Reactivity and pain - any experiences?

[Allelbowsandtoes]

Hi all
My dog can be reactive - she has a resource guarding issue, only in specific circumstances. She is absolutely fine on walks and never, ever aggressive towards humans. But she hates sitting down for any length of time with other dogs nearby and will aggressively guard her space/resources. We always keep her on lead for this reason but she'll lunge and snap at any dog who comes up to us when we're sat in public.
We've been working with a behaviourist with some improvement but things could be better.

I've been reading about the link between pain and reactivity and I'm wondering if we should approach it with our vet. When the (highly rated and experienced) behaviourist did three assessment sessions she never mentioned anything concerning in terms of her gait, any signs of pain etc.

Maybe I'm just clutching at straws because I want an answer.....😔

All highly rated behaviourists I know won't work with a dog until it has had a vet check to ensure there is no underlying pain causing the issues.

I had a dog with lots of health issues. His reactivity definitely got worse on days he didn't feel well.

Is your dog only reactive when sitting on lead in public places? If so, has the behaviourist told you to stop putting her in those situations? You should be sitting at a distance that she is comfortable and rewarding for looking at other dogs without reacting. If she reacts, you are too close. Then gradually over time, move closer and keep rewarding for calmness. And 'over time' should be weeks or months, not minutes.

Yes, our behaviourist has helped us work out her threshold and has advised us not to let her get over threshold, and we give treats every time she looks at another dog. We've been doing the training for nearly a year.

Sounds like you have been doing the right things then. I'm sorry it hasn't helped.
Sometimes you have to accept the life you envisioned with your dog is not the life your dog needs.
We envisioned family days out in country parks, but ended up with a fear reactive dog who had to be walked in isolated places.

Yes, we're slowly accepting this I think; it's sad, as you can no doubt relate!
She had awful separation anxiety when we first got her but with extensive training she can now be left 3.5 hours without any distress at all so at least we can go and sit down in public without her 😅