12 Tips & Tricks for Positively Training Your Fearful Reactive Dog

Positive training is the humane, science-based approach to training dogs I use with clients and recommend to everyone. Positive training rewards wanted dog behavior and ignores or redirects unwanted behavior. This encourages your dog to repeat the desirable (i.e. rewarded) behaviors and abandon the unwanted ones.

Here are twelve positive training tips you can start using with your dog today.

1. Use High-Value Rewards

Dogs are more motivated to learn when they receive high-value treats or rewards. It helps to think of treats as your dog’s money. If you ask them to do a $50 “job” like coming when called you can’t get away with paying them a $1 value piece of kibble. The harder the request you make of your dog, the better the treat should be. Find what your dog loves the most, whether it's a specific treat, toy or praise, & use it to reinforce good behavior.

2. Keep Practice Sessions Short & Fun

Dogs, especially puppies or adults who’ve never experienced training before, have short attention spans. Keep training sessions brief (5-10 minutes) & fun to maintain their interest & prevent frustration. If you or your dog gets frustrated, ask them for an easy win - like sit - then take a break. Training should always feel like a game. You can have several short training sessions throughout the day if you want your dog to advance quicker.

3. Be Clear & Consistent with Cues

Cues are the requests you make of your dog. Some people call them "commands." I prefer "cues" because rather than think of it as bossing your dog around, think of the things you ask them to do as requests in the same way they request a treat by offering a behavior. It's a subtle difference but can have a big impact on your relationship with your dog.

Use clear, consistent cue words & gestures for each behavior you teach your dog. Ensure anyone working with your dog uses the same cue words as well. Your dog will get confused if you use "off" when asking them to leave the couch but your partner uses "down" instead. Consistency helps  reduce confusion/frustration & increases your dog’s ability to understand what you want, learn faster & retain that learning longer.

4. Practice in Different Environments

To your dog, coming when called in the living room is very different from coming when called in the yard where there are far more distractions. Help your dog generalize behaviors by practicing what you teach them in a variety of settings & situations. Always start in a quiet, familiar place & gradually introduce more distance and distractions as your dog becomes more proficient.

5. Use Positive Interruption Techniques

If your dog is exhibiting unwanted behavior, redirect their attention with a positive interruption, such as a cheerful “Look!” or “Touch!” cue, followed by a reward rather than tell them “no” or “stop” which is harder for them to understand. That said, don’t beat yourself up if you say “no” out of habit. Your tone of voice is more important than the word you use.

6. Never Punish

Avoid using punishment at all costs because it's been proven to increase canine fear & anxiety, making training less effective & negatively impacting your bond with your dog. Instead, focus on rewarding good behavior & ignoring or redirecting unwanted behavior.

7. Use a Marker Word (“Yes!”) or Clicker

A marker is simply a consistent sound that lets your dog know they’ve correctly done as you’ve asked & their reward is imminent. You can use a clicker for a marker if you prefer. The pro of using a clicker is the sound is always the same. The con is that it can feel cumbersome trying to wrangle a clicker on top of poop bags, treats & your dog’s leash. Plus, some sensitive dogs can be frightened by the sound of the clicker. 

If you prefer not to use a clicker, you can use a vocal marker such as “yes,” “good” or by clicking your tongue. The pros of a vocal marker are that it won’t scare your dog, there is nothing to carry (& you can’t forget it at home) with the con being that you may not always be consistent with the marker sound you use.

I use a vocal marker to train my own and most client dogs in case that’s helpful information for you.

8. Provide Daily Enrichment

Enrichment is super important for your dog’s mental, emotional & intellectual well-being & consists of puzzle toys, scent games, interactive play & much more. My favorite dog enrichment expert is Tori Mistick of Wear Wag Repeat. Tori is my go to source for the best dog enrichment you can find.

9. Stay Patient & Positive

Dog training is education. Think about your own education. Learning takes time & progress seldom goes in a straight line. Effective communication is an important aspect of education. Once your dog learns the basics of a behavior, your focus can switch from learning the mechanics of a behaviors to proofing it (aka improving through practice until your dog is able to perform the task on cue in a variety of situations). Success will come from having patience, staying consistent, maintaining a positive attitude, taking breaks when necessary & celebrating all your wins along the way - both big and small!

10. Reinforce Good Behavior Randomly

Once your dog is able to reliably perform a learned behavior, switch from always rewarding the behavior to randomly reinforcing it. This keeps your dog motivated & maintains the behavior in the long run. Note that you must reinforce in a truly random sequence as your dog is capable of figuring out if you’ve decided to reward them every third time for example & it will affect their behavior. Yup! They're that smart!)

11. Watch Your Dog’s Body Language

Pay attention to your dog’s body language to gauge their comfort & stress levels. Adjust your training approach if your dog appears anxious or overwhelmed. The more you learn about dog body language, the easier it will be to train your dog and the better you will be able to support them when they feel stress.

12. Teach Self-Control (aka Impulse Control)

Incorporate fun exercises into your dog’s routine that promote thinking and self-control. Such activities help your dog learn to manage their impulses. Get started easily by having your dog wait an extra second or two before receiving a treat.

Incorporating the above tips & tricks into your dog training practices helps ensure a positive & effective training experience for both you & your dog. Happy training!

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