Shadow's reactivity log
- Thread starter snowbunny
- Start date
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
To be honest, Shadow was oblivious to the dog running up 
He was mooching and turned round and, oh! Dog! So he then approached the GR (about ten feet) and they had their sniff. He was stiff, but far less than he normally is. He does get on with a couple of GRs (one an older girl, and the other an entire male that just rolled his eyes when Shadow growled at him when they first met), so it may be that he sees it as a âsafeâ breed.
When we got back to the car, there was a couple with a BC and what looked like a bull cross, and I put Shadow on lead because I thought that was asking too much with two of them, especially with the collie. The other couple called up as we were coming down to ask if our dogs were male or female, too, so obviously at least one of theirs was a bit funny with other boys. Definitely safer to keep him back until they had loaded into the car. He squeaked a tiny bit, but the girls were all saying hi to them, and Willow had a grump snap at one, so he did really well, because heâd have found that really difficult to cope with a while back.
Once they were in their van, I let Shadow off the lead and he sat quietly and watched as they turned around and drove off. Again, previously he would have shown some âshaking offâ behaviour, like peeing or frantic sniffing, but he was really calm.
Bless him, growing up
He was mooching and turned round and, oh! Dog! So he then approached the GR (about ten feet) and they had their sniff. He was stiff, but far less than he normally is. He does get on with a couple of GRs (one an older girl, and the other an entire male that just rolled his eyes when Shadow growled at him when they first met), so it may be that he sees it as a âsafeâ breed.
When we got back to the car, there was a couple with a BC and what looked like a bull cross, and I put Shadow on lead because I thought that was asking too much with two of them, especially with the collie. The other couple called up as we were coming down to ask if our dogs were male or female, too, so obviously at least one of theirs was a bit funny with other boys. Definitely safer to keep him back until they had loaded into the car. He squeaked a tiny bit, but the girls were all saying hi to them, and Willow had a grump snap at one, so he did really well, because heâd have found that really difficult to cope with a while back.
Once they were in their van, I let Shadow off the lead and he sat quietly and watched as they turned around and drove off. Again, previously he would have shown some âshaking offâ behaviour, like peeing or frantic sniffing, but he was really calm.
Bless him, growing up
Sounds really good Fiona. Good boy Shadow! X
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
Today was a mixed bag. First thing, we met up with Rocky the Aussie in Andorra. Shadow first met Rocky in the winter when he (R) was a puppy. It went well, but he's now firmly into adolescence, with all the hormone stuff that entails. I wouldn't have risked it for a first-time meeting, but since they'd already met, I thought it would be good to see how they got on -with the necessary precautions, of course. So we started off walking along a way behind my friend and Rocky, letting Shadow smell all the smells and wee wherever the little upstart (Shadow's words ) had weed. After a little while, I was happy to let them meet, Shadow muzzled and on the long line. It was very undramatic, so Shadow was unclipped, the muzzle left on for a few minutes until it was clear there would be no bother, and then that was removed too. I popped it back on a little while later, when Rocky started to try to initiate play - Shadow isn't ready for this with him and got a bit growly. Nothing inappropriate on either side, but I knew I would be more relaxed with the muzzle on him, so that's what we did. I'm glad I did, because Shadow did snap a bit more forcefully one time - again, I think it was well within the range of perfectly appropriate, if a bit short-fused, but I didn't have to panic and just called him back to me, which he did wonderfully. I kept him with me for a bit, but later on, he was out of the muzzle again, and they just mooched round beautifully together.
Towards the end of the walk, however, we had a bit of a disaster. I saw a man with several brown dogs approaching, so I put Shadow on his lead and got the muzzle on him. I saw soon enough that the four dogs were Labradors, and they were running straight for us. I knew it would be horrible if Shadow was on lead - I could fend off one or two dogs, but there were four chocolate Labs bearing down on us, so I felt I had no choice but to let him off lead. Their body language was all perfectly normal, but Shadow was obviously intimidated as they crowded around him. My friend got to the owner to say that Shadow was nervous of other dogs, but he didn't do anything to help the situation. Luckily, three of the four were female. Shadow and the big boy had a bit of an awkward sniff (I found out later that the owner had said he can be a bit snarky) but they were OK. Two of the females were young, and very much like Luna - rolling on their backs to show they were no threat. But, still, four dogs was an awful lot. He growled a couple of times, and I tried to call him away, but he obviously felt he couldn't turn his back on them. I felt really helpless. The largest of the bitches kept trying to hump him, and that made him snap in the end. Again, him being muzzled made me feel better, as, although there was a lot of noise on both sides, I knew it was just noise. I barrelled in, as it was obvious they couldn't sort it out for themselves, and grabbed onto the two collars, then tried to keep them apart as I delivered the bitch to her owner. Sigh. I really don't know what I could have done differently; if I'd kept him on lead, they would have surrounded us and he'd have been at least as bad. But it was a very unpleasant experience.
We had a lovely chilled walk later on, just the two of us, but he was still obviously very much on edge and when we got back to Spain, Willow bumped him in her excitement to see me and he jumped on her, biting her lip and making a hole in it. It was nobody's fault but mine - I should have got him in quietly and greeted the others separately.
So I'm feeling a bit deflated after being happy with how he was with the awkward teenager.
) had weed. After a little while, I was happy to let them meet, Shadow muzzled and on the long line. It was very undramatic, so Shadow was unclipped, the muzzle left on for a few minutes until it was clear there would be no bother, and then that was removed too. I popped it back on a little while later, when Rocky started to try to initiate play - Shadow isn't ready for this with him and got a bit growly. Nothing inappropriate on either side, but I knew I would be more relaxed with the muzzle on him, so that's what we did. I'm glad I did, because Shadow did snap a bit more forcefully one time - again, I think it was well within the range of perfectly appropriate, if a bit short-fused, but I didn't have to panic and just called him back to me, which he did wonderfully. I kept him with me for a bit, but later on, he was out of the muzzle again, and they just mooched round beautifully together.Towards the end of the walk, however, we had a bit of a disaster. I saw a man with several brown dogs approaching, so I put Shadow on his lead and got the muzzle on him. I saw soon enough that the four dogs were Labradors, and they were running straight for us. I knew it would be horrible if Shadow was on lead - I could fend off one or two dogs, but there were four chocolate Labs bearing down on us, so I felt I had no choice but to let him off lead. Their body language was all perfectly normal, but Shadow was obviously intimidated as they crowded around him. My friend got to the owner to say that Shadow was nervous of other dogs, but he didn't do anything to help the situation. Luckily, three of the four were female. Shadow and the big boy had a bit of an awkward sniff (I found out later that the owner had said he can be a bit snarky) but they were OK. Two of the females were young, and very much like Luna - rolling on their backs to show they were no threat. But, still, four dogs was an awful lot. He growled a couple of times, and I tried to call him away, but he obviously felt he couldn't turn his back on them. I felt really helpless. The largest of the bitches kept trying to hump him, and that made him snap in the end. Again, him being muzzled made me feel better, as, although there was a lot of noise on both sides, I knew it was just noise. I barrelled in, as it was obvious they couldn't sort it out for themselves, and grabbed onto the two collars, then tried to keep them apart as I delivered the bitch to her owner. Sigh. I really don't know what I could have done differently; if I'd kept him on lead, they would have surrounded us and he'd have been at least as bad. But it was a very unpleasant experience.
We had a lovely chilled walk later on, just the two of us, but he was still obviously very much on edge and when we got back to Spain, Willow bumped him in her excitement to see me and he jumped on her, biting her lip and making a hole in it. It was nobody's fault but mine - I should have got him in quietly and greeted the others separately.
So I'm feeling a bit deflated after being happy with how he was with the awkward teenager.
- Location
- Vlaardingen, the Netherlands
Donât be too harsh on yourself! You were taken by surprise and acted spontaneously. You didnât foresee the situation and yes, afterwards you know what you best could have done! This is what I come across daily....A lot of encounters with multiple dogs in one go. Finn is also reactive, but I found out that if I walk away from this Finn will follow immediately! So that is what i do in this situation....
Thereâs nothing more you could have done. Four dogs âmuggingâ Shadow is overwhelming, so itâs lucky he was off his lead. I try to leave Wispa off lead when we meet other dogs, unless theyâre on their leads, as sheâs generally more relaxed that way. As @Anne123 does, I walk on quickly and call her if sheâs unsettled. So much depends on the owner of the other dog(s) too.
I hope Shadowâs more settled today.
I hope Shadowâs more settled today.
- Location
- Malvern Worcestershire
Don't feel deflated as Shadow has been doing very well and would you have stood patiently if someone tried to hump you? He was perfectly entitled to tell them to 'clear off'. Just sad that he redirected his frustration on Willow, but it is all dog language and we must understand they are different.
- Location
- Argyll & Bute, Scotland
You had a good start with Rocky but honestly I don't know what I would have done had I been in that situation with four dogs with Charlie. I think you did all you could and it's easy to beat ourselves up after the event. The other owner didn't help you as he knew one of his dogs was 'snarky'. Had he cooperated things would have been different for you and Shadow. We make decisions on the spot rightly or wrongly but we learn as we deal with these difficult scenarios. xx
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
Thanks all. I still don't think there was anything else I could have done - we didn't have the distance to move away, they were going to engage one way or the other. I could just let it be as natural as possible, and look for an opening to get him out. It was just one of those unfortunate incidents that I wouldn't want to happen, but is sometimes unavoidable.
- Location
- Close to Devon/Somerset border
It's a horrible situation and a shame the other owner couldn't have been more thoughtful, having been told your dog would have a problem.
I do agree though, I don't see there was anything more you could have done.
I do agree though, I don't see there was anything more you could have done.
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
I don't blame the other owner, as much as it wasn't absolutely ideal, he was letting the dogs behave in a natural way, which is more than most do here. He did take his male and put him on a lead after he and Shadow had met, but it was actually the older bitch who was the bigger problem. Who is to say that the boy wouldn't have escalated, though, and the owner was doing the best thing he could for his own pack in that moment? I'm sure it was as unfortunate a situation for him as it was for us!
- Location
- Close to Devon/Somerset border
You're very fair minded @snowbunny and see the wider picture which I guess is the best thing. I don't think I'd be quite so understanding or wise if I was in that situation.
I do get exasperated with others walking with 2 or more dogs if I put Molly on the lead, they do nothing to prevent their dogs roaring up to her. She becomes particularly anxious if, when this happens, one dog goes to her face on and the other comes up behind her and this has happened a few times. I let her off the lead, simply so she can protect herself - still peeves me though.
I do get exasperated with others walking with 2 or more dogs if I put Molly on the lead, they do nothing to prevent their dogs roaring up to her. She becomes particularly anxious if, when this happens, one dog goes to her face on and the other comes up behind her and this has happened a few times. I let her off the lead, simply so she can protect herself - still peeves me though.
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
Yesterday morning, I had a session with a local dog trainer here. I know our methods don't exactly mesh, and I was a bit concerned that would cause conflict, but decided that the potential benefits outweighed the risks, so I put my big-girl pants on and off we went. I had described in detail beforehand what I wanted to do, and when I got there, we talked over which of her dogs would be most appropriate. We settled on Katie, a lovely boxer. She has a much more "trained" male Mali, but my concern there was that he wouldn't display natural body language, and that wouldn't help Shadow's learning. Katie came with her own worries, because the only female dog he has ever had a go at was a boxer, so it was a case of "suck it and see". To be fair to Shadow, that time with the other boxer was when he was in deep snow, trying to dig his ball, and she ran into him. It's possible she startled him, or tweaked a muscle in the snow... so although his reaction was OTT, I am pretty sure it didn't come about because she was a boxer.
The plan was to recreate what I'd done with Rocky previously; have Shadow muzzled and on a long line, and just go for a walk, once settled, allowing brief greetings and see if we can progress to him being let off the line. Meanwhile, Katie was on a lead to start off with, because her owner thought the likelihood was that she would want to come over and play otherwise. The most useful thing about having a trainer in this situation is that she can accurately predict how her dog will behave, can read body language better than most, and can also take direction better!
Just a quick note here: I know that the advice is to only ever use a long line with a harness, for safety. I fully agree with that advice, and would give the same to others. However, I chose to attach it to his collar, firstly because the harness would add additional stress which I didn't want (he already had enough with the environment) and also I'm adept at keeping the line "attached" at all time, so it never gets loose enough to trail on the floor. This means it cannot get tangled around a leg, cannot cause any jerking to the neck above what a normal lead would, and so brings no greater risk. But I still wouldn't advise other people do it because I'd feel horrible if someone copied and did cause an injury by doing so.
Also note, I've removed the sound from the video, so that I can watch the body language of the dogs without being influenced by what we were saying at the time.
We set out, and it was a struggle for the very first part, as we had to walk past a series of outdoor dog runs, with the dogs up by the fence. Some were calm, others were barking and running back and forth. You can see that, at the start, Shadow's hackles are up and he's distinctly uncomfortable. The long line, however, allows him to behave pretty naturally (although he is aware he's wearing it), rather than being forced into a restricted walk next to me.
You can see that Katie is playful and wants to engage with him, but Shadow is very pointedly ignoring her! After just over four minutes, (of real time, the footers throughout the video are the "real" time stamps), I walked close enough for them to meet, and then we break it off almost immediately. Over the next couple of minutes, we let them do the same a couple more times, but we always break it off very quickly. At around 7 minutes, after he's sniffed her bum a couple of times, he's comfortable enough to walk past her so she's behind him - a big deal for him. Although, it's interesting to note (2:40ish on the video) how he demonstrates avoidance by taking as wide a path as possible.
By seven and a half minutes in, we're both happy enough that he's OK to come off lead, although Katie stayed on lead at this point, so he could manage his own space. He's quite happy to move into Katie's space to share a sniff without any issues at all. Nice, comfortable, stress-free interactions. When he goes in to sniff, again we break it up quickly, N keeps Katie moving and I give Shadow lots of encouragement and praise. By the 13 minute mark, Katie is off-lead, and they are mooching about together naturally. There is very little interaction, but one time Shadow went in for a sniff (4:13ish on this video) and Katie broke off with a bow and that was it. I actually think that was a brilliant little interaction - both dogs unsupported/unimpeded by handlers, Katie wasn't sure about the sniff, so she dealt with it in a lovely "fool around" (remember, "fight, flight, freeze, fool around" - Shadow freezes as usual); Shadow considered this, then decided it was nothing to worry about.
At 4:37 (video time), Shadow came over for some loving, and then Katie came in to see what was going on. Shadow took offence to this - interestingly, under normal circumstances he doesn't resource guard food or balls, or us, but in this situation, he wasn't happy with her being there in that moment. But you can see there was nothing horrible, and watching it back, you can just see a bit of tension in his body. He did growl, but I consider that to be appropriate to vocalise his unease. I mean, this is only about 18 minutes after he met her for the first time, pretty good going I reckon! As you can see, immediately afterwards everything was forgotten, and he was happy to trot alongside her again.
28 minutes in to the walk, I removed his muzzle, and they continued on just bimbling around together and separately, sharing smells, nothing to report. I think this is just brilliant, and shows why this tactic is really worthwhile for him. We've taken the stress of meeting out of the situation by taking it slowly, having repeated very short greets that don't have the chance to escalate, time between to settle back down, and then, crucially, not including anything that either dog feels they need to guard against. I didn't feed Shadow at all during this walk, and didn't use a ball. He had nothing to guard, nothing to overshadow the experience. Just a carefully orchestrated introduction and then a natural walk.
There was one other instance of escalation from neutral, and that was at 6:15 in the video. Unfortunately, it was off screen so you can't see the actual event. At this point, neither dog is leashed or muzzled. Shadow is walking alongside me and, as you can see, Katie approaches and gets between me and him. Shadow bared his teeth, no vocalisation. Actually, if you pause at 6:17, you can see it. But, I just give my little clap and, "let's go!" and he's instantly broken off and trotted away, followed by a lovely little shake-off.
The end is less good, but I've left it in and will try to take the positives out of it! I hadn't realised we were back at the dog runs - I have an appalling sense of direction! At 6:37 on the video, Shadow suddenly notices the dogs, and runs to engage. This is his normal threat assessment behaviour. He didn't come back to me calling, which I wasn't really surprised by but, hey, you gotta try, right? His body language was stiff, but the positive is that there was absolutely no vocalisation, no fence-fighting. He moved from one dog to the next, rather than fixating on the first one. Then I collected him and put him on lead!
(I don't expect anyone to watch the video - it's 7 minutes long! - but I'm leaving it here for posterity and as a reference for anyone else who struggles with meeting new dogs)
Over all, I don't think it could have gone much better, and I have a plan for our next session (Sunday).
The plan was to recreate what I'd done with Rocky previously; have Shadow muzzled and on a long line, and just go for a walk, once settled, allowing brief greetings and see if we can progress to him being let off the line. Meanwhile, Katie was on a lead to start off with, because her owner thought the likelihood was that she would want to come over and play otherwise. The most useful thing about having a trainer in this situation is that she can accurately predict how her dog will behave, can read body language better than most, and can also take direction better!
Just a quick note here: I know that the advice is to only ever use a long line with a harness, for safety. I fully agree with that advice, and would give the same to others. However, I chose to attach it to his collar, firstly because the harness would add additional stress which I didn't want (he already had enough with the environment) and also I'm adept at keeping the line "attached" at all time, so it never gets loose enough to trail on the floor. This means it cannot get tangled around a leg, cannot cause any jerking to the neck above what a normal lead would, and so brings no greater risk. But I still wouldn't advise other people do it because I'd feel horrible if someone copied and did cause an injury by doing so.
Also note, I've removed the sound from the video, so that I can watch the body language of the dogs without being influenced by what we were saying at the time.
We set out, and it was a struggle for the very first part, as we had to walk past a series of outdoor dog runs, with the dogs up by the fence. Some were calm, others were barking and running back and forth. You can see that, at the start, Shadow's hackles are up and he's distinctly uncomfortable. The long line, however, allows him to behave pretty naturally (although he is aware he's wearing it), rather than being forced into a restricted walk next to me.
You can see that Katie is playful and wants to engage with him, but Shadow is very pointedly ignoring her! After just over four minutes, (of real time, the footers throughout the video are the "real" time stamps), I walked close enough for them to meet, and then we break it off almost immediately. Over the next couple of minutes, we let them do the same a couple more times, but we always break it off very quickly. At around 7 minutes, after he's sniffed her bum a couple of times, he's comfortable enough to walk past her so she's behind him - a big deal for him. Although, it's interesting to note (2:40ish on the video) how he demonstrates avoidance by taking as wide a path as possible.
By seven and a half minutes in, we're both happy enough that he's OK to come off lead, although Katie stayed on lead at this point, so he could manage his own space. He's quite happy to move into Katie's space to share a sniff without any issues at all. Nice, comfortable, stress-free interactions. When he goes in to sniff, again we break it up quickly, N keeps Katie moving and I give Shadow lots of encouragement and praise. By the 13 minute mark, Katie is off-lead, and they are mooching about together naturally. There is very little interaction, but one time Shadow went in for a sniff (4:13ish on this video) and Katie broke off with a bow and that was it. I actually think that was a brilliant little interaction - both dogs unsupported/unimpeded by handlers, Katie wasn't sure about the sniff, so she dealt with it in a lovely "fool around" (remember, "fight, flight, freeze, fool around" - Shadow freezes as usual); Shadow considered this, then decided it was nothing to worry about.
At 4:37 (video time), Shadow came over for some loving, and then Katie came in to see what was going on. Shadow took offence to this - interestingly, under normal circumstances he doesn't resource guard food or balls, or us, but in this situation, he wasn't happy with her being there in that moment. But you can see there was nothing horrible, and watching it back, you can just see a bit of tension in his body. He did growl, but I consider that to be appropriate to vocalise his unease. I mean, this is only about 18 minutes after he met her for the first time, pretty good going I reckon! As you can see, immediately afterwards everything was forgotten, and he was happy to trot alongside her again.
28 minutes in to the walk, I removed his muzzle, and they continued on just bimbling around together and separately, sharing smells, nothing to report. I think this is just brilliant, and shows why this tactic is really worthwhile for him. We've taken the stress of meeting out of the situation by taking it slowly, having repeated very short greets that don't have the chance to escalate, time between to settle back down, and then, crucially, not including anything that either dog feels they need to guard against. I didn't feed Shadow at all during this walk, and didn't use a ball. He had nothing to guard, nothing to overshadow the experience. Just a carefully orchestrated introduction and then a natural walk.
There was one other instance of escalation from neutral, and that was at 6:15 in the video. Unfortunately, it was off screen so you can't see the actual event. At this point, neither dog is leashed or muzzled. Shadow is walking alongside me and, as you can see, Katie approaches and gets between me and him. Shadow bared his teeth, no vocalisation. Actually, if you pause at 6:17, you can see it. But, I just give my little clap and, "let's go!" and he's instantly broken off and trotted away, followed by a lovely little shake-off.
The end is less good, but I've left it in and will try to take the positives out of it! I hadn't realised we were back at the dog runs - I have an appalling sense of direction! At 6:37 on the video, Shadow suddenly notices the dogs, and runs to engage. This is his normal threat assessment behaviour. He didn't come back to me calling, which I wasn't really surprised by but, hey, you gotta try, right? His body language was stiff, but the positive is that there was absolutely no vocalisation, no fence-fighting. He moved from one dog to the next, rather than fixating on the first one. Then I collected him and put him on lead!
(I don't expect anyone to watch the video - it's 7 minutes long! - but I'm leaving it here for posterity and as a reference for anyone else who struggles with meeting new dogs)
Over all, I don't think it could have gone much better, and I have a plan for our next session (Sunday).
- Location
- Argyll & Bute, Scotland
I watched it all and must say I would have lost my nerve a few times but you just keep your cool. Shadow did so well for what was quite a long walk under those circumstances with a dog he doesn't know. I also do the very quick sniff and break so glad I'm doing that correctly. Well done Fiona and Shadow and hope Sunday goes just as well. Look forward to your write up. xx
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
For anyone who is interested, my more formal notes are attached.
I skipped through that Fiona and was very impressed with what I saw. Obviously he is nervous to start with and has his hackles raised, but by minute 2 of the video he is looking so much more relaxed. How great that you were able to take his muzzle off and they could walk happily together. I wouldnt worry at all about the end, he did great just standing at the fence with no barking. Obviously it would have been better if he'd come back to you... but hey the temptation was really strong! Good work, you must be very pleased.
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
For sure. One of my long-term goals with him is to look (and come) to me in that sort of situation, rather than feeling he has to investigate. Iâm going to work on whiplash turns from them, which wonât help therapeutically but will give him an alternative behaviour which fulfils the same function - which is creating distance (perversely, even though he is running up).
Thank you so much for sharing this. Apart from the fact that Shadow could be Cupar, it's good to see another dog who's further on and it gives me such hope for Cupars future in where I can walk him.
I still think you are braver than me but I can see having the muzzle on Shadow is less stressful to you and it must pass to the dog.
I need to look into getting a muzzle, I never bought one as I was managing the reactiveness by avoiding other dogs. Not good for any of us.
Now we are making some progress and by seeing this video, I know it's possible for Cupar to be around new dogs.
The harness issue with Shadow is another similarity with Cupar, one of your previous posts I think you mentioned the harness had me thinking about Cupars behaviour when he sees it come out and after it goes on and during our walks, I brought out the dogmatic,(( I know they're not dog friendly but I need to know my dogs not going to slip his collar and run on the road or start a fight with another dog) I have been using it with a double lead, one part attached to his collar and the other attached to the dogmatic. I have become an expert at using the collar attachment and only using the dogmatic lead when seeing another dog. It could be coincidence but we I have seen big improvements this year since walking him this way.
I can't thank you enough for taking the time to share this and well done for what you have achieved, I do understand how much effort goes into helping a reactive dog and that was brilliant to see. I would have had a party if I get that far.
I still think you are braver than me but I can see having the muzzle on Shadow is less stressful to you and it must pass to the dog.
I need to look into getting a muzzle, I never bought one as I was managing the reactiveness by avoiding other dogs. Not good for any of us.
Now we are making some progress and by seeing this video, I know it's possible for Cupar to be around new dogs.
The harness issue with Shadow is another similarity with Cupar, one of your previous posts I think you mentioned the harness had me thinking about Cupars behaviour when he sees it come out and after it goes on and during our walks, I brought out the dogmatic,(( I know they're not dog friendly but I need to know my dogs not going to slip his collar and run on the road or start a fight with another dog) I have been using it with a double lead, one part attached to his collar and the other attached to the dogmatic. I have become an expert at using the collar attachment and only using the dogmatic lead when seeing another dog. It could be coincidence but we I have seen big improvements this year since walking him this way.
I can't thank you enough for taking the time to share this and well done for what you have achieved, I do understand how much effort goes into helping a reactive dog and that was brilliant to see. I would have had a party if I get that far.