FEATURE
REACTIVITY
V TY
What does that word mean , anyway ?
By Kristina Spaulding , Ph . D ., CAAB , and Irith Bloom , CPDT-KSA , CDBC , KPA CTP , VSPDT , CBATI
n 2022 , Danielle Stephens-Lewis et al . published a paper on the topic of reactivity – not the behavior ( whatever that is ), but the term “ reactivity ” and how it is perceived . The paper was called “ Understanding Canine ‘ Reactivity ’: Species-Specific Behaviour or Human Inconvenience .” In many ways , the paper goes far beyond what its title suggests in exploring the myriad meanings people assign to the term “ reactivity ” when talking about dogs . We ’ d like to talk about what the researchers found and what they suggest .
Expectations of Dogs Any discussion of dog behavior should really address the giant elephant ( Great Dane ?) in the room : Dog behavior is perceived through a lens of human expectation . What ’ s more , those expectations can vary from culture to culture , not to mention from household to household . The authors mentioned several behaviors that respondents perceived as “ good .” Examples include being focused on the humans , avoiding so-called “ inappropriate behaviors ,” and being adaptable enough to adjust to a variety of environments .
Reading what the authors wrote , it occurred to us that dogs also need to be adaptable enough to adjust over and over again in a constantly changing environment . Our expectations of dogs don ’ t just vary from household to household . They also vary from situation to situation . One example of this that the two of us have seen repeatedly is how the perception of jumping up can vary depending on context . We ’ ve met lots of people who don ’ t mind their dog jumping on them but feel quite different when the dog jumps on someone else . We bet you ’ ve met a lot of those folks , too !
Research methods So let ’ s get down to brass tacks and look at the study ’ s methods . The researchers put together a questionnaire for people to complete . This was qualitative research where respondents were asked open-ended questions . The various answers were analyzed to find trends . Here are some of the questions they asked :
• Have you ever heard the term reactivity used with reference to dogs ? Please explain your answer .
• What behaviors would you expect to see from a reactive dog ? Please be specific .
• Would you adopt a dog that had been classed as having reactive behaviors ? Please explain your answer .
The questionnaire was distributed to dog professionals , dog guardians , and non-dog-guardians . While the survey went out to 175 adults , 163 of those were female . Ten of the respondents were male , one was non-binary , and one preferred not to say , but that still leaves a hugs bias towards answers from females ( the term used in the paper ), which needs to be kept in mind as we discuss results . Everyone who responded was older than 18 years of age . The mean age of the respondents was 43.2 years old .
28 Building Better Trainers Through Education