I've had a reactive dog, her name is Jessie, a golden retriever.
It started after her first season, she had a phantom pregnancy, where she was guarding all her toys against the other house-hold dogs. Her hormones were raging, she behaved as if she was actually pregnant and the toys were her babies. The reactivity and resource guarding didn't subside after the phantom pregnancy was over. I have had to manage it with training and taking care not to leave small toys lying around, which is working really well.
Your dog can become reactive to other dogs for different reasons and experiences, they can’t help it and It isn’t something that you have done and isn’t your fault.
The good thing is, that reactivity can be overcome with management and training, you don’t need to live with a reactive dog!

---

Date: 27/02/2026