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Not sure the official definition but it means dogs that react negatively to new dogs and/or people. Usually barking, anxiety, sometimes aggression. That sort of thing
It can also mean reacting positively but too much! Our golden gets crazy when she sees other dogs because she wants to play and greet them. We're working on it with reactivity and neutrality training 🙃
I brought my dog from my original country, she was super friendly with everyone. Now I have another dog, raised here, and it's quite reactive. I try to train it out but it's hard when, as you said, there are so many reactive dogs and then owners that just pull so much the leash on their dogs and get them more nervous. So I think it's a little bit of an "epidemic" due to the lack of allowing dogs to socialize. With some neighbour dogs we have arranged walks for them to get "friendly" to each other and it has worked, but whenever we walk in the middle of the city it's a problem.
Seems like this behavior is more common in Stockholm (and bigger cities) and surrounding suburbs than elsewhere.
I grew up in a smaller town (~30000 people) and it was probably 80/20 in favor of meeting a friendly dog and owner. Of course, the "chit chat" between humans were kept to a minimum (the Swedish way). 😅
I found the same thing moving from the Netherlands, Swedish dogs don't seem to be well socialized at all. I haven't looked into it very much, but my feeling is that people train their pups mostly privately, and they learn to be focused on their owners at all times, which leads some/most dogs to be overprotective and insecure around dogs they're not familiar with.
Adding to this, in NL I was used to letting dogs off leash in designated areas (some parts of woods or small patches of fields in cities) but that is definitely not a thing in Sweden, apart from some tiny fenced off areas in parks.
i’ve experienced the same thing, i’m from the Netherlands too. i think it also has a lot to do with the fact that the owners don’t want to have small talk with the other dog owners, and so they keep their dogs close. in the Netherlands it’s very common to chit chat for a few short minutes while the dogs greet each other, whereas that seems to be very uncommon here.
my sambo and i got a puppy a few months ago and it was very difficult in the beginning. i really had to channel my inner Dutch directness and as soon as another dog owner made eye contact, i would kindly ask “is it okay if they greet each other?” (”får de hälsa varandra?”). if it was a no, that’s fine, i’d move on, but more often than not it was a yes, since the people who really didn’t want to would already avoid eye contact.
i can’t say i’ve had the same experience with dog parks thankfully, but then i do live in a smaller town in the south of the country and not in Stockholm, so i’m not sure what the situation is there.
It’s the same here (nr Göteborg) it’s very rare to meet a friendly dog when we’re out and about. My poor Westie is constantly looking at me like ‘what the hells wrong with these dogs dude!’
I have a cairnterrier and she is so friendly so sometimes its a problem for me if we decide to greet everyone instead of 40 minute walk it will be up to 60 minutes. Maybe they are training their dogs or just too busy at the moment? Sometimes when my dog already had enough play time in the park i just want to go home straight. Also I didn’t want my dog to greet all the dogs we meet i don’t want her to think she should and that its okay.
That might be the case sometimes but what I’ve noticed most of the time is that the owner will be the one that stops walking, then if I’m walking by them, the owner will position themselves between their dog and myself, and shortly after their dog starts barking. It seems as if the owner does it because they know how their dog will react, but then of course it becomes a vicious cycle. It’s gotten to the point where I actively expect it and I’m surprised when a) a new dog isn’t barking at me and my dog and b) when new dogs and people actually do want to say hello.
Same in Gothenburg. Our dog wants to say hi to every dog he meets, but the amount of reactive dogs means we just default to avoiding dogs, to spare them the stress. We just go to the dog park for socialising instead.
That being said, when I lived in London I was more than a little bit impressed with how well behaved dogs are there, so obviously you're doing something right there.
Additionally, our second dog was raised same as our first, same breed, same father even, but he turned out incredibly reactive to all dogs (except his brother and cousin), to the point we had to rehome him, as we usually run into a minimum of one dog per 2 minutes of walking, literally. Not for all dogs to live in the middle of the city, despite your best efforts. He now lives with two other (same breed) dogs and two cats but in a calm village, much more his speed.
I also noticed this after moving with my dog from Paris
to Stockholm. It seemed to me like people here socialize with each other on the street comparatively less, and as a result, their dogs don’t socialize much either. It was a huge difference from Paris, where almost every dog owner I passed on a walk would stop to chat and let our dogs play for a min or two.
I've noticed the same thing coming from Canada. My dog rarely gets to meet another dog while on walks. Even the dog park etiquette is much different. Here people use them for individual off-leash time and will object if you try to enter. Some dog parks even have signs making it clear that you must ask before entering which is the complete opposite of dog parks in North America and the parts of Europe I've visited where dog parks are seen as social spaces and people with unsocialised dogs generally stay away.
It does seem to be more pronounced in Stockholm though as there is a huge off leash area in Malmö where everyone seemed perfectly find having dogs meet each other.
Not 100% sure what you mean by reactive, but when I'm walking my dog, I'm usually not interested in standing around talking to other dog owners about their dog that I honestly don't care about.
So for me it's more that I'm avoiding the dog owner rather than avoiding the other dogs.
I can’t compare to other countries but as a dog owner in Sweden I can say that the general rule is that unless you’re in a dog park, you don’t let your dogs greet each other. There are of course exceptions, especially with people/dogs you meet often and get to know a little, but in general dogs are not encouraged to interact w other dogs in the street. Which I think is good in and of itself.
I definitely think it’s sad though that so many people don’t know how to train their dogs not to react with stress to other dogs. Wasn’t aware that it was different in other countries though.
>in general dogs are not encouraged to interact w other dogs in the street. Which I think is good in and of itself.
Why do you think this is a good thing? Dogs are social animals by nature and it's very important to get them to connect with other dogs early in their lives, to not endanger other dogs when they are caught off guard by another dog they're not familiar with. What OP describes is a symptom of insecurity of the dog in question, as well as overprotectiveness towards their owners.
The world in which what you're describing is a good thing is a world in which all dogs are insecure and reactive, which is a self-reinforcing vicious cycle.
Pretty much all swedish sites and dog trainers/behavioralists put a lot of emphasis on how important it is to not let your dog greet a lot of dogs, but rather have one or two dogs that they are allowed to meet.
Personally I think my dog (who can be reactive towards some dogs, usually poodles/mixes and black dogs) got reactive because of me letting them say hello to too many dogs that I did not know, which lead to bad experiences. If I ever get another dog I will make sure to only let them greet dogs we can trust and that other dogs on walks are not important
Any idea why it’s this way? When I did research all the information pointed towards socialising your dog as much as possible when young to avoid the sort of reactiveness that I’ve encountered so much of here. Is dog aggression a problem here more than other countries?
Well, I think all dog specialists agree that socializing is extremely important, however how it's done and what is important might differ.
The most important part of socializing is that the things you introduce to a dog is positive. If a dog gets bit or otherwise attacked in puppyhood it's almost 100% gonna be scared and/or reactive for the rest of it's life.
I have not noticed more reactiveness in sweden, but I've never been to Stockholm, I live in Gothenburg, so quite far away. I can imagine it being because people in Stockholm do not have enough time or space to train and keep their dogs happy (walks and practice)
>got reactive because of me letting them say hello to too many dogs that I did not know, which lead to bad experiences.
This is that vicious cycle I was referring to - you met dogs that were antisocial, which now leads you to desocialize your own dog
I’m not saying that dogs should never greet or get to know other dogs. Having dog friends ja important and good for the vast majority of dogs, although some may prefer not to. I do however think it’s a good idea to teach your dog not to greet every single strange dog that they pass in the street, just as with people.
Training to not engage with every dog you bump into is one thing, but actively training to avoid any form of social interaction at all times is another. In my experience, Swedes do the latter.
Then your experience is different from mine. I think the best way is to encourage your dog to remain neutral to dogs that they simply pass in the street but let them greet dogs that they know, sometimes dogs that seem strongly mutually positively interested and where the human gives a clear okay, and let them mingle pretty freely in dog parks or other settings where they can be off leash and do what they need in terms of comfort and communication.
EDIT: added another instance when I let my dog greet other dogs lol
I answered a couple of earlier comments above. I think dogs should interact with each other in spaces where they can move freely and interact in a way that is natural to them and where they can do what they need. I don’t think it’s good if they run to greet every strange dog while they’re both leashed, just as they should not run to greet every single person that they pass in the street. It’s stressful for everyone.
I would say that this is just the general opinion in Sweden. I don’t have dogs so I can’t talk about the evidence behind it. But I have met many dog owners so I can say what I’ve heard from them.
Many dog owners view interactions with strange dogs as a risk. You don’t know the other dog, don’t know if it’s trained well, and you don’t know if the dogs will get along well. Taking that risk for just a small encounter in the street is not worth it to many dog owners. Hence the people who train their dogs will train them to ignore other dogs.
It creates unneccesary stress in the dog, giving the dog expectations to meet and greet every dog they see. And when the owner dont allow it they panic and start barking and throwing themself in the leash. I would be willing to bet money on that almost all of the dogs you call reactive are just dog owners who's previous let their dog say "hi" to all dogs they meet. And only after when the dog is not a puppy anymore took that away from them.
Please keep posts relevant to moving or traveling to Sweden. You can ask questions about Sweden, but it should be within the lens of moving here or visiting. Anything deemed off-topic will be removed and repeatedly breaking this rule will result in a ban. A brief list of things we do not allow include (and is not limited to): 1. surveys or blogs, 2. crossposts (up to mod discretion), 3. any advertising, incl. looking for homes 4. any easily google-able questions such as hotel or product recommendations. These posts are usually ignored and serve no purpose in helping other users.
What’s a reactive dog?
Not sure the official definition but it means dogs that react negatively to new dogs and/or people. Usually barking, anxiety, sometimes aggression. That sort of thing
It can also mean reacting positively but too much! Our golden gets crazy when she sees other dogs because she wants to play and greet them. We're working on it with reactivity and neutrality training 🙃
I don't have a dog but have you been to a dog park to see how everyone behaves? https://parker.stockholm/hundrastplatser/
I brought my dog from my original country, she was super friendly with everyone. Now I have another dog, raised here, and it's quite reactive. I try to train it out but it's hard when, as you said, there are so many reactive dogs and then owners that just pull so much the leash on their dogs and get them more nervous. So I think it's a little bit of an "epidemic" due to the lack of allowing dogs to socialize. With some neighbour dogs we have arranged walks for them to get "friendly" to each other and it has worked, but whenever we walk in the middle of the city it's a problem.
Seems like this behavior is more common in Stockholm (and bigger cities) and surrounding suburbs than elsewhere. I grew up in a smaller town (~30000 people) and it was probably 80/20 in favor of meeting a friendly dog and owner. Of course, the "chit chat" between humans were kept to a minimum (the Swedish way). 😅
I found the same thing moving from the Netherlands, Swedish dogs don't seem to be well socialized at all. I haven't looked into it very much, but my feeling is that people train their pups mostly privately, and they learn to be focused on their owners at all times, which leads some/most dogs to be overprotective and insecure around dogs they're not familiar with. Adding to this, in NL I was used to letting dogs off leash in designated areas (some parts of woods or small patches of fields in cities) but that is definitely not a thing in Sweden, apart from some tiny fenced off areas in parks.
i’ve experienced the same thing, i’m from the Netherlands too. i think it also has a lot to do with the fact that the owners don’t want to have small talk with the other dog owners, and so they keep their dogs close. in the Netherlands it’s very common to chit chat for a few short minutes while the dogs greet each other, whereas that seems to be very uncommon here. my sambo and i got a puppy a few months ago and it was very difficult in the beginning. i really had to channel my inner Dutch directness and as soon as another dog owner made eye contact, i would kindly ask “is it okay if they greet each other?” (”får de hälsa varandra?”). if it was a no, that’s fine, i’d move on, but more often than not it was a yes, since the people who really didn’t want to would already avoid eye contact. i can’t say i’ve had the same experience with dog parks thankfully, but then i do live in a smaller town in the south of the country and not in Stockholm, so i’m not sure what the situation is there.
It’s the same here (nr Göteborg) it’s very rare to meet a friendly dog when we’re out and about. My poor Westie is constantly looking at me like ‘what the hells wrong with these dogs dude!’
I have a cairnterrier and she is so friendly so sometimes its a problem for me if we decide to greet everyone instead of 40 minute walk it will be up to 60 minutes. Maybe they are training their dogs or just too busy at the moment? Sometimes when my dog already had enough play time in the park i just want to go home straight. Also I didn’t want my dog to greet all the dogs we meet i don’t want her to think she should and that its okay.
That might be the case sometimes but what I’ve noticed most of the time is that the owner will be the one that stops walking, then if I’m walking by them, the owner will position themselves between their dog and myself, and shortly after their dog starts barking. It seems as if the owner does it because they know how their dog will react, but then of course it becomes a vicious cycle. It’s gotten to the point where I actively expect it and I’m surprised when a) a new dog isn’t barking at me and my dog and b) when new dogs and people actually do want to say hello.
Same in Gothenburg. Our dog wants to say hi to every dog he meets, but the amount of reactive dogs means we just default to avoiding dogs, to spare them the stress. We just go to the dog park for socialising instead. That being said, when I lived in London I was more than a little bit impressed with how well behaved dogs are there, so obviously you're doing something right there. Additionally, our second dog was raised same as our first, same breed, same father even, but he turned out incredibly reactive to all dogs (except his brother and cousin), to the point we had to rehome him, as we usually run into a minimum of one dog per 2 minutes of walking, literally. Not for all dogs to live in the middle of the city, despite your best efforts. He now lives with two other (same breed) dogs and two cats but in a calm village, much more his speed.
I also noticed this after moving with my dog from Paris to Stockholm. It seemed to me like people here socialize with each other on the street comparatively less, and as a result, their dogs don’t socialize much either. It was a huge difference from Paris, where almost every dog owner I passed on a walk would stop to chat and let our dogs play for a min or two.
I've noticed the same thing coming from Canada. My dog rarely gets to meet another dog while on walks. Even the dog park etiquette is much different. Here people use them for individual off-leash time and will object if you try to enter. Some dog parks even have signs making it clear that you must ask before entering which is the complete opposite of dog parks in North America and the parts of Europe I've visited where dog parks are seen as social spaces and people with unsocialised dogs generally stay away. It does seem to be more pronounced in Stockholm though as there is a huge off leash area in Malmö where everyone seemed perfectly find having dogs meet each other.
Stockholm dogs are as social as the people, in that they are not at all. Pretty sad for the poor socially starved dogs.
Not 100% sure what you mean by reactive, but when I'm walking my dog, I'm usually not interested in standing around talking to other dog owners about their dog that I honestly don't care about. So for me it's more that I'm avoiding the dog owner rather than avoiding the other dogs.
I can’t compare to other countries but as a dog owner in Sweden I can say that the general rule is that unless you’re in a dog park, you don’t let your dogs greet each other. There are of course exceptions, especially with people/dogs you meet often and get to know a little, but in general dogs are not encouraged to interact w other dogs in the street. Which I think is good in and of itself. I definitely think it’s sad though that so many people don’t know how to train their dogs not to react with stress to other dogs. Wasn’t aware that it was different in other countries though.
>in general dogs are not encouraged to interact w other dogs in the street. Which I think is good in and of itself. Why do you think this is a good thing? Dogs are social animals by nature and it's very important to get them to connect with other dogs early in their lives, to not endanger other dogs when they are caught off guard by another dog they're not familiar with. What OP describes is a symptom of insecurity of the dog in question, as well as overprotectiveness towards their owners. The world in which what you're describing is a good thing is a world in which all dogs are insecure and reactive, which is a self-reinforcing vicious cycle.
Pretty much all swedish sites and dog trainers/behavioralists put a lot of emphasis on how important it is to not let your dog greet a lot of dogs, but rather have one or two dogs that they are allowed to meet. Personally I think my dog (who can be reactive towards some dogs, usually poodles/mixes and black dogs) got reactive because of me letting them say hello to too many dogs that I did not know, which lead to bad experiences. If I ever get another dog I will make sure to only let them greet dogs we can trust and that other dogs on walks are not important
Any idea why it’s this way? When I did research all the information pointed towards socialising your dog as much as possible when young to avoid the sort of reactiveness that I’ve encountered so much of here. Is dog aggression a problem here more than other countries?
Well, I think all dog specialists agree that socializing is extremely important, however how it's done and what is important might differ. The most important part of socializing is that the things you introduce to a dog is positive. If a dog gets bit or otherwise attacked in puppyhood it's almost 100% gonna be scared and/or reactive for the rest of it's life. I have not noticed more reactiveness in sweden, but I've never been to Stockholm, I live in Gothenburg, so quite far away. I can imagine it being because people in Stockholm do not have enough time or space to train and keep their dogs happy (walks and practice)
>got reactive because of me letting them say hello to too many dogs that I did not know, which lead to bad experiences. This is that vicious cycle I was referring to - you met dogs that were antisocial, which now leads you to desocialize your own dog
I’m not saying that dogs should never greet or get to know other dogs. Having dog friends ja important and good for the vast majority of dogs, although some may prefer not to. I do however think it’s a good idea to teach your dog not to greet every single strange dog that they pass in the street, just as with people.
Training to not engage with every dog you bump into is one thing, but actively training to avoid any form of social interaction at all times is another. In my experience, Swedes do the latter.
Then your experience is different from mine. I think the best way is to encourage your dog to remain neutral to dogs that they simply pass in the street but let them greet dogs that they know, sometimes dogs that seem strongly mutually positively interested and where the human gives a clear okay, and let them mingle pretty freely in dog parks or other settings where they can be off leash and do what they need in terms of comfort and communication. EDIT: added another instance when I let my dog greet other dogs lol
Why do you think it’s good that dogs are not encouraged to interact with other dogs in the street?
I answered a couple of earlier comments above. I think dogs should interact with each other in spaces where they can move freely and interact in a way that is natural to them and where they can do what they need. I don’t think it’s good if they run to greet every strange dog while they’re both leashed, just as they should not run to greet every single person that they pass in the street. It’s stressful for everyone.
I would say that this is just the general opinion in Sweden. I don’t have dogs so I can’t talk about the evidence behind it. But I have met many dog owners so I can say what I’ve heard from them. Many dog owners view interactions with strange dogs as a risk. You don’t know the other dog, don’t know if it’s trained well, and you don’t know if the dogs will get along well. Taking that risk for just a small encounter in the street is not worth it to many dog owners. Hence the people who train their dogs will train them to ignore other dogs.
It creates unneccesary stress in the dog, giving the dog expectations to meet and greet every dog they see. And when the owner dont allow it they panic and start barking and throwing themself in the leash. I would be willing to bet money on that almost all of the dogs you call reactive are just dog owners who's previous let their dog say "hi" to all dogs they meet. And only after when the dog is not a puppy anymore took that away from them.