Reactive Dog Training in Montreal
Your dog doesn’t have to live in the noise in their head.
And your world doesn’t have to keep getting smaller because of it.
This isn’t the life you imagined for you and your dog.
Before you brought your dog home, you probably had a picture in your head of what life together would look like.
Long walks.
Exploring new places.
Coffee on a patio.
Meeting other dogs.
Taking your dog along with you.
Just having a dog to share your life with.
And sometimes, the life you envisioned sharing with your dog turns out to be very different from the one you’re actually living.
Not necessarily because anyone did anything wrong. Dogs can change as they mature. Behaviours can emerge that weren’t obvious at first. And sometimes what we were told about a dog’s temperament simply doesn’t turn out to be the whole story.
Then reality starts getting in the way.
The walks you stopped taking.
The park you stopped visiting.
The friend whose dog you can no longer see.
The places you avoid.
The constant scanning for what’s coming around the corner.
The feeling that you’re always managing the next reaction.
There isn’t necessarily one dramatic moment when your life changes.
It’s the thousand little compromises.
And eventually, you realize that the life you imagined with your dog has become a life organized around your dog’s reactivity.
Your dog’s world gets smaller. And yours can too.
But it doesn’t have to stay that way.
When your dog’s world gets smaller, so does yours.
When your dog reacts to other dogs, people, noises or unfamiliar situations, everyday life can start revolving around avoiding the next reaction.
Walks become carefully planned.
You change your route.
You avoid certain places.
You go out at quieter times.
You think twice before bringing your dog along.
You start watching the environment instead of enjoying it.
Your dog is on alert. And so are you.
Over time, the things you used to do together can begin to disappear.
Fewer walks.
Fewer outings.
Fewer places you can comfortably go.
Your dog’s world gets smaller. And yours can too.
But it doesn’t have to stay that way.
The goal isn’t to build a life where you never encounter the things that trigger your dog.
It’s to help your dog learn how to experience more of the world without becoming overwhelmed by it — so you can experience more of it together.
Reactive Dog Training
Nick Zevgolis of Family K9 Dog Training is Montreal’s leading reactive dog expert for over 30 years. Reactive dog training is a very specialized form of dog training. It requires us to understand how the dog operates, what motivates the dog and how to engage the dog during high states of excitement. Reactive dogs act out for various reasons. They put all their focus and energy in the wrong direction.
Training reactive dogs is a focus game and you had better be good at the game.
Most reactive dog owners will tell me that their dog looks like it doesn’t even though there’s a human holding the leash when it’s having it’s big meltdown.
Reactive dogs are singular in their focus, honing in on the object of their reactivity like a laser pointer.
The key to reactive dog training
I always tell my clients that we’re playing a focus game with their reactive dog.
How to train your reactive dog
If we can get the dog to focus on us instead of the stimuli, then we’ve won. If we haven’t completely won we have at least cushioned the blow and created a space where we can gain some focus and have a conversation with the dog instead of being tuned out entirely. Many reactive dogs benefit tremendously from realizing that their actions are not necessary. We can then move on to share enjoyable moments and activities as a result.
Reactive dogs have a lot of static noise in their heads
Reactive Street Rescue dog from Lebanon
This is our sweetest little/giant boy, Rove. We adopted him from Lebanon about 8 months ago. We were told he was amazing with dogs/kids/people….turns out wasn’t so true. We found Nick and family K9 as a reference from a friend and let me tell you, this man does magic! We were so skeptical and worried to leave him for 3 weeks but Nick is so gentle and kind (and I happened to know his wife, who is just as sweet and lovely) so we trusted them. When we came to pick our dog up, the transfer lesson was a revelation. It was a DIFFERENT dog (yet the same sweet soul we know) but suddenly he’s listening to our commands, heeling at our feet while walking so calmly. Remember, Nick can’t change a dog’s DNA, but he can help give you and the dog confidence to deal with anything. Rove is very aggressive towards other dogs and I am sure he will never change, but now we have the proper skills to correct his behaviour with confidence and to the point of him being able to sit and lie down near another dog (MIND BLOWING). If you have a problematic fur machine at home, Nick is your man. The follow ups have been so great too, anytime we have a question, his responses are so fast and informative. Worth every penny. Thank you, Family K9 <3
-Matti McNicol
Dog Reactive Golden Doodle
We have a 1.5 year old golden doodle named Saint, who has a lot of adrenaline, and was incredibly difficult to deal with. We were unable to walk without him, dragging us down, and his reactions to other animals (dogs, cats, squirrels) was very high. He spent three weeks with Nick and came back up with a whole new set of fundamentals that have allowed us to gain his focus and manage his behavior. It was absolutely incredible to change we saw in the dog, and the respect our dog had for Nick. During our transfer session, Nick showed us everything, and it felt like a TV show seeing how well trained and behaved our dog w Nick is a true professional, and every single interaction you’ll ever have with him. He is diligent in his responses, he’s always on time, he takes as long as needed to train your dog (and you), and he genuinely cares about your objectives for your dog. He gave me regular updates, while my dog was gone, and he spent hours with us for transfer training over several sessions to make sure we had continuity. What’s most important above all else is that NICK is an absolute wealth of knowledge. Speaking with NICK for a few weeks, and watching him engage with dogs taught me so much that I never would’ve learned from any other source. He is an A+ teacher (both for dogs and human and I can’t imagine what more he could’ve done to help us.
-Alexander Barrett
Reactive to Dogs, Cars, Bicycles Dogs and More!
We were looking for a hero to help us with Indy our collie/lab puppy we were at the point of thinking we would have to rehome her because of her extreme reaction to cars, bicycles, dogs, etc. after meeting Nick for a consultation, it was clear, he was the hero we were looking for. Nick’s customer service, professionalism, dog training, knowledge, passion, and his commitment to getting it right and getting results, was all beyond our expectations! Indy did the three week in kennel training, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. He helped us to understand what drives our puppy, and how to have a successful relationship with her. We are grateful and thankful to have found NICK and have recommended him without hesitation to friends and family. Once again, thank you Nick!
Kathy Prophet
Montreal Reactive Dog Training Video Gallery
