Reactive Dog Program: From Anxious to Zensational
Are You Ready To End The Dog Walking Struggle?
Get everything you need to successfully learn how to make walks calm & fun for you and your dog with confidence.
In this video, board certified veterinary behaviorist and co-founder of Dog Nerds discusses what you can expect from this course and why it can help you and your dog.
Does this sound familiar…
You finally brought home a dog to be part of your life, family, and home. At first, the training was what you expected; identify a place for your dog to do its business, establish feeding and walking routines, plan for extra time outside with other dogs or just chill together.
And then…
something changed with your dog’s behavior and you are not sure what to do.
Perhaps your dog was reacting to things from the start, but you thought it was normal dog behavior and you hoped it would get better as you got to know each other or your dog matured a little.
You’ve tried the training that worked with your previous dogs and talked to friends for advice. You tried different collars, leashes and working with trainers. Some things may have worked initially, but everytime your dog reverts back to the same behaviors on walks or behaviors get worse. And you feel terrible about it.
The routine of walking your dog has become a struggle.
It’s tough to have an enjoyable walk together when your dog behaves this way, and sometimes even going outside is a chore.
Do any of these describe your dog on walks?
- E Lunging
- EGrowling
- EWhining
- EBarking
- EPulling you home
- EDragging you toward people, dogs, or things
- EUncontrollable or unruly behavior
- E Scanning the environment
- ETail tucked
- ETrembling
- EStartling
- ERearing at the end of the leash
- EUncontrolled excitement
- ENot able to listen to you
- EDifficulty focusing on you
We truly understand what you’re going through and it’s our mission to help you create harmonious, fun walks with your dog.
Imagine your dog behaving like this instead…
- E Passing dogs, people, and other things without reacting
- EAble to go to new places with you
- ECalmly walks with you
- ELess fearful or worried or stressed
- ELess overexcited and more focused
- EMore relaxed
- EHappily sniffing and acting like a dog
- EChecks in with you frequently
- EEngages you
- E Listens to you on walks
- EAble to keep the leash loose due to no lunging
What if you had a way to help change your dog’s behavior so you can both enjoy walks and life together?
Your dog is worth it.
Introducing
Reactive Dog Program:
From Anxious to Zensational
An online self-paced dog behavior improvement program using modern, science-based techniques and skills, positive dog training techniques which does not use pain, coercion, fear, or punishment. (Those methods often make these behaviors worse.)
Choose the FREE option for the first 7 days (no credit card needed!)
$35 per month after, cancel anytime
See a change in your dog and feel more confident on walks in as little as 4 weeks.
What you’ll find inside
When you start the Reactive Dog Program: From Anxious to Zensational you’ll immediately have access to 15 chapters with multiple video lessons, supporting written material, and instructor access to help change your dog’s behavior in a positive way. There will be ample opportunity for questions and learning through feedback.
Chapter 1: Welcome to the first day of change
- Lesson 1: Things You Should Know
- Lesson 2: Core Values, Guiding Principles
- Lesson 3: Success Path
- Lesson 4: What You Can Achieve
- Lesson 5: Foundational Concepts
- Lesson 6: Punishment
- Lesson 7: SIT (Structured Interactive Training)
- Lesson 8: Training Tools: Collars, Leashes, and Harnesses
Chapter 2: Motivating Your Dog
- Lesson 1: Reinforcement Concepts – Motivation and Reinforcement
- Lesson 2: Delivering Reinforcement: Food
- Lesson 3: Delivering Reinforcement: Toys
- Lesson 4: Treat Bags and Food Rewards
Chapter 3: Reinforcement and Clicker
- Lesson 1: Reinforcement Concepts – Motivation and Reinforcement
- Lesson 2: Delivering Reinforcement: Food
- Lesson 3: Delivering Reinforcement: Toys
- Lesson 4: Treat Bags and Food Rewards
Chapter 4: Why is my Dog Like This?
- Lesson 1: Why is your Dog Reactive?
- Lesson 2: Your Dog’s Brain on Stress
- Lesson 3 Generalization of the Down and Up Game
- Lesson 4: Physical Health and How it Affects Behavior
- Lesson 5: Let’s Go (Get Outta Dodge!)
Chapter 5: Decreasing Stress inside
- Lesson 1: The Stress Ladder
- Lesson 2: Give Your Dog a Stress Vacation (Your Dog’s ‘Staycation’!)
- Lesson 3: Managing the Indoor Environment
- Lesson 4: Kong Stuffing
- Lesson 5: Nosework Basics (Adding Fun Indoors!)
- Lesson 6: Towel Game
- Lesson 7: The Cup Game
Chapter 6: Understand What Your Dog is Trying to Tell You
- Lesson 1: Body Language 101 – Learn to Read Your Dog
- Lesson 2: Body language 102
- Lesson 3: Body Language: Testing your Skills
- Lesson 4: Thresholds and Stress
- Lesson 5: Calm Dogs Learn Best
- Lesson 6: Reinforcing Calm Behavior
- Lesson 7: What’s Up Game
Chapter 7: Decreasing Stress Outside
- Lesson 1: Distraction Techniques 1 – Treat Magnets
- Lesson 2: Distraction Techniques 2 – Toys
- Lesson 3: Distraction Techniques 3 – Blocking Visual Access
- Lesson 4: Managing the Outdoor Environment with Off Leash Dogs
- Lesson 5: The Here Exercise
- Lesson 6: Muzzles – They Get a Bad Rap
- Lesson 7: Leash Handling Skills for Low-Stress Control
- Lesson 8: Find It/Search – A Great Distraction Tool
Chapter 8: Getting Ready for Working Walks
- Lesson 1: How to Practice So Your Dog Learns Best
- Lesson 2: How Your Dog Learns
- Lesson 3: Pro Tips – Best Training Practices for You and Your Dog’s Success
- Lesson 4: Walk Prep
- Lesson 5: Condition your Dog to Tools
- Lesson 6: Pro Tip: The Pitfalls of Labels
Chapter 9: Taking It Outside - Removing the Training Wheels
- Lesson 1: Skills Roundup – Down and Up, Name Game, and What’s Up Game
- Lesson 2: Review: Let’s Go; Here. Using Them Correctly
- Lesson 3: Pro Tip – The 3 Ds for Training Success
Chapter 10: Assessing Progress and Smart Goals
- Lesson 1: Needs vs. Wants – What is Realistic?
- Lesson 2: Smart Goals
- Lesson 3: Assessing Progress
Chapter 11: Engaging the Stimulus, Part 1
- Lesson 1: See That/Look
- Lesson 2: See That 2
- Lesson 3: Pro Tip – Generalizing Behavior Tools (Your Dog is Not Trying to Ignore You!)
Chapter 12: Engaging the Environment and Independent Thinking
- Lesson 1: Counterconditioning
- Lesson 2: Using Reinforcement Correctly
- Lesson 3: Distance is Key
- Lesson 4: Making Good Choices for Your Dog
Chapter 13: Let's Go For a Walk - Reviewing and Troubleshooting
- Lesson 1: Toggling and Troubleshooting
- Lesson 2: See That (or Look) – Counterconditioning – Here
- Lesson 3: Counterconditioning and Here – More Practice Sessions
- Lesson 4: Skills Round Up
Chapter 14: Advanced Concepts for Success
- Lesson 1: Trust, Reactions, Recovery
- Lesson 2: Trust, Reactions, and Interval training
- Lesson 3: Brain Breaks
- Lesson 4: How to Handle Mistakes
- Lesson 5: Walking on a Long Leash
You also get bonus material to keep you both evolving
Bonus #1
Join the closed Facebook page for reactive dog owners. Share your experiences in a supportive environment with other sympathetic dog parents in the course and learn from each other. And get training and behavior tips from us!
Bonus #2
Members get coaching help via unlimited email support. Share your challenges and successes. Get your questions answered.
Bonus #3
We are including a special bonus section in every chapter with awesome video lessons, games, and tricks to help you stay motivated and keep moving forward. Enjoy enlightening, fun, engaging, or important training tools without having to wait, made just for our members!
2 signup options: FREE for the first 7 days, or start your full paid membership
$35 per month after, cancel anytime
What if this isn’t right for me and my dog?
No-Hassle, 100% risk free.
We are committed to providing excellent training solutions that make a positive impact on your dog’s behavior and living life with your dog. We are so sure that you’ll like the program that we offer your first 7-days FREE to try it out. Just cancel prior to the 7 day period to avoid being charged. After the 7-day trial period, you can cancel your monthly membership anytime.
Bailey is making excellent progress on her walks!
Michael and Susan with Bailey
Thanks for the fantastic courses
you are doing!
Barbara W. and Ozzie
What to expect
Our proven techniques will teach you the lessons where your dog is most comfortable and without having to take your dog anywhere worrisome.
We will help you teach your dog new behaviors. Your dog can’t learn if he is stressed and reacting. For the first few weeks, we suggest a staycation where you avoid all triggers. (We will help with enrichment activities to keep your dog from becoming bored.)
That means walking in locations and times of day when you’re not likely to see your dog’s triggers. Find new places or times, walk in the backyard, or take your dog out quickly and return home. When your staycation ends, you will have a set of new skills to use with your dog!
How does this work?
During the Reactive Dog Program: From Anxious to Zensational you’ll begin to build new, alternative behaviors in the quiet of your home.
When both of you understand the new behavioral tools you will learn, you will then be using them thoughtfully on walks as laid out in the course.
The goal is no reactions (or fewer and fewer), so building muscle memory for both of you is important to make walks calmer and less stressful.
Raise your awareness.
Your dog reacting by lunging, growling, whining barking, dragging you toward people, dogs or things uncontrollable or unruly behavior…etc., is not ‘normal’ dog behavior.
Gain clarity and vision.
We aim to help you understand what causes your dog’s stressful behavior and how it’s not about your dog being disobedient. You will be able to see the path forward and endless possibilities of positive changes for your dog and life with your dog.
Connect. Heal. Evolve.
Although these behaviors are stressful for your dog, we understand how they can cause intense emotions, embarrassment, and disruptions to your life. The changes we help you create will leave you feeling connected to your dog and you will have the tools and skills to keep evolving together.
FREE for the first 7 days - no credit card needed! (Or choose to register instead for the full monthly membership)
Membership is $35 per month, cancel anytime
Who is this for?
✓ Owners with dogs that react on leash towards other dogs, people, cars, bikes, trucks, other animals, etc.
✓ Dogs who have uncontrollable behaviors on leash including lunging or pulling, hiding, pulling toward home, barking, growling, or whining.
✓ Dogs who are overexcited, frustrated, scared or anxious on leash.
Who is this NOT for?
✖ Dogs whose only issue is aggression around items such as their food dish or toys.
✖ Dogs that exhibit undesirable behaviors only in the house, but not on the leash.
✖ Dogs who are primarily scared of noises, but don’t react when on walks to sounds. We have a different course for this issue.
✖ Dogs who fight with the other dog(s) in their household.
✖ Dogs whose undesirable behaviors are not exhibited on leash. This course is designed to modify the behavior of dogs that react while on the leash.
In as little as 4 weeks…
The Reactive Dog Program: From Anxious to Zensational will leave you seeing life with your dog through a different lens, one that is more positive, calm, and full confidence.
Behavior changes are possible.
FREE for the first 7 days
$35 per month after, cancel anytime
So glad you are ready to help your dog.
We’re The Real Dog Nerds: Dog behavior training experts that create solutions ready for you to use in the comfort of your home.
We have the skills, knowledge, and expertise to help alter the life of both you and your dog with behavior change that sticks and works for the long run.
You can do this!
Change is possible with your commitment to implementing the lessons and practice with your dog.
Lisa Radosta,
DVM, DACVB: Co-founder of Dog Nerds
I fell in love with training animals and trying to understand how they learn when we brought our first dog into the family, a black Lab puppy. I was six years old. As I grew up, training dogs gave me joy and I trained and showed my dogs in tracking, herding, and obedience.
Mindy Cox,
B.S., CPDT-KSA: Co-founder of Dog Nerds
From my earliest memories, I have been drawn to animals of all kinds. I have cared for many furred and feathered friends including dogs, cats, horses, parrots, and even an injured red-tailed hawk.
Cheryl VanVoorhies,
M.Ed., CTC
I transitioned into the animal world after a successful career in education. I worked with under privileged children, children with behavior challenges, and eventually moved into administration as an Assistant Principal.
Reactive Dog Program: From Anxious to Zensational
Developed by Dog Behavior Experts to help you understand what causes your dog’s stressful behavior and how it’s not about your dog being disobedient.
Our proven techniques will teach you the lessons in the comfort of your home without having to take your dog anywhere worrisome.
Your investment includes:
• 15 chapters with many video lessons
• Q & A, Takeaways and Action steps
• Supporting written material for lessons
• Members-only Facebook page
• Coaching help via unlimited email support
• Bonus goodies in every chapter: including video instruction and mini-lessons, games, tricks, ebooks, and more!
FREE for the first 7 days
$35 per month after, cancel anytime
Answers to the Most Common Questions:
Q. What is the cause of my dog's behavior/reactivity?
A. In the majority of dogs, the reason is fear, anxiety or stress. They may react in order to get the scary thing to go away. Or they may act out because they are frustrated and overexcited.
In this course, we will teach your dog that there are other options instead of reacting. When your dog learns other, better behaviors, he or she will get calmer and you will both become more confident.
Q. How do I know I can do this at home?
A. We know because we have helped thousands of people over the years who were just like you. Now they are enjoying a dog who is much calmer and easier to walk. Plus, we are there to help answer any questions you may have while you are learning and working the program with your dog.
Q. What is the format of the course?
A. This is a self-paced, online program. Take as much time as you need to practice the skills in each chapter’s lessons to begin to change your dog’s reactive behavior. We recommend practicing and understanding each lesson before moving on. This is an online course utilizing discussion, lectures, videos, photos, slides, and written material. There will be ample opportunity for asking questions and learning through feedback.
Q. How long will the program take?
A. You have access to the materials and email support for as long as you are a paying member. Most students work through the material in 3-5 months. Working diligently you will begin to see positive results even sooner.
Q. When does the program start?
A. You can start anytime you want! There is no schedule to contend with. Fit everything into your schedule. And yes, working in the comfort of your home without distractions (to begin with) is the way to begin to get your dog to relax and feel safer.
Q. What do I need to start this course?
A. You will need a computer, laptop, tablet or phone with a good internet connection.
Q. Will my dog be better by the end of the program?
A. Typically, dogs will show improvement and are often stable within a few months, but it takes time to change behavior. One of the sections of the course will help you with realistic goal setting. Improvement is also contingent on how much you work with your dog as well as how long the problem has been happening and how serious a problem it is. All dogs are different so we can’t make any predictions or guarantees. However, we have helped hundreds of dogs with this problem and our goal is to help you with yours.