier. When dogs cannot reach what they want, frustration builds and leads to reactive behaviour.
3. Fear-Based Reactivity
Fearful dogs may react aggressively to make a perceived threat go away. This often comes from past negative experiences or lack of socialization.
4. True Aggression
True aggression is rare but more serious. These cases often require long-term management and professional guidance.
How to Fix Leash Reactivity
Regardless of the cause, most successful training plans follow the same core principles:
1. Manage Distance (Threshold Training)
Work at a distance where your dog can stay calm. If your dog reacts at 35 feet, start training at 40 feet where they can still focus and learn.
If your dog is already barking or lunging, they are over threshold and cannot learn effectively.
2. Use Movement to Reduce Pressure
Keeping your dog moving helps prevent tension buildup. Standing still often increases frustration, while controlled movement keeps your dog more relaxed and focused.
3. Focus on Neutral Behaviour
The goal is not to force your dog to ignore everything, but to remain neutral. A healthy response is noticing a trigger briefly, then disengaging and moving on.
4. Use Timely Corrections (When Needed)
Corrections should be fair, well-timed, and used carefully. They are most effective before the dog escalates, not after.
However, relying only on corrections is rarely effective. Training should always include guidance and positive reinforcement.
5. Reward Good Choices
Reward your dog for calm behaviour, even small improvements. If your dog chooses to look away from a trigger or stay relaxed, reinforce that behaviour immediately.
You can also use simple cues like calmly naming what your dog sees (e.g., “that’s a car”) and rewarding calm responses.
6. Practice with Repetition
Consistency is key. Leash reactivity does not improve overnight, and regular practice is essential.
Set up controlled training sessions and gradually expose your dog to triggers while maintaining calm behaviour.
Fixing leash reactivity takes time, patience, and consistency. By managing distance, rewarding calm behaviour, and practicing regularly, you can help your dog become more relaxed and confident on walks.
The goal is not perfection—but steady progress toward a calm, neutral response in everyday situations.
What was your dog bred to do?
by The Crunchy Canine | Oct 11, 2020 | Puppy Training
Is Obedience Training Enough for Your Dog?
Obedience is one of the most common focuses in dog training. Sit, stay, down—many owners believe that if their dog listens well enough, most problems will disappear.
But here’s the reality: obedience alone is not the solution to most behaviour issues.
Dogs are not robots. They are sentient beings with emotions, experiences, and reactions. If we focus only on control, we often ignore how the dog actually feels in a situation.
Why Obedience Alone Isn’t Enough
1. Obedience Does Not Change Emotions
Take a leash-reactive dog driven by fear. You may ask for eye contact or a “sit” when another dog passes. The dog may comply—but internally, nothing has changed.
The dog is still anxious or afraid. You’ve simply redirected the behaviour, not addressed the emotion behind it.
This is often called teaching an “incompatible behaviour”—asking the dog to do something else so it cannot perform the unwanted behaviour. While useful for management, it does not solve the root issue.
2. Control Should Not Be the Only Goal
There’s nothing wrong with teaching commands like sit or down. The real question is: why does the dog need to perform them?
Commands should serve a purpose—safety, clarity, or communication—not just control for the sake of control.
For example, cues like “come” or “wait” can be life-saving. But requiring obedience in every situation without purpose can create unnecessary pressure and confusion.
3. Obedience Can Replace Choice With Compliance
When dogs rely entirely on commands, they may struggle to make good decisions on their own. If a dog only behaves when told what to do, what happens when guidance isn’t there?
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True training should help dogs develop the ability to remain calm, make better choices, and adapt to situations without constant direction.
Otherwise, we risk micromanaging behaviour instead of actually teaching it.
What Matters More Than Obedience
Instead of focusing only on obedience, effective training should include:
- Building a strong relationship with your dog
- Improving emotional responses to triggers
- Encouraging calm and neutral behaviour
- Reinforcing good choices, not just commands
Obedience still has its place—but it should support training, not define it.
The goal isn’t to control your dog—it’s to guide them. When we shift our focus from obedience alone to understanding behaviour and emotion, we create dogs that are not just compliant, but confident and balanced.
In the end, better behaviour comes from better understanding—not just better commands.
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How to Fix Leash Reactivity
by The Crunchy Canine | Oct 8, 2018 | Puppy Training
Is Dog Daycare Right for Your Dog? Benefits, Risks & Common Myths
Dog daycares are becoming more popular than ever. From high-end facilities to backyard setups, they seem to be everywhere. At first glance, sending your dog somewhere to run and play all day sounds like a great idea.
But is dog daycare actually the right choice for every dog? Not necessarily.
While some dogs thrive in daycare environments, others may become overwhelmed, overstimulated, or even develop behavioural issues if the environment isn’t right.
Common Myths About Dog Daycare
Myth #1: Daycare Will Make My Dog More Social
Many owners believe that sending their dog to daycare will improve socialization. In some cases, it can—but it’s not guaranteed.
Dogs that are shy, nervous, or selective with other dogs may become overwhelmed in large group settings. Instead of becoming more social, they may become stressed, defensive, or reactive.
Proper socialization is about controlled, positive experiences—not constant exposure.
A well-run daycare with trained staff can help manage this, but poorly managed environments can make things worse.
Myth #2: High-Energy Dogs Need All-Day Play
Exercise is important—but constant stimulation is not always healthy.
Many daycares allow dogs to play all day without structured rest. This can lead to overstimulation, increased adrenaline, and difficulty settling down.
Some dogs come home exhausted, but others return just as hyper—or even more so—because they’ve built endurance and stayed in a heightened state all day.
A good daycare should include structured downtime and know how to manage arousal levels.
Myth #3: Daycare Will Fix Behaviour Problems
Daycare is not a substitute for training.
Unless your dog is enrolled in a structured training program (such as a day school with a professional trainer), they are unlikely to learn better behaviour.
In fact, unwanted behaviours like jumping or barking can sometimes get worse if they are unintentionally reinforced in a group environment.
So, Is Dog Daycare a Good Idea?
It depends on your dog and the quality of the daycare.
Some dogs benefit from daycare—especially those who are social, confident, and enjoy group play.
However, not all dogs are suited for this type of environment, and not all daycares provide the structure and supervision needed.
What to Look for in a Good Dog Daycare
- Staff trained in dog behaviour and body language
- Structured play and rest periods
- Controlled group sizes
- Calm environment, not constant chaos
- Clear safety and management protocols=
Dog daycare is not inherently good or bad—it’s highly dependent on the individual dog and the environment.
Before enrolling your dog, take the time to research, observe, and evaluate whether it truly benefits your dog’s well-being.
In some cases, the wrong daycare can undo training progress rather than support it—so choose carefully.
Dogs Reformed
How to Fix Leash Reactivity
by The Crunchy Canine | Aug 14, 2018 | Puppy Training
Just don’t let your dog do that.
Sounds simple right? Maybe too simple?
I am often met with a frustrated client who feels like they have tried everything in their power to stop their dog from doing certain unwanted behaviours. What they don’t realize is that often (not always), but often, we can change a dog’s behaviour simply by interrupting the pattern or the habit. In more simple terms, just don’t let the dog do it, and they will stop doing “it”. When I work with owners of puppies, I show them how to stop unwanted behaviours from starting in the first place. The goal is to never allow the puppy to rehearse unwanted, self-reinforcing behaviours (such as barking, chasing, counter surfing, etc). By never letting the puppy practice the behaviour, t
hey will never create bad habit or pattern. While, this is part of our training for preventing unwanted behaviours in puppies, we can use the same concept for adult dogs. By simply not letting your dog practice a behaviour any more (we will get to the how), they will eventually stop trying or stop practicing that behaviour.
So, how do you not let your dog do that? Management! Management will allow you to stop the cycle of the behaviour. For example, if your dog runs to the front window barking every time someone walks by, have a leash on and simply don’t let him run to the window. When you are not home, close the blinds or restrict access so the dog can’t practice while you are not there to manage. If your dog begs at the table (first, don’t feed him from the table), but put your dog
on place so they cannot beg. If your dog jumps on people, have him on leash and step on the leash just enough so that when he goes to jump he will not be able to. Once your dog is no longer practicing the
se behaviours daily (sometimes several times a day), most often they will simply just stop doing them.
As mentioned, often it is as simple as not letting them do that…but there are times where training will get more complicated. I will always suggest first that if your dog is displa
ying some unwanted behaviours, try not letting them practice the behaviour through management and communication and see where that takes you. I will bet that within 2-4 weeks your dog will most likely stop that behaviour completely.
If you need help with not letting your dog practice unwanted behaviours, please contact us today! Email us at info@thecrunchycanine.ca
by The Crunchy Canine | Aug 12, 2018 | Puppy Training
What does leadership mean to you? Lately, the term leadership has gotten a bit of a bad rap from the “purely positive” crowd. Somehow it has developed a connotation of dominance and harsh discipline.
However, if you look up the definition of leadership this is what you will find;
lead·er·ship
ˈlēdərˌSHip/
noun
the action of leading a group of people or an organization.
“different styles of leadership”
| synonyms: | guidance, direction, control, management, superintendence, supervision |
Nowhere in that definition does it talk about anything unpleasant. Even the words dominance and discipline don’t need to be negative, but that is for another post.
So how does being a leader translate into your relationship with your dog? It is simple. Be someone who you yourself would want to follow. So lets break it down given that definition above…
Give your dog guidance. Your dog is an animal, a predatory animal. He is not born knowing how to navigate this human world as a pet. Guide him, teach him, and show him how to behave as a pet dog. Give your dog direction. This means teach him right from wrong. Communicate to him when he is doing something right, and when he is doing something wrong. This does not mean physical corrections (though sometimes it can), but simply disagreeing with a behaviour will often be enough. Control and manage your dog. Put him on a leash until he can be trusted without it and crate train your dog until he no longer requires it. You don’t need to control every tiny aspect of your dog’s life, but through control and management you will be able to stop them from practicing unwanted behaviours. Supervise your dog. If you cannot supervise, then crate him. Supervision means that you can guide, give direction, control, and manage your dog. When there is no supervision your dog is left to make his own choices (which with young dogs is often a choice we do not like).
All of that combined with being calm, clear and confident is what makes a good leader.
If you are struggling with your dog’s behaviour, sit down and honestly evaluate your role in your dog’s life and whether your provide them with calm, and clear leadership!
We can help you become the leader your dog needs! Contact us today info@thecrunchycanine.ca
by The Crunchy Canine | Aug 12, 2018 | Puppy Training
- Actually teach your dog what the word “come” means. Put a leash on, say “come” and then reel your dog in to you and reward. Rinse and repeat MANY, many times in several different situations (all with the leash on).
- Don’t over use it, particularly when you don’t mean it. When you use “Come” all the time, dogs stop paying attention. For example, when you are walking your dog and they are sniffing the ground, don’t say come unless you are going to do a formal recall. Use “let’s go” or something similar.
- Never chase your dog. EVER. Only give the command when you can enforce it so practice on-lead until the dog is reliable.
- Don’t repeat the command. Say it once and then make it happen.
- Only give the command if you can enforce it. For example, if your dog is not fully reliable yet, do not unleash at the dog park and start using the “come” command. This will only teach your dog that the word “come” doesn’t actually have any meaning.
- Never punish your dog for not coming. You can give a leash correction for non compliance when the dog is ignoring you but once they get to you (or you to them), you must stay positive and reward.
If you want a dog who can be trusted off leash in any environment, contact us today! Email us at info@thecrunchycanine.ca
