It's the season for going out for walks and it's the time of year when people realize that their dog is not the best at being out in public on leash. Either the amount of foot traffic has increased with the good weather, or the dog is overstimulated by the sights and smells of spring. In any case, the dogs are "on fire" and they are more reactive than usual.
It might be time for a group class to address on-leash reactivity. Our Advanced Meet & Greet is our most popular class geared towards helping people become much better dog handlers. It's important to understand why dogs become reactive and how to get them to be less reactive. Our AMG class focuses on desensitizing and counter-conditioning the dogs to the things that cause them to react. Some of the dogs in the class are reactive to other dogs, some to strange or novel people and others to random moving things like skateboards, bikes, motorcycles and the like.
In each case, we help the dog become less reactive to these things (desensitized) and feel better about them if they are scared or overstimulated (counter-conditioned). It's a wonderful class and the people who graduate from it have a whole new "leash" on life with their dogs. Pun intended!