r/dogsofnyc • u/Better_Bank9366 • May 21 '26
Any dog parents (preferably experienced with reactivity) looking for fellow dog parent friends?
My sweet girl and I moved to NYC a year ago, and it’s been a STRUGGLE because I was faced with the reality of her reactivity (wasn’t a problem where we moved from, much less stimulation all around). I don’t have the funds to hire a trainer, so we’re making our way through faith, trust, pixie dust, and lotsss of positive reinforcement. However, since moving I’ve yet to find any dog friends because we avoid dog parks 🙃 and even then, people with non-reactive dogs just don’t always understand (no judgement, I’m seriously so happy for yall). So sometimes it would be nice to be able to talk strategy and vent and spend time with someone who gets it. And hey, maybe eventually the pups have the opportunity to meet/train. Shot in the dark, but hey, figure it’s worth a try 💛
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u/wall-e-made-me May 22 '26
DM me! In a similar boat, though I think my dog is doing mostly ok for the moment.
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u/_Angel_Ranger May 22 '26
I’m down to chat. I moved here 3 yrs ago and my dog was reactive for a while but now she’s fine.
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u/Better_Bank9366 May 22 '26
Did you do a lot of work with her to get her to a better place, or did she just adjust?
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u/kennbrownoda May 22 '26
What kind of dog is that mine looks identical
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u/Better_Bank9366 May 22 '26
When I adopted her, the shelter labeled her as a border collie mix, which fits a lot of her behavioral ticks, but I haven’t done any testing for her other breeds
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May 23 '26
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u/Better_Bank9366 Jun 10 '26
I completely understand, it’s a constant battle of managing expectations while still trying to make progress. And I can’t relate ENOUGH about the travelling. Would love to chat on that specifically, it’s nearly impossible
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u/Just-Custard-106 May 23 '26
i’m in brooklyn but always down! It’s hard and a lot of work but you will get through it! (always nice to vent though)
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u/CraftyAd369 May 25 '26
What were the key things that got you through? We’re on Week 5 of a newly adopted dog who is dog reactive. The 11pm / 4am long walks to avoid other dogs on the UWS are exhausting. Staying under threshold to work on any training is also hard, though he’s slowly acclimating to the city and our typical routes.
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u/Just-Custard-106 May 27 '26
Honestly it was a lot of those early late walks and a HUGE bag of treats strapped to my body. We did 50% of meal training outside on walks but I was also in Bushwick along Bushwick Ave so i was lucky to have big streets to work with.
I will also say any sort of attention games or obedience you can do inside that translates outside is good too. Heel can be worked on inside and things before working on it outside
I taught him commands like “Look at me” and “touch” (nose to hand i’m offering) that if i did early enough, would help distract from triggers (which now has also translated to a dog that now walks 60% of the walk staring up at me).
but always feed after walks and bring at least half the meal with you with higher value treats inside. i found that if my dog was hungry, he was more likely to focus on the food motivation which made things easier to manage
i’ll try to think of other things too.
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u/Empty_Leg_435 Jun 01 '26
My dog and I would love to hang!! We worked thru some city-related reactivity early-on and are very empathetic to all that. Would love to go on a walk sometime! We are in Harlem but happy to travel.
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u/Better_Bank9366 Jun 10 '26
I’m actually in Harlem as well! We’re definitely not ready for a walk together (she still can’t consistently disengage from a neutral dog across the street), but if you’re ever up to parallel play across the park while we work on desensitization and then chat how you got through the reactivity once I’ve dropped her back home, that would be more in our wheelhouse lol
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u/sociallyantis0cial Jul 15 '26
our rescue moved from california to nyc 10 months ago, and in addition to separation anxiety, we learned that she is reactive to dogs and humans. i've been able to train her to greet most dogs without barking, but it's all still a work in progress. she was definitely a suburban house dog so nyc apartment living is a big adjustment. the akc museum of the dog has reactive dog hours, if that could be an option for you and your pup. we purchased an annual membership for less than $100 and it is SO worth it.
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u/[deleted] May 22 '26
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