Just like clockwork, your regular walks with your dog unravel the same way each day. Whether your dog struggles with issues based in fear, aggression, over-arousal, or frustration, you likely struggle to prevent big reactions from happening when they encounter trigger after trigger that they’re not yet ready to tolerate on your regular loop around the neighborhood or through your apartment complex. Most people needing help with their dogs struggle most when they live in busy neighborhoods, apartment complexes, or metropolitan areas because many of their normal walking routes are so flooded with people, dogs, loud noises, moving vehicles, and other distractions that their dog doesn’t have the skills to handle yet. But, their dogs still need mental stimulation and physical exercise, so what are they supposed to do?!

Firstly, it’s important to step back and look at the big picture with your reactive, aggressive, or fearful dog. Are they REALLY enjoying their daily walks if they’re just scanning for, trying to escape from, or reacting to their triggers constantly throughout the experience? Each time your dog has a large, reactive response, it goes beyond the behavior you see on the surface. Cortisol levels spike, their heart rate elevates, adrenaline goes pumping through their body. Some of these reactions can have lasting effects on your dog’s nervous system, and leave them feeling dysregulated for hours or even days afterwards. Does that sound healthy or relaxing to you? Definitely not!

Until you can help your dog make progress with working through how they respond to triggers at a sub-threshold level through working with a qualified trainer or behavior consultant, it’s often better to reduce or even entirely eliminate how you normally walk your dog through the busy neighborhood to allow them a chance to relax and actually have an opportunity to get quality exercise and mental stimulation. All we do when we force our dog to walk through areas full of their triggers is continue to set them farther back in their training, and make the road to behavior change ahead all that much longer. If this is the situation you’ve found yourself in with your dog, here are some alternatives to the stressful neighborhood walk that may work to help you meet your dogs needs in a lower-stress way:

#1: try a decompression walk

Decompression walks are different from a lap around the neighborhood because they’re centered more around giving the dog as many opportunities to move freely and express natural behavior as possible. Decompression can only truly happen with reactive dogs if you give them an opportunity to express natural behaviors entirely away from their triggers, meaning these kinds of walks can’t be done in busy areas. If accessible to you, it’s best to allow your dog to decompress in nature through visiting low traffic hiking trails or rural properties with a lot of natural space for your dog to explore. For those who don’t have easy access to nature for regular exercise, try to find quiet parks or open green spaces in your urban area, and make note of “off times” that you notice to plan your decompression walks. Most metro areas are busiest during pre-work hours and in the evenings when people return from the office.

Decompression can only truly happen with reactive dogs if you give them an opportunity to express natural behaviors entirely away from their triggers, meaning these kinds of walks can’t be done in busy areas.

Decompression happens best when you allow your dog free movement, meaning we tend to recommend they are done either off leash (where allowed and when safe) or on a long line to keep the dog leashed but allow them to explore more freely. Want to learn more about what a decompression walk entails? Check out this post on our blog!

#2: Download Sniffspot

Sniffspot is an amazing app geared towards the reactive, fearful, or aggressive dog owner! Sniffspot allows people who own private property to rent out their spaces (for a small fee) so that you can bring your dog on a private adventure! If your dog needs a quiet, private space to explore and exercise, try testing this app out and see if any spots in your area fit your needs. You can filter results to show spots that are fully fenced, of a certain acreage, and whether they have private entries or potential exposures to triggers like people, dogs, or domestic animals. It will be such a relief to your dog to be able to explore somewhere new, and you have the peace of mind knowing you’re using a safe space to let your dog exercise and enjoy themselves.

Sniffspot allows people who own private property to rent out their spaces (for a small fee) so that you can bring your dog on a private adventure!

This isn’t a paid advertisement, we just think the app is super useful!

#3: Plan an indoor enrichment day with your dog

Dogs don’t necessarily need walks all the time. Yes, even your energetic or high drive breeds! It’s completely possible (and sometimes preferred by your dog) to spend a whole day just doing mental brain games around the house and working for their meals. Burning mental energy is just as, if not more, tiring for your dog than marching them down the street for an hour a day, or going in the backyard and playing dozens of repetitions of fetch. A few ideas for a day of indoor enrichment include:

Feeding meals or treats out of puzzles
Make your dog a treasure box
Scatter feed your dog’s meal in the yard
Stuff and freeze a few enrichment items like:
- Kongs
- West Paw Toppls
- Lick Mats
- Soda Pup Toys
- These items can be filled and then frozen with soaked kibble, canned dog food, peanut butter, plain unsweetened yogurt, mashed bananas, pumpkin puree, or any other soft, moist food your dog loves.
Give long-lasting chews for your dog to work on like:
Play Hide and Seek With Your Dog
Play Tug of War With Your Dog

#4: If your dog likes other dogs, Have a playdate at a dog friend’s house

Plenty of dogs are reactive or aggressive towards strangers, but do really well with familiar people and dogs. There are many reactive dogs who are actually dog-social and dog friendly, contrary to popular belief about reactive dogs! While a dog park would not be the best fit for a dog who’s fearful, reactive, or aggressive towards strangers, it may be possible for you to coordinate a doggie playdate with a familiar person and their dog. This could be a family member, friend, friend of a friend, etc. If your neighborhood walks are currently too stressful for your dog but they need an outlet for some social play and physical exercise, try coordinating a play date with a friend. You could even coordinate a playdate at a nearby Sniffspot and knock out two birds with one stone! This would be a great way to let the dogs meet and play on neutral ground, if being on “home territory” is an issue for either dog.

While a dog park would not be the best fit for a dog who’s fearful, reactive, or aggressive towards strangers, it may be possible for you to coordinate a doggie playdate with a familiar person and their dog.

#5: Have a training session

Having training sessions with your dog to learn new behaviors and practice old ones is a sure-fire way to burn mental energy and tire your pup out quickly. Sometimes all it takes is 10 minutes to get a dog who’s ready for a nap on the couch after a training sessions! You can practice anything you’d like with your dog, like obedience, life skills, or even just teaching them a cute new trick. Trick training is a great way to build your relationship with your dog, practice your mechanics and timing, and build your dog’s confidence. There are tons of tutorials online with numbers of different tricks you can teach your dog. Training requires your dog to problem solve and stay engaged with you to achieve the reinforcement they’re looking for (usually food or toys). This requires a lot of brain work, and a training session can exhaust your dog just as much as an hour long trek through the neighborhood in no time! Need some ideas on tricks to start with? The internet is full of inspiration, start with this.

Training requires your dog to problem solve and stay engaged with you to achieve the reinforcement they’re looking for (usually food or toys).

#6: Play with a flirt pole in the backyard

Flirt poles are a fantastic way to get your dog moving and burn some energy while not having to go anywhere. It’s also a great way to practice impulse control and work on building your relationship with your dog. A flirt pole essentially looks like an oversized cat toy: there’s a stick, a line, and a “teaser” toy attached to the end, almost like a fishing pole. You can bring your dog to an open space in the house, or out in your yard to have a play session with chasing down the flirt pole to tire them out and let them satisfy their biological need to chase and catch “prey.” Want to get started using a flirt pole? There’s a specific way to play safely and productively with your dog, so check this Youtube video out for inspiration on how to use one.

#7: Start learning about Nose Work Games

Nose work is an inclusive dog sport that you can easily re-create at home with your dog! All breeds, ages, and sizes of dogs can participate in nose work. A dog’s strongest sense is their sense of smell, so letting them use their nose to search and sniff out target odors for reinforcement is a highly rewarding and satisfying activity for them. Many dogs also find nose work to be a confidence-building activity, as you will ask your dog to search different objects and in different contexts they may not have necessarily ever experienced before, with a reinforcing payoff. There are many different nose work games you can try at home without any prior experience, check out this tutorial and this tutorial for inspiration.

If you’re interested in learning about the official sport of K9 Nosework, check out the NACSW (National Association of Canine Scent Work) to learn more and get involved with your dog! Trials and most classes are reactive dog-friendly!

A dog’s strongest sense is their sense of smell, so letting them use their nose to search and sniff out target odors for reinforcement is a highly rewarding and satisfying activity for them.

#8: Engage in a social play session with your dog

Social play is very satisfying for many dogs, and can be a great relationship builder between you. If you have a reactive dog that you’re actively trying to work with to modify their behavior, building a solid foundation of a positive, trusting relationship together is the first step to making progress. If your dog doesn’t feel positively about you or safe with you, your progress will not be as significant when modifying their behavior. Social play is a great way to build a bond, and can be really easy. If you have a dog who enjoys toys, use this to your advantage and play together with their toys. Get engaged, get rowdy, and make sure to be silly with your dog!

Having your dog chase you down can also be fun for them. As a bonus, it can also help boost your dog’s recall, as they learn that you are really fun to come running to, and it pays off really big for them. You can also engage in low-arousal, gentle play together mimicking your dog’s body language and inviting them to engage with you. This can be with or without toys, some dogs will enjoy playing with you with no toys present at all!

#9: Learn about fitness training for dogs

What about dogs who need some physical conditioning or fitness training? There are tons of exercises and solutions out there to work on your dog’s coordination, muscle tone, etc that don’t require you leaving your home and taking your dog on a long, brisk march down the street. Asking your dog to shift their weight on unstable surfaces, walk or run in certain patterns, and move over obstacles, etc can be a great way to tire them both physically and mentally instead of a walk. This kind of training doesn’t require a professional or taking a class, you can learn all about it while at home and recreate the training yourself. If you’re concerned about whether an exercise is right for your dog or not before trying it, simply reach out to your vet and ask about their opinion. Check this link out for some easy ideas to start with.

There are tons of exercises and solutions out there to work on your dog’s coordination, muscle tone, etc that don’t require you leaving your home and taking your dog on a long, brisk march down the street.

#10: Try indoor or backyard agility

Teaching your dog basic agility exercises as a means of enrichment and exercise is a great way to get them mentally and physically tired and satisfied. There are tons of varieties of agility sets out there, from indoor-centric sets to full backyard courses. You can even learn how to DIY your own agility obstacles if you are crafty. Agility is a great way to combine training and physical exercise into a cooperative activity both you and your dog can participate in together. Of course, make sure your vet is comfortable with your dog participating in agility activities at home, and always ensure the obstacles and courses you ask your dog to complete are adjusted to be safe for their current physical condition, coordination, and activity level.

Reactive Rover Tips: 10 Alternatives To Neighborhood Walks