Reactivity in dogs - excessive responses to triggers including other dogs, people, or stimuli - is often fear-based and requires welfare-focused behavioral intervention rather than punishment or flooding.
Canine reactivity is fundamentally a welfare issue: reactive dogs are experiencing significant fear or anxiety that drives their behavioral responses. Managing reactivity by suppressing outward signs without addressing underlying emotional states leaves the dog suffering without the behavioral safety valve of reactive behavior. Evidence-based treatment addresses the emotional underpinning through systematic counter-conditioning - changing the emotional association with triggers from negative to neutral or positive. This requires patient, gradual work and often professional support, but achieves genuine welfare improvement rather than apparent compliance masking ongoing distress.