11/10/2026
🚨 YOUR DOG REACTS TO OTHER DOGS ON NARROW PATHS… AND THERE’S NOWHERE TO GO. NOW WHAT?!
This is a question I get asked A LOT in my sessions.
And I’m going to give you an answer you might not want to hear… 🙈
YOU MIGHT NOT BE READY FOR THAT ENVIRONMENT YET.
Sorry!
If you dread meeting another dog on a long, narrow path because you know your dog will react, STOP putting yourself in that situation for now.
If you can access open spaces without navigating those paths, do that. If not? Get in the car!
🐕 A long, narrow path with another dog approaching is THE FINAL BOSS of reactivity training (think Tommy Gunn in Rocky or Dr. Neo Cortex in Crash Bandicoot 🤣)
There’s nowhere to create distance, limited escape routes and very few options.
It’s not where you start. It’s the end goal!
So let me ask you this…
👉 Have you nailed it from the other side of the road?
👉 In the park or open fields?
👉 Walking on the same side of the road, with enough space to manage the situation?
If not, THAT’S where your training needs to happen first.
🏡 Residential areas are fantastic for reactivity training. You have options, space to move away if needed and opportunities to practise at an achievable distance.
Build those foundations. Create successes. Build your confidence alongside your dogs
The aim isn’t to avoid these situations forever. It’s to prepare your dog to handle them successfully. And prepare you too, because we all know how much us humans are affected by these scenarios too.
Stop trying to overcome the final stage before you’ve mastered the levels that come before it! 💪🐕
