Reactive Dog Training

About Reactive Dog Training

Welcome to Reactive Dog Training: the podcast for reactive dog owners who are exhausted, overwhelmed, and tired of feeling alone. Hosted by professional rehabilitation specialist Claire Lawrence, this podcast explores the emotional reality behind living with reactive, sensitive, fearful, frustrated, or behaviourally complex dogs. These are honest conversations about: reactivity aggression emotional overwhelm nervous systems behaviour science realistic rehabilitation responsible ownership and the emotional toll reactive dog ownership can take on people too This is not a podcast about creating perfect dogs. It’s about understanding behaviour more deeply, building emotional safety, creating realistic progress, and helping owners feel seen, supported, and understood along the way. Through real stories, practical education, behavioural insight, and compassionate conversations, Claire breaks down the truth about reactive dogs in a way that is calm, honest, and easy to understand, and all without shame, gimmicks, or unrealistic promises. Because, sometimes the dog isn’t the problem. Sometimes the advice is. And, often progress starts the moment we stop trying to force dogs into impossible expectations and start understanding the dog in front of us instead. If you’ve ever cried because of your dog’s behaviour…you’re in the right place. To learn more about Claire and her work with reactive dogs, use this link to sign up (for free) to her email list and receive up to date training advice and information on upcoming training challenges, programs and training retreats: https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/2231914/192881005088999066/share

Publisher

Claire Lawrence

Category

kids & family

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Jun 2026

Latest episode

28 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

10 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   28 Aug 2026

   🐾 Camping With Reactive Dogs | Episode 1: Vicks Place, Kendal

   Welcome to the first episode of my Camping With Reactive Dogs series! For our first trip, we headed to Vicks Place near Kendal for a couple of days of camping, exploring and, most importantly, helping the dogs learn how to settle in a completely new environment. In this episode, I take you around Vicks Place and share my thoughts on the site, introduce you to Dot, Logan and Digger, show you how I set up my TentBox when travelling with multiple dogs, and talk through some of the management d...

2. 

   2 Aug 2026

   Did your dog really react out of nowhere... or did you just miss this?

   Did your dog really react out of nowhere... or did you just miss these signs? It's one of the most common things I hear from reactive dog owners: "He just exploded." "She reacted out of nowhere." "There weren't any warning signs." "they're so unpredictable!" But, what if your dog had actually been communicating long before the barking, lunging or growling began? In this episode, we're diving into one of the biggest misconceptions in dog training: the belief that reactive behaviour happens wit...

3. 

   26 Jul 2026

   Why You Feel Like You're Failing Your Dog

   Have you ever looked at another dog and wondered why everything seems so much easier for everyone else? If you live with a reactive dog, chances are you've questioned yourself more times than you can count. In this episode, we're exploring the guilt that so many reactive dog owners carry every day. From comparing yourself to other owners on social media to replaying every difficult walk in your head, we'll talk about why these feelings are so common—and why they don't mean you're failing. We'...

4. 

   19 Jul 2026

   The Exhaustion Nobody Talks About | The Hidden Reality of Living with a Reactive Dog

   Living with a reactive dog is exhausting in ways most people never see. People see the barking, lunging or growling on a walk. What they don't see is everything that happens before and after those few moments. The route planning. The constant scanning. The judgement from strangers. The cancelled plans. The guilt. The tears after a difficult walk. The mental load of always being on alert. If you've ever finished a walk feeling completely drained, this episode is for you. In this episode, I'...

5. 

   11 Jul 2026

   The Dog I Couldn't Save: Sarah Roper's Story

   Behavioural euthanasia is one of the most difficult and emotionally charged topics in the dog world. It is a subject many people avoid discussing, often because of the stigma, judgment, and misunderstanding that surround it. In this episode, I sit down with Sarah Roper to discuss the journey she experienced with one of her first dogs and the heartbreaking decision that ultimately led to behavioural euthanasia. Together, we explore the realities of living with a dog whose behaviour presented s...

6. 

   5 Jul 2026

   Your Dog Doesn't Need Fixing: A Different Conversation About Reactivity with Kate Gallagher

   If you've ever felt exhausted, embarrassed, frustrated, guilty, or completely alone because of your dog's behaviour, this episode is for you. When people talk about reactive dogs, the conversation usually focuses on training techniques, behaviour modification plans, and managing triggers. But, what about the human at the other end of the lead? In this episode, I sit down with dog trainer Kate Gallagher to explore the emotional reality of living with a reactive dog. We discuss the guilt that c...

7. 

   28 Jun 2026

   Environmental Sensitivities: The Overlooked Cause of Reactivity with Jane Ardern

   🎙️ Is Your Dog Really Reactive... Or Just Overwhelmed by the World? The Overlooked Cause of Reactivity | With Jane Ardern When we see a dog barking, lunging, freezing, shutting down or acting "silly", it's easy to assume they need more training, more exposure or better socialisation. But, what if reactivity is often a symptom, rather than the problem itself? In this episode, I sit down with Jane Ardern to discuss environmental sensitivities in dogs and why so many dogs struggle to cope in the...

8. 

   21 Jun 2026

   Responsible Dog Ownership Sometimes Means Adjusting Expectations

   Not every dog is going to become the dog you originally imagined. And, accepting that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. In this episode of Reactive Dog Training, Claire Lawrence explores one of the most emotional and misunderstood parts of reactive dog ownership... adjusting expectations responsibly and compassionately. This honest conversation covers: the pressure modern dog culture places on ownerswhy not every dog can cope with the same lifestylethe difference between acceptance and giving upunr...

9. 

   14 Jun 2026

   Sometimes The Advice Is The Problem

   Reactive dog owners are constantly told: “Be firmer.” “Correct the behaviour.” “Show the dog who’s boss.” “Don’t let them get away with it.” But, what if the problem isn’t always the dog? In this episode of Reactive Dog Training, Claire Lawrence explores one of the most damaging realities in the dog training world, that many reactive dog owners are following advice that doesn’t actually suit the dog in front of them. This honest and emotionally grounded conversation covers: why reactive beha...

10. 

    7 Jun 2026

    The Truth About Reactive Dogs

    If you’ve ever cried because of your dog’s behaviour… this episode is for you. In the very first episode of Reactive Dog Training, Claire Lawrence explains why she chose to dedicate her work to reactive, emotionally overwhelmed, and behaviourally complex dogs. The dogs most people misunderstand, fear, or eventually give up on. This is an honest conversation about: reactive dogsemotional overwhelmbehaviour vs emotionwhy obedience doesn’t always equal emotional stabilitythe hidden struggles rea...

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.