Part Time Reactivity: What's Actually Going On?

Have  you ever woken up and thought, today is a good day?  But then you find  out you’ve run out of milk and can’t have your morning cuppa, a minor  inconvenience but not the end of the world.  You decide to nip down to  the shop, you have some other bits to get anyway.  

On  the way, you get stuck behind (what feels like) every slow driver and  cyclist in the country, which is frustrating, but unavoidable.  Once you  arrive, there is a long queue of cars trying to enter the car park.   Furthermore, you can’t find a space once you’re in!  Your frustration is  really starting to grow at this point.

Eventually,  you get parked and get into the shop.  You’re reciting your list in  your head; you want to get in and get out.  You’ve already wasted enough  of your morning getting there.

You  try to whizz your way through the shop, having forgone a trolley to  make it faster, but it is absolutely packed with people.  It’s loud, you  are overwhelmed, and everyone is just walking so slowly, dilly dallying  and blocking the aisles.  You’re rapidly losing patience.  

They’re  sold out of the bits you need; it’s starting to feel like a wasted  trip, but thankfully they have some milk left.  You feel like you’ve  caught a break, and your mood lightens slightly as you get a free run  through the store to the check out.

Except  the self-service checkouts are closed, and you have to queue behind  every person with a trolley bursting with their weekly shop.  You’re  getting pretty close to writing off the day.  Your tolerance for the  situation is rapidly shrinking with each passing second, worsened still  as the family in front of you start having an argument and the cashier  runs out of till rolls and has to wait for the supervisor to deliver  more from the stock room.  

After  what feels like an eternity all for a small bottle of milk, it’s your  turn, and you make it through the interaction without biting the poor  cashier’s head off.  But it comes close when they ask if you want a  receipt.

Rushing back to the car,  you hear the words ‘hello stranger!’ and get intercepted by your  neighbour.  That tiny little bit of patience is about to snap.  You’re  irritable, you’re fed up and you have not yet been caffeinated.  The  intrusive thoughts about what you want to do to your neighbour in that  moment are loud, so you brush them off saying you’re in a rush.  You get  to your car, take a deep breath…only to hear a thud.  

The kid in the car next to yours has swung open their door and cracked it straight into the side of your car.

You snap.  

You’re  then end up having a raging row with the parent who thinks you’re being  overly dramatic over something that didn’t even leave a mark.   Questioning why you are being so reactive, and unreasonable, not  listening to sense and end up becoming aggressive in response to your  behaviour.

This is exactly what is happening with your ‘part time’ reactive dog.

Swap  out each minor inconvenience, trigger and stimulus with things like  unfamiliar dogs, traffic, unexpected sudden noises, cyclists, unfamiliar  people walking past, people pushing prams, kids on scooters, cats,  squirrels…it can literally be anything.

Each  and every interaction your dog has with its environment, regardless of  what it is, can add to their mental workload, and just like people,  every dog has their own limit on how much they can take.  In dog  behaviour terms, this is referred to as ‘trigger stacking’ and the  concept is typically used in managing dogs that are prone to anxiety,  stress of fear-based reactivity or behavioural issues.  

The  problem is that once they reach their limit, they hit their tipping  point, and all it takes is one last trigger to tip them into a state  referred to as ‘over-threshold’…and this is when they become reactive.

This  is because your hound, in going over their tolerance limit, are no  longer able to process information rationally. The higher cognitive  functions, that allow the dog to make decisions or respond to cues, has  gone out the window.  Their single functioning brain cell is replaced by  their base emotional and instinctual responses, like flight or fight.   In many cases, the dog will react impulsively, hence the lunging,  barking, growling, or snapping.

Owners  can find this frustrating, and startling.  But it is important to  remember in these moments that they are not choosing to behave this way.   Their nervous system has been hijacked by their stress response,  making it difficult, if not impossible, for them to return to a calm  state without help...it’s generally advisable to take your hound  straight home if they reach this state.

Unlike  consistently reactive dogs, who are reacting to a definable trigger,  this type of reactivity only manifests sporadically.  We have found that  hounds who are particularly prone to internalising their stress and  anxiety, as we discussed recently, will most commonly demonstrate this  behaviour.  

Trigger stacking, to  define it more clearly, is the process in which multiple small  stressors build up over time, until the dog is pushed past it’s  emotional threshold.  Where all their previous signs of stress, anxiety,  pain or discomfort with different situations have gone unnoticed and  unaddressed, it leads them to act in a much more definitive fashion  because they can no longer cope.

And  you cannot miss it when your hound becomes reactive, or ‘lashes out’ at  another dog or person.  Unfortunately, many people do still  misinterpret this behaviour and tell their hounds off, or ‘correct’  them, which can add to issues further down the line.

Trigger  stacking is often used with the stress bucket analogy, which we love,  but we did write an article about this just recently…so today in the  graphic, we’ve used a thermometer as a visual demonstration of a dog’s  tolerance.  It holds the same meaning; each little stressor on a hounds  walk adds, and adds, and adds until they react.  

The  challenge for owners is that in cases like this, there is no single  defining trigger.  As it is a typically a combination of multiple  triggers (or stressors) over time that leads to the breakdown in  behaviour, many people struggle to identify the problem and thus make  changes to address it.

For  greyhounds, this can be particularly problematic. Greyhounds are  generally known for their calm and gentle demeanour, but they are also a  breed that can be sensitive to environmental changes, especially those  transitioning from their very structured and routine racing life to the  more unpredictable and changeable pet life.  As a result, what might  seem like random outbursts or moments of reactivity can actually be the  result of accumulated stress from seemingly minor events.

Additionally,  these events don’t have to be on walks.  The accumulation of triggers,  leading to a hound going over threshold, can just as easily occur in the  home.  This can lead to behavioural complications indoors such as  growling or snapping at the children, or putting your hound in a  heightened state of stress before going for a walk which causes them to  hit their threshold as soon as you get out the driveway.

The  list for what constitutes as a trigger is literally endless, but can  include loud noises, sudden movements, unfamiliar people or dogs  (particularly off lead), joggers, cyclists, pain or discomfort,  wildlife, traffic (especially big or noisy things like lorries, busses  and motorbikes), objects moving in the distance, changes in routine,  changes in their environment (you rearranged the furniture or moved  their food bowl), being in the car, going new places with new sounds,  smells and sights.  Even unfamiliar walking routes can both excite and  unnerve a hound…and how well rested they are, and their health, also  play a big role in their sensitivity to triggers.

Ultimately,  what an individual hound finds to be a trigger depends on a great many  things such as their previous history, experience and socialisation,  personality, genetics and breed traits…we all know that greyhounds are  quite a sensitive breed!

Intermittent  reactivity can be difficult for owners to manage because the behaviour  seems to occur randomly. You might go days without your hound being  reactive, but then they bark and lunge at the first dog they see on a  walk.  It can be really confusing!  Which is why it’s so important to  try and define what triggers your hound is particularly sensitive to,  and also put management in place for how you walk your hound to minimise  their stress.

There are a lot of  factors to consider in achieving this, and one of the easiest ones to  understand is that some hounds just naturally have a lower threshold for  stress.  Much like introverts and extroverts in humans, where  introverts have smaller social batteries and need to recharge after an  activity.  Some hounds also need this, especially if the activity has  been particularly taxing.

And,  not to complicate things too much, but a hound’s threshold can be  changeable.  For instance, a well-rested, healthy greyhound may be able  to handle a busy dog park without incident, but the same dog, when  tired, in pain or experienced triggers in the home before going out,  might react negatively to the same situation.

So,  how do you address it?  Well, it’s not a one fit all answer…sorry!  At  the end of the day, you have to learn and understand what is best for  your individual hound.

For  instance, one of our hounds is a ‘part time’ reactive hound (yes, we’re  talking about ‘Sunflower’ again).  This morning, we f$$ked up.  We  normally walk her between 4-6am (depending on work), to avoid too many  triggers.  Today we walked her at 7am.  Inevitably, there were countless  triggers; dogs, people, cars, lorries, buses, cyclists, joggers…the  lot.

We were on the back foot  before even stepping out due to the change in routine, but all was going  well for the first block of the walk.  However, we knew we were going  out and needed them to be well emptied before we did…so while Sunflower  was showing definitive signs of internalised stress and anxiety, we were  so focused on Sunshine’s barrier frustration training that the signs  went unnoticed.  

So, we walked  further than we should of and ended up on a main road.  There was so  much traffic which is a big trigger for many dogs!  Least to say,  Sunflower was coping as well as could be expected, not reacting to  anything and, overall, just looking to get the walk over and done with.   

To the average joe, no one  would have thought there was anything amiss.  But she was very much at  the point of going over-threshold and all it would have taken was for  one last trigger to send her off the deep end.

In  this instance, she did not become reactive on the walk (thank  goodness), but she did tell Sunshine (who she normally tolerates to the  ends of the earth) off for existing when we got back into the house.   These things happen, but don’t worry, they went back to being besties 30  seconds later.  To allow Sunflower time to decompress and for her  stress hormones to return to normal levels, we will have a rest day from  walking and offer alternative mental stimulation in the form of  enrichment instead.

But we  digress.  Understanding trigger stacking is the first step in helping  your hound cope and reduce the frequency of, or eliminate, intermittent  reactivity.  While it may not always be possible to completely eliminate  the triggers, there are numerous ways in which you can manage their  experiences.

First, you need to  be able to recognise the early signs of stress.  This can be subtle body  language cues such as yawning, lip licking, tense facial features,  panting with tight drawn back lips exposing the gumline and avoiding eye  contact.  

These can help define  if they are stressed or anxious on walks (or in the house) and that you  need to manage the situation.  This can be in heading home, to reduce  exposure to further triggers, avoiding direct interactions with other  dogs and unfamiliar people and avoiding busy roads or parks to prevent  the escalation to reactivity.  

Or,  if it’s in the home e.g. you have visitors over, you can take measures  to give them space such as providing your hound with some sort of  calming enrichment (like a Kong or LickMat) in their safe space or  another room and asking people not to interact with them unless your  hound seeks them out for attention.

Ensuring  a stable environment with predictable routines can really help your  hound, as they provide a sense of security.  Greyhounds have very  regimented lifestyles prior to retirement, so it can be difficult for  them to cope with sudden changes.  In maintaining their routine, they  will be in a more relaxed and well rested state in heading out for walks  and more likely to cope with triggers.

Understanding  how many walks, and for how long, your hound needs is an important one.   Not every hound wants, or needs, multiple walks a day.  Most thrive  from it, but it depends on their individual needs, and many can be prone  to reactivity as a result of over-exercising due to the  over-stimulation and constant exposure to triggers.  

This  is particularly common in the first weeks and months of adoption, as  they can very easily become over stimulated from doing too much too  soon.

While you might want your  hound to come with you everywhere, or go for great long walks and  adventures, but they might not want to!  Putting them on a walking  routine that best benefits them is important, and if this needs to  include rest days, you include rest days!

Just  make sure to provide them with alternative forms of mental and physical  stimulation on the days you aren’t walking to help them feel fulfilled!

Environmental,  routine and walking management should all be put in place to avoid an  excess of triggers, therefore preventing reactivity by ensuring they are  always in a good frame of mind to cope with them…but it will be a lot  of trial and error in determining the best approach for your hound.

But  should you be able to define specific triggers, you can implement  positive reinforcement training to help desensitise them and build their  confidence in seeing (and eventually) interacting with said triggers.   This process can take time, but it is effective in helping dogs build up  their resilience and change their way of thinking.  Creating positive  associations instead of negative ones.

While  it may seem like a common-sense suggestion, regular check-ups at the  vet are quite important.  Pain, discomfort or illness can massively  lower a hound’s threshold, exactly like in people.  Goodness knows us  humans can be a whole lot more irritable and snappier when we’re not  feeling well!  

At the end of the day, if in doubt, seek professional help from a qualified, positive reinforcement, behaviourist!