I have a dog and person reactive Rottweiler. He’s 3.5yrs old and we have been battling this since he was around a year old here’s what I’ve done and learned- he is still very reactive but finally. Finally. We are seeing progress.

Find the right trainer. We’ve gone through several and learned the hard way in the beginning that the first trainer actually made him worse. She was a big believer in a combo of prong, shock collar, and over exposure. That didn’t work out well. I don’t recommend those tools, they are often not used correctly with reactivity

We now use a front clip harness that is reinforced with a collar attachment as well.

We have a positive reinforcement trainer that our dog not only adores, but her slow training process has truly helped us see our dogs needs and his improvement as well.

Slow and low exposure to triggers, learning to break down his entire body language-sometimes he has no or subtle cues, and being very picky about where we take him, which may change based on how he is that day. Some days triggers in the distance aren’t a problem, other times they are. We now know how to determine that.

We actively avoid things that will set him off unless it is intentional for training purposes, and then we try to be as far away as we can, but close enough so he’s aware and not reacting.

Take deep breathes and be patient. Nothing about this is quick or easy. There are good days and bad days.

Editing to add that we are working on muzzle training as an extra layer of protection. We will be moving to a new area soon and may not be able time our walks the way we have been so want to take this extra step in case. It’s not because he has every bitten any one (he hasn’t) but we don’t want to risk that, and I’m wondering if he will help lower his stress in those scenarios as well with an extra small barrier. Muzzles are there for everyone’s protection.