5 Tips for Hiking with a Reactive Dog
© 2023 by Clair
Set your reactive dog up for success-this is something I have heard a lot, and it’s really true. At the beginning of Linus joining our family, I wanted to immediately hike with him. Why else would we adopt a dog if not to have a hiking buddy? But after repeated encounters with off leash dogs sometimes charging us, and Linus reacting by lunging and barking at them, we took a step or maybe 10 steps back and worked on the basics. Reactivity in dogs can be hard to work through, but I am learning that reactivity or getting overly excited in various situations is quite common. 75% of people with dogs report that their furry companions have some level of reactivity. Helping Linus be able to hike, go on adventures, and be more calm has led me to do much research, and these are some of the things that have helped Linus.
Practice-We worked with an awesome trainer who taught us some amazing skills to keep Linus more in tune with us instead of worrying about his environment and surroundings. Skills such as leash work-turning into him, moving him from one side to the other, keeping him behind us, turning away from him and having him follow, fading back and encouraging him to come back to us using body language. And yes work-if he sees the trigger then chooses to look at us instead of reacting, use the marker word “yes” and then give a treat. We practiced walking in leashed areas where we saw dogs but at a distance, like neighborhood walks, parks with open spaces, paved on-leash trails, and structured pack walks.
Space-After some practice, we were ready to try hiking again. We go early in the morning as less people are out, and we look for trails that are wide open. We like trails with good visibility to see who’s coming our way and space to easily pass other dogs. The more prepared I am, the less Linus has to worry.
Advocate-Speak up and ask people to please call their off leash dogs back. Sometimes this can be awkward especially if they have their ear buds in or can’t actually recall their dog. And it can be discouraging when an off leash dog rushes up to us. But before Linus, I also had no idea about reactivity. Having a dog with these intense reactions has forced me to learn more about dogs than I ever expected!
Be Confident-Linus feeds off our energy. So the more confident and relaxed we feel out hiking on the trails, the better Linus feels and responds. And we build confidence by practicing and working on our relationship with daily neighborhood walks, hikes, and bike rides.
Get Away-We live in the Bay Area so it’s not always easy to find uncrowded wide open areas to hike, so when we are able, we rent a Sniffspot or reserve a dog friendly Hipcamp. These spaces are private and give Linus and Luna a chance to run, explore, swim, sniff, and be completely fulfilled mentally and physically. And it’s fun and relaxing for the people too!
Other Tips-I like to have my hands mostly free when we’re hiking so I made an apron-my HIKING APRON! It has lots of pockets for treats and even a pocket to carry poop. Having the leash around his nose in a figure 8 makes also helps to guide his head when needed to avoid any face to face contact.
Homemade “hiking” apron. Let us know if you need one.
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