My vet said my dog's leash reactivity is my fault, not hers

Had a convo with Dr. Patel at the clinic last Tuesday. She watched how I yank the leash every time my pup lunges at a squirrel. Said I'm basically training her to think squirrels are terrifying because I get tense first. Hit different because she showed me a video of my own shoulders going rigid 2 seconds before my dog even saw the squirrel. Anyone else get called out like this by their vet?

3 comments

3 Comments

lopez.quinn18d ago

Totally feel you on this. My vet did the same thing with my boxer mix last year and I was honestly embarrassed at first. She pointed out that I was holding my breath and tensing up every time we passed another dog, and my dog was just mirroring my anxiety. It made so much sense after she explained it like that. I started working on my own body language and it actually helped way more than I expected. Your vet sounds like she really cares if she showed you the video proof, that's actually pretty cool of her. Try not to beat yourself up about it, we're all just trying to do our best for our dogs.

anthony_campbell8818d agoMost Upvoted

Getting my own anxiety under control was the game changer for me too. @lopez.quinn, I started taking a couple deep breaths and relaxing my shoulders before walks, and my dog stopped reacting to so many things. It is wild how much they pick up on our moods without us even realizing it.

roberts9518d ago

Oh man, same here, I started humming to myself on walks and my anxious rescue stopped reacting to everything almost overnight.