Could Counter Conditioning Help You And Your Dog?

Have you ever heard of counter conditioning?

You may have even used it before without realising it.

Counter conditioning is one of the most powerful tools in dog training when it comes to behaviour problems rooted in fear or over-excitement.

You might need to use counter conditioning if you’ve ever:

• Felt embarrassed by your dog’s behaviour in public because they’re freaking out and nothing you do gets through to them.

• Wished you could just talk to your dog and explain that your neighbour’s possum-shaped lawn ornament is not a demon.

• Felt like you’re being towed behind a horse every time your dog sees another dog - grass skis, anyone?

These are often fear-based responses (sometimes combined with frustration or excitement), and they stop both you and your dog from enjoying life together.

In simple terms, counter conditioning is about changing the way your dog feels about something.

If your dog sees another dog, hears a noise, or spots something scary, their emotional reaction triggers their behaviour. If you change that underlying emotional response from negative to positive, the behaviour changes too.

With counter conditioning, you can:

• Replace fear with calm or even positive anticipation.

• Turn a negative association into a positive one.

• Transform your dog’s behaviour in the presence of their triggers.

As a trainer, I use counter conditioning often, and I’ve seen the changes firsthand:

• A nervous dog gaining confidence.

• A reactive dog starting to look forward to things that once set them off.

• Walks that go from stressful to enjoyable.

Your dog’s emotions drive their behaviour. Instead of just trying to suppress or correct the behaviour you see, counter conditioning works at the root cause: how your dog feels.

When you shift that feeling, the outward behaviour naturally follows.

Counter conditioning is simple in concept but needs to be done the right way for it to work. Timing, distance from triggers, and the right rewards make all the difference.

👉 Want to learn how to put it into practice? Sign up for my Free Reactivity Video Workshop where I walk you through the steps of helping a reactive dog.

👉 Or, if you’re ready to dive deeper and work step-by-step on reactivity with me, check out Frantic To Focused - my signature course for dogs who struggle with triggers (including, but not limited to, other dogs).