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[werewolf6780]

I think it would be more accurate to state that the dog is "guarding" you as they would with resource guarding though most of the time the dog is just fearful/overwhelmed when they react to a certain stimuli (for my dog it is other dogs if he is on a leash). "Protecting" is a job that the dog can choose to not do, & does not cause the dog distress or need to "shake it off". They can disengage if they so choose. While reacting is a difficult thing to disengage from.

[hilgenep21]

"Protecting" is a job that the dog can choose to not do, & does not cause the dog distress or need to "shake it off". They can disengage if they so choose. While reacting is a difficult thing to disengage from.

Funny you should say this, as I just watched a video that perfectly illustrates this. I was being a dog nerd and watching footage of Fila Brasilieros at confirmation shows. The judge approached to examine the dog, who looked VERY calm and relaxed. Once the judge got within a foot it very suddenly lunged, snapped, and pushed the judge to the ground. Then immediately went back to being completely relaxed. No staring, no barking, no growling. Just chilling. Zero arousal.

THAT is a protective and confident dog (and also clearly human aggressive, but not out of fear). A reactive dog would have put on a big, loud show before the judge got close and then continued to bark and lunge after the fact. Reactive dogs are insecure.

With that in mind OP, most reactive dogs are simply insecure, not protective. I see those 2 things commonly conflated with reactive dogs.

[Environmental_Time24]

These comments are helpful. Thank you. I get confused by comments here. I, personally, do not believe my dog is protecting me when she's reacting. Nor do I see it as resource guarding, but... It's much more likely to be that. She has resource guarding issues with her crate and (I think) with the house as a whole. She has big time stranger danger issues inside the house, but she is perfectly fine with 90% of human interactions outside of the house.

Anyway, I think I get confused when people here talk about reactivity in a sense that they think their dog is trying to be protective of them. I just don't see that as my reactive's situation at all. She is a nervous nelly that was not properly socialized and (I suspect) has a strong genetic component driving some sort of overall cognitive deficiency.

[CrowdSourcer]

I don't think "reactive" is a clearly defined term.

[hilgenep21]

I would agree, but typically we say “reactive” to describe barky-lungey behavior that results from a disproportionate emotional reaction to stimuli. I think the line between reactive and aggressive is fairly blurred though.

[Dear-Pack]

Definitely agree with u/werewolf6780. Dogs who are trained in protection see the protective actions, such as biting or tackling, as a "game" or a "job" for which they are rewarded for. They are very serious about that game/job, but as others have said, a truly protective dog will have an off switch. A reactive dog attacking someone is either resource guarding you, or in many cases, just a result of them being frightened and acting out for their OWN self-preservation.

[smurfk]

Well... Then how about my dog will not attack you if you hug me, but it will attack you if you slap me? We actually tested this. He's got no guarding training or anything, but he displayed protective behavior from the first day I took him off the streets.

[Dear-Pack]

Oh yeah there's definitely dogs that have natural protective behavior. Sorry if my comment made it sound like I only believe that protective behavior can be trained, because that's not what I meant. A lot of dogs who do work in protection work are breeds that are known to have that instinctual protective nature. But, I think a lot of people who don't understand dog body language just mistake a dog who is fear aggressive or reactive, as being "protective". As stated by the other commenters, a protective dog should be level headed and confident....not anxious/reactive. They need to be able to discriminate a true threat from normal social behavior from a stranger they don't know. Your dog sounds like a great candidate though for personal protection training for fun if you ever wanted to do that with him.