Every dog parent wants their pup to get on well with other people, be they friends and family members or people you meet out and about. However, some dogs can be reactive toward strangers.
Something we often do, when it comes to dogs who aren’t quite sure about new people, is let them approach our dogs and feed them some of the best dog treats or try to pet them – the logic being that the dogs will get used to them.
However, this isn’t the right way to go about things, and won’t solve the problem. Carolyn Martell, a professional dog trainer and the founder of Good Dog Training, has explained why, and what we should do instead, in a new Instagram post.
“A common idea is to teach a stranger-reactive dog that strangers are good by having strangers feed the dog treats,” Martell begins. “This makes a lot of sense to us – it teaches our dog to not worry about new people, right? New people equal treats, right? Well, that’s probably not how your dog sees it.”
She explains that your dog will have given signals that they’d rather be left alone, moving away, staring, or tensing up. But then, those signals are ignored as a stranger reaches for them.
And, if your dog has asked nicely to have some space, but their request has been ignored, they may escalate. A dog whose signals have been ignored may bark, lunge, growl, snap, or even bite – understanding aggression in dogs can be really useful for any dog parent.
“What most stranger-reactive dogs want is space. To be left alone. To feel safe,” says Martell. “When you encourage strangers to approach to say hi or hand them a treat, you’re actually doing the opposite. They feel unsafe, trapped, and they don’t know how to react. This often leads to that reactive outburst.”
The more this happens, the more worried your dog can become, and they might proactively communicate this way before a stranger even approaches, barking or growling at passersby.
Instead, Martell recommends simply asking for your dog's attention. When they notice a stranger, give them a treat yourself. Respect their need for space, moving away from others if you need to, and advocate for them if someone wants to say hello. Start slowly, helping your dog feel safe, and build from there.
Once your dog has got these foundations down, you can begin to move on to actually interacting with strangers.
If you’d like more advice on dealing with a reactive dog, you might find the following article useful, too: Owning a reactive dog is hard. Here's how I navigated the social challenges with my pooch.
