Paws IQ: The Reactivity Reset Guide

Reactivity is a hype word, and it deserves a reframe. Reactivity isn’t a dog being “bad.” It’s a dog being overwhelmed + trying to advocate for itself. Barking, lunging, whining, or freezing are all signs that a dog doesn’t know how to process the stimuli that’s in front of them — soo..they react with survival-based emotion instead of a clear head.

This guide focuses on helping your dog reset their nervous system and helping you show up with the leadership and steadiness they need. A dog doesn’t learn calmness from correction or hype — they know it from your energy, your pace, and your decisions.

1. UNDERSTANDING WHAT REACTIVITY REALLY IS

Reactivity happens when a dog’s brain jumps into alert mode faster than they can process and regulate.

Signs Your Dog Is Approaching Overwhelm

• Staring or hard, rigid focus

• Freezing or holding breath

• Pulling forward, bracing

• Whining, circling, or pacing

• Ears locked forward, dipping head slightly

• Tail stiffening

• Sudden barking or lunging

These aren’t “bad dog behaviors.” They’re early warnings that your dog is losing clarity and connection to you.

🐕 Dog Psychology Note

A reactive dog doesn’t need comfort or hype — they need structure and a leader who stays calm and makes the path forward clear.

2. BEFORE THE TRIGGER: KEEP THE BUBBLE INTACT

Reactivity is easier to prevent than it is to fix once both of your nervous systems are blown. The goal is to keep your dog from tipping over the edge by proactively managing space, pace, and your energy.

What to Do

• Create distance early — interrupt the rigid stare. Don’t wait until your dog locks onto something.

• Move in an arc around other dogs and distractions.

• Slow the speed of your walk — keep your chest up and your shoulders relaxed.

• Keep the leash short but loose, not tight and anxious. Stop, ask for a sit, and wait for decompression before moving forward if pulling patterns start popping up.

• Stay between your dog and the trigger when needed.

🐕 Dog Psychology Note

Your dog relaxes when they see that you will proactively step up and handle what’s in front of them. For a dog, leadership lowers anxiety faster than comforting human words.

3. DURING REACTIVITY: REDIRECT THE MIND BY LEADING THE BODY

If your dog is already reacting, yanking or yelling at them won’t improve your situation. Your dog needs a pattern interrupt, something that shifts their brain out of the emotional loop.

What to Do

• Turn away smoothly, keeping your breathing neutral + steady.

• Increase the distance away from the stimulus until your dog’s brain comes back online.

• Walk in a slow curve, not a straight line. It keeps their brain in “what’s next?” mode and off the trigger.

• Stay silent — words feed emotion. SO OFTEN, the kindest thing you can do for your overstimulated dog is to be quiet.

• Wait for calm body language before continuing if you’ve already established proximity.

What Not to Do

• Don’t jerk, yank, or angrily tug on the leash

• Don’t comfort with a shrill “It’s okay baby”

• Don’t rush the situation; be aware but neutral.

• Don’t walk directly toward triggers (It signals intensity + confrontation, heightening reactivity symptoms)

🐕 Dog Psychology Note

Reacting to the reactivity adds fuel. Neutrality and calm, confident movement drain it.

4. AFTER THE TRIGGER: RESET THE BRAIN

Once your dog disconnects from the trigger, they need a moment to reset their nervous system. Just like a jack rabbit that just escaped a close call, your dog’s animal body has tremors and ticks it needs to work through its system to discharge all that anticipatory energy.

How to Reset

• Keep walking at a slow, steady pace with your energy calm + cool

• Allow 1–2 minutes of simple movement for decompression

• Keep your leash handling soft

• Reward calm behavior from your dog with very light praise and space, not treats or exciting behavior.

Signs Your Dog Has Reset

• Head drops

• Shoulders soften

• Breathing slows down

• Head turns away from the trigger and looks around less frantically

• Pace becomes steady and usually slower

• Tail lowers to neutral

🐕 Dog Psychology Note

Movement helps a dog recalibrate. Staying stuck next to a trigger without the decompression phase keeps them trapped in looping reactivity.

5. ADVOCACY: PROTECT YOUR DOG’S BUBBLE

A reactive dog isn’t ready for every greeting, every dog park, or every “oh hi no worries my dog is friendly!” stranger. Protecting your dog’s space is part of building trust. There might be situations where you have to ask yourself, “Do I want to build a foundation of trust with my dog…or do I want strangers to think I’m nice at my dog’s expense?”

What to Do

• Step between your dog and approaching strangers, creating an unspoken barrier

• Say, “No, thank you, we’re training right now,” and keep walking.

• Move away from chaotic or unstable dogs.

• Don’t let people or dogs invade your dog's space. Use spatial pressure to guide unwanted dogs or animals away from your dog or pack.

🐕 Dog Psychology Note:

A dog becomes less reactive when they know you’re proactively managing the environment for them.

CLOSING

Reactivity isn’t fixed in a single day, because it’s coded into survival patterns and long learned habits. However, reactivity changes rapidly as your dog begins to trust your leadership and relax into your direction. With calm energy, clear decisions, and new steady patterns, your dog learns that staying safe in the world doesn’t require their big emotional reactions.

Your calm guidance becomes their confidence, so that layer-by-layer, you can work together to remove the old and structure the new.