Holidaying with a Reactive Dog: Tips & Tricks to Success

Living with a reactive dog can be a rollercoaster of emotions. It forces most to re-align their expectations of what sharing our lives together will look like, and holidays are no different. Yes it may look a little different to the standard holiday, but it can still feel normal and enjoyable for all. In this blog I will offer tips for success both physially and mentally, along with first hand experience from travelling with our fury companion.

However you know your dog best, if their reactivity levels are more severe, then further protocols may need to be in place. Adaptability is key.

Key to Success: Expectation Management

The biggest thing for an enjoyable experience is to have realistic expectations. You may want your dog to sit with you in every cafe, walk on every walk with you, walk through every towns, but can they? Is your dog able to succeed in the volume of activities your want them too, let along the type. By having appropriate expectations both parties can have a normal and enjoyable time away together.

Key to Success: Plan & Adapt

Stay somewhere away from triggers
Manage trigger stacking & energy levels
- If they have been for a big walk somewhere new, leave them in car to rest while you enjoy lunch/dinner
Stock up on rewards - plenty of high value rewards
Allow rest days/half days
Walk in popular areas, like the beach, at less busy times
Walk in less popular areas with your companion
If they are happy to be left, leave them at the cottage for high trigger dense areas / meals / town walks
Allow for extra space from triggers to cope with the affects of the change of routine
Use long lines and leads where appropriate to ensure success
Have fun!
- Enjoy the snippets you are having with them instead of longing for the 'ideal'
Going away out of season

Our Trip

Laylah will always have an element of mangement and selective reactiveness, but she loves being with us and exploring new places, so along she comes!

To ensure we all had a wonderful time in Ireland & the Peak District we booked places away from a high density of dogs and open access gardens for neighbouring dogs. She can then relax in the garden and so can I. We also tend to go away out of season so the areas we want to got to will be less busy and more manageable for her, like the beach. One her favourites places to go! Thankfully the beach was empty so she had lots of off lead running around, however when another dog came on management strategies where taken. The long line goes on and space was created while constantly monitoring the other dogs and if we can maintain or need to adjust, resulting in lots of fun had for all.

Laylah can and will settle when we go out to eat, however bar one time on the 2 week holiday she was resting in the truck. This meant I wasn't asking too much of her (and myself) after long walks exploring new areas and navigating triggers. Had I included her in the cafes she may have become over-loaded, over-tired and therefore more reactive at other times on the trip.

On the occasion we walked in more popular places I was on full alert of her needs for space with each dog we came across, with some dogs this was less and others greater. It also depended on whether they where off-lead or on-lead, and how likely that made them to come into our space.

She did really well, only struggling with a couple of dog's when we got caught off guard. Was I frustrated or angry at her? No. Did I repromand her? No. Those moments just re-afirm to me the support she needs when navigating social situations and that the management strategies I put in place are what support her to succeed and have an enjoyable holiday with her humans. And guess what, the whole experience felt like a very normal holiday dynamic.

So don't forget you can have an enjoyable holiday with your reactive dog, it just needs to be set up for success.