BH275 Reactive Integration

WEEK ONE — Identifying & Managing Triggers

This week focuses on understanding why each dog reacts and preventing rehearsal of unwanted behavior. Each dog type has different triggers and different management needs.
1. Identifying Triggers & Motivators/Drivers for the reaction
• Inside the Home • Outside the Home
Fearful Dogs: Often triggered by sudden movement, unfamiliar people, tight spaces, or unpredictable noise. Frustrated Dogs: Triggered by blocked access to people, dogs, or exciting stimuli. Forward Dogs: Triggered by motion, novelty, territorial cues, or high arousal social stimuli.
2. Managing Triggers
• Visual • Sound • Touch • Distance • Olfactory
Fearful: Increase distance, soften sensory load, reduce unpredictability. Frustrated: Manage access, reduce social pressure, prevent explosive approach. Forward: Control motion triggers, reduce intensity, create structured engagement.
3. Anti Anxiety Medicinal Help
• Supplements • Alternatives • Pharmaceuticals
Fearful: Often benefit most from medical support to reduce baseline anxiety. Frustrated: May benefit when frustration escalates into anxiety or arousal dysregulation. Forward: Medication rarely primary; may help dogs with chronic over arousal.
4. Management Techniques Training
• Emergency U Turn • Body Block • Side Switch • Transport • Muzzle
Fearful: Used to create safety and distance. Frustrated: Used to interrupt explosive approach and reset. Forward: Used to prevent rehearsing high arousal lunging or chasing.

WEEK TWO — Reducing Baseline Anxiety & Building Confidence

This week builds emotional stability and introduces reinforcement strategies tailored to each dog type.
1. Increase Mental Stimulation
• Decompression Walks • Foraging/Hunting • Food Toys
Fearful: Builds confidence and environmental comfort. Frustrated: Channels energy into productive outlets. Forward: Provides structured outlets for high arousal.
2. Fitness/Confidence
• Cavalettis • Baby Pool • Fit Paws • Obstacle Course • Food Puzzles
Fearful: Builds body confidence and reduces uncertainty. Frustrated: Provides controlled challenge without social triggers. Forward: Helps regulate arousal through structured movement.
3. Reinforcement Strategies
• Food Marker Cues • Toy Marker Cues • Premack Principle • Personal Play/Touch/Praise
Fearful: Use gentle, predictable reinforcement. Frustrated: Use access based reinforcement (Premack). Forward: Use movement based reinforcement to channel energy.

WEEK THREE — Predictability, Calmness & Cognitive Engagement

This week teaches dogs to think before reacting, engaging the prefrontal cortex.
1. Predictability/Impulse Control
• Food in Hand • Food in Bowl • Leash/Collar/Harness • Crate/Gate • Exiting Door
Fearful: Predictability reduces anxiety. Frustrated: Predictability reduces emotional volatility. Forward: Predictability prevents explosive anticipation.
2. Settle Introduction
Fearful: Builds safety and relaxation. Frustrated: Builds frustration tolerance. Forward: Builds arousal cycling and regulation.
3. Alternative Behaviors/Thinking
• Vito Game • Eye Contact • Marker Cue Loop • Hand Target • Chin Rest • Leash Pressure
Fearful: Builds confidence and agency. Frustrated: Provides structured access and clear expectations. Forward: Redirects approach behavior into thoughtful tasks.

WEEK FOUR — Desensitization, Counterconditioning & Pattern Games

This week integrates training skills into behavior modification.
1. Generalizing Marker Cue Loop
Fearful: Builds trust and predictability. Frustrated: Builds clarity around access. Forward: Builds structure during arousal spikes.
2. Teaching Pattern Games
• Up/Down • Left/Right • 1 2 3 • Super Bowls
Fearful: Stabilizes emotional state. Frustrated: Regulates anticipation and access. Forward: Channels energy into predictable movement.
3. Applying DS/CC Protocols
• Engage/Disengage • Marker Cue Loop • Pattern Games
Fearful: Reduce fear through gentle exposure. Frustrated: Reduce frustration by teaching controlled access. Forward: Reduce explosive arousal by teaching controlled engagement.
4. Settle — Stationary Marker Cue for CC
Fearful: Builds calmness around triggers. Frustrated: Builds patience. Forward: Builds regulation during high arousal moments.

WEEK FIVE — Expanding Skills & Customizing Plans

This week adds movement, complexity, and individualized training.
1. Differential Reinforcement — Alternative Behaviors
• Settle • Hand Target • Chin Rest • Custom Behaviors
Fearful: Reinforce calm, confident behaviors. Frustrated: Reinforce behaviors that delay access without meltdown. Forward: Reinforce behaviors that redirect approach energy.
2. Parallel Walking
• Add Cavalettis • Add Feeding Stations/Toys
Fearful: Builds comfort near triggers. Frustrated: Builds controlled social access. Forward: Builds structured movement to prevent lunging.
3. Circle Walking
• Leash Handling • Response to Leash Pressure
Fearful: Builds trust and predictability. Frustrated: Builds impulse control. Forward: Builds controlled engagement and arousal cycling.

WEEK SIX — Customized Training Plans & Real World Application

This week finalizes individualized plans based on dog type and specific triggers.
Fearful Dogs: Plans focus on safety, confidence, predictability, and gentle exposure.
Frustrated Dogs: Plans focus on impulse control, structured access, and frustration tolerance.
Forward Dogs: Plans focus on arousal regulation, redirected approach behavior, and structured engagement.
You’ll apply everything learned—marker cues, pattern games, DS/CC, alternative behaviors, and movement based strategies—to create a sustainable, real world plan tailored to your dog’s emotional profile.

FITNESS & CONFIDENCE BUILDING

Over the last 5 years or so, it seems that physical exercise has gotten a bad wrap! I’m not recommending heart pounding, tongue dragging, muscle fatiguing daily exercise, but it is beneficial for training and behavior modification to have a ‘fit’ dog. We aren’t going to focus on speed, quickness, and power, with advanced strengthening and endurance. But we do want to focus on primary strengthening that includes balance and stabilization, cardio, body awareness, and flexibility.

This is important since fitness will create lower cortisol and stress hormone levels; improved cardio which in turn improves circulation which distributes necessary hormones and nutrients. It also helps to eliminate waste that leads to aggression.

Knowing how to move and control your body can also help build confidence. Being confident can influence competitive performance and overall well-being. Allowing a dog to take risks by exploring novel environments and stimuli can help in the process of building confidence.

Cavalettis

Many dogs don’t realize that they even have a rear end! So, I often start with teaching the dog to simply lift their feet over a low bar. We can even add complexity to that by lifting just one end of the bar, or even putting them at different angles. PVC is your friend!!! Of course, be careful that you are NOT asking your dog to step too high.

Baby Pools

Not only can stepping into a baby pool full of water, balls, or bottles give the dog a novel experience, but if you add food into it, you can even influence the seeking system and initiate some problem solving! All great things to help build confidence and some dexterity.

Novel Obstacle Exploration

Not everyone has access to hiking trails, forests, fields, or safe places for their dog to explore. But there are plenty of things you can do to facilitate giving your dog the opportunity to investigate novel things. Although you can use food to encourage them, as in the puppy video below, many dogs are curious enough on their own to interact with novelty. Allowing your dog the ‘agency’ to explore and investigate novel stimuli allows them to have some level of control in their environment and be able to make choices on their own.

Search Puzzles

Another great way to give your dog the opportunity to explore and experience and conquer scary things is using search puzzles. You can set these up by letting your dog simply hunt for food, or by using a specific target odor.

Balance Equipment/Strengthening

There is a myriad of canine exercise equipment out there, but you can easily use things from around your house to give your dog novel experiences and even challenge their proprioception. Using bean bags, sofa cushions, step stools, tree stumps, broom sticks, cardboard boxes, plastic bags, etc. you can give your dog some footing challenges that can also improve their dexterity.

Cardio

Although we will be covering using toy play as reinforcement later in the class, there is something about some nice aerobic exercise to get your heart pumping and reap the benefits of cardiovascular conditioning. In fact, some dogs really NEED this type of activity to better cope with things in their world. Remember, the effect of the activity isn’t about the activity, it is about the effect! Using a good ole’ game of fetch, swimming, or even using a treadmill can get the heart pumping. Of course, you need to check with your veterinarian if you have any questions about your dog starting a fitness program. There are also other classes here at FDSA that can help you!