A dog’s ability to react to stimuli is what makes them such amazing partners for humans, capable of detecting explosives, illegal foods/drugs, medical emergencies, or to guard against intruders. However, sometimes, certain reactions can be perceived as inappropriate in a human context. For example: a dog barking and lunging at an unknown dog or a human walking down a public street. In this case, the reaction of the dog will be perceived as negative for that context and needs to be modified in order for the dog to ignore this stimuli when out on walks. This will in turn increase everyone’s quality of life and lead to a more peaceful and enjoyable walk.

The 3D technique is a great basis to start modifying your dog’s reaction to the stimuli and to reduce or even extinguish your dog’s reaction over time.

How to do the 3D technique

1) Identify the triggers of the reaction: what sight, smell or sound is the trigger that makes the dog react? Example: a dog hears the doorbell and runs to the door to bark. In this case, the trigger is the sound of the doorbell.

2) Find the signs that are precursors to the trigger - Find the subtle signs in your dog’s body language and/or vocalisation that comes before a full on reaction. Example: Your dog pricks up their ears and gives a little pre-bark by silently opening and closing their mouth when another dog approaches.

Now that you have established what the trigger is and its precursors, you can start working on your 3D technique.

3) Establish a base where you are able to maintain focus in the presence of the trigger and use this base to build up your 3D. Focus simply means that you are able to get your dog’s attention on you by distracting them with a toy, food or commands.

3D: Distance, Duration, Distractions

Distance: How far from the trigger does the dog have to be for there to be a reaction? To test this, start with your dog close to you and a long distance away from the trigger and ask your dog to look at you. If they do, reward and see whether you can reduce the distance to the trigger OR add distance between you and your dog and repeat the process. If you dog reacts, go back a step or two.

Duration: How long can you maintain the dog's focus with the trigger present? To test this, ask your dog to look at you. How long can they keep their focus on you? Start with 5 seconds and reward. Build on this by increasing the time if your dog is achieving success, or decreasing the time if they start getting distracted by the trigger. You can also flip this and allow your dog to be in the presence of the trigger for 5 seconds and then reward it for not reacting to its presence.

Distractions: What is your dog distracted by and distracted with? Find your dog’s currency. Is it squeaky toys, sausages or just a "good boy?" What makes your dog focused on you? If your dog is distracted by other animals, other dogs or people, try to go to an environment where these distractions are less likely to occur so you can keep your dog’s focus on you.

By using the 3D technique, you will gradually be able to get closer and closer to the trigger without your dog reacting.

Set up for success by using food, toys, games, obedience, nose work, agility: whatever gets you focus from your dog! There are multiple studies that show that dogs learn things faster and retain them better if they had fun with their handler. Positive reinforcement is the best way to get a positive association between a stimulus and the reaction you want to achieve. A "good dog” goes a long way. Just like you can tell when someone is being sincere, so can dogs. The more you allow yourself to express how pleased you are that your dog is focusing on you rather than the trigger, the more your dog will learn that this is the appropriate response to the stimulus.

Learn each other’s language. Observe your dog’s body language and learn how to speak dog by observing what their mouth, ears, eyes, body and tail are telling you and others. Teach your dog English by teaching them the cues to “Look”, “Find it”, “Watch me”, “Sit”, “Stay”, “Down” or an Emergency Recall word, and whatever else can distract your dog and increase their focus. Speak to a dog trainer to learn how to train your dog different commands or a behaviourist to learn what their body language means.

We all have good days and bad days and we all make mistakes. Give yourself and your dog some slack if they do have a reaction. Simply re-evaluate your 3Ds: Give yourselves more Distance, lower the Duration or give out more valuable Distractions. Observe which of the 3Ds helps your dog the most. A key thing to note is that stress can stay in the body for up to 48 hours so if your dog was triggered recently, you may want to preemptively make it easier for your dog to succeed by adjusting your 3Ds in the following days.

Be an advocate for your dog. If you think that someone or another dog is getting too close and you think your dog might react, you are well within your rights to ask the person or the owner to give you more space and/or to recall their dog. Tell the person that you are training your dog, tell them how they can help you and warn them that your dog might react and that you have your dog under control. If it’s a dog approaching you with no owner in sight, stand tall, frown, make yourself big by holding your arm out and yell at the dog to “GO AWAY!”. This normally stops a dog from approaching and attracts the attention of the owner or other people who can then control the other dog. You can also throw treats away from yourself in the direction of the approaching dog to distract them and give yourself time to get away.

Bonus tips:

Once you establish your 3Ds, teach your dog to make the right decision by giving them a chance to see, smell or hear the trigger and make the decision to look at you themselves rather than you giving them a cue to focus on you.

If the trigger is other humans or dogs, enlist your friends and family to help you control the 3Ds. Tell them exactly how far to stand or walk, offer distractions with toys, their own dog, movement or wearing particular items of clothing that might trigger your dog. By being able to control these, it will help you achieve consistent success.

If the trigger is sound, record the sound on your phone or computer. This way, it gives you control over when the sound occurs and at what volume so you can be ready to distract and get focus from your dog.

Long training leads are an excellent tool to start working on longer distances while still keeping your dog under control. When using a long training lead, always attach it to a well fitted harness as this will distribute the force throughout their torso rather than their neck, in the case of your dog bolting.

Stay safe! Always keep a reactive dog on lead and under control. If you think your dog might react with aggression to a situation, seek the help of a behaviourist so that they can give you the tools to keep you and others safe.

Social distancing rules gives reactive dog owners a great opportunity to start implementing the 3D technique. Happy training

Credit:

Edith "Edee" Nackers

www.walkwagplay.co.uk

3D Technique for Reactive Dogs