Why Distraction and Confidence Building Are Key to Helping Your Reactive Dog

If you’ve spent any time researching how to help a reactive dog, you’ve probably seen trainers say “don’t distract your dog.” They insist that you should only teach your dog the new behavior you want, not redirect them away from the trigger.

I strongly disagree.

Here’s why: even though distraction isn’t teaching—it’s often necessary in the moment. You can’t teach an overwhelmed brain. If your dog is already barking, lunging, and over threshold, any attempts to teach them a new behavior - or even get their attention - will be fruitless. Think about it like this: if you’re in the middle of having a panic attack and someone offers you a cookie to do a task, what’s the likelihood you’ll be successful? The answer is zero percent likelihood. It’s the same for your dog. Asking them to sit while offering a treat while they are barking and lunging is only going to end in frustration for you and no change in your dog’s behavior. In high stress situations, distraction is a tool to get your dog out of the red zone and back to a place where they can focus and learn.

If your dog is too stressed to think, the first step isn’t to train them, it’s to help them feel safe again. That’s where distraction (paired with distance) comes in. Once stress levels are down, you can start teaching.

Distraction as a Tactic, Confidence Building as a Cure

One of my favorite Google reviews captures this perfectly:

"Ruth emphasized distraction as a tactic, but confidence building as a cure. It's something I hadn't seen in many online resources and it was pivotal. Gigi's reactivity stemmed from anxiety and understanding her helped us to help her."

I loved working with Gigi and her people. Gigi was a reactive rescue—anxious, barking, and lunging at dogs on walks. Her family had tried other online training advice, but nothing worked because it didn’t address Gigi’s underlying anxiety.

We prioritized avoiding triggers and I taught them how to successfully distract Gigi in situations where she was unlikely to succeed. This gave Gigi time to decompress and reduce her stress levels so the real transformation could happen through our confidence-building work. Confidence building includes teaching new skills in a safe, low-pressure way, celebrating every small win and allowing plenty of opportunities for Gigi to feel good about herself. Over time, her stress lowered, her reactivity faded and her world got bigger.

The Right First Step in Reactive Dog Training

If you’ve got a reactive dog, don’t start by trying to change the barking and lunging directly. That’s like trying to rebuild a house while the fire is still burning.

Instead, start by:

• Lowering stress levels with decompression time, confidence building and enriching activities

  
  

• Avoiding triggers with distraction, safe distances and low traffic walk times/location

  
  

• Building confidence with achievable challenges and positive experiences

Once your dog feels safe and confident, you’ll be amazed at how quickly they learn new ways to behave on walks and how much calmer your walks will be.

For more tips to help your reactive dog stop barking and lunging on walks download my new free guide From Raging to Relaxed: Transform Life with Your Reactive Dog Using The CHARM Approach.