Dog Behaviourist Support for Reactive & Anxious Dogs
If your dog barks, lunges, bites, or shuts down in fear, everyday life can become stressful and unpredictable.
At Holistic Hounds, our specialist dog behaviourist Nathan works with dogs experiencing complex behavioural challenges.
From severe reactivity and aggression to anxiety and nervous behaviour, we help owners understand their dogs and create calm, lasting change.
Understanding Your Dog’s Behaviour
Living with a reactive or anxious dog can feel overwhelming.
Walks may feel stressful.
Visitors can become difficult.
Simple outings can quickly turn into situations you try to avoid.
Many owners feel embarrassed or unsure where to turn next.
Working with an experienced dog behaviourist can help you understand what your dog is trying to communicate and why certain behaviours appear.
Behaviour is rarely about a dog being “bad.”
More often it comes from fear, confusion, overstimulation, or past experiences.
With the right guidance, behaviour can change.
Working With a Specialist Dog Behaviourist
Nathan specialises in helping dogs who are experiencing serious behavioural challenges. These may include:
Aggression or biting behaviour towards people or other animals
Dogs that cannot cope in everyday environments such as walks or visitors
Dogs experiencing extreme anxiety or panic responses
Severe fear, avoidance, or shutdown behaviour
Reactivity that leads to barking, lunging, or loss of control around dogs or people
Dogs whose behaviour has escalated beyond standard training classes
Start Your Free Behaviour Assessment
Every dog is different, which is why all behaviour work begins with a free assessment.
This gives Nathan, our dog behaviourist the opportunity to understand your dog and your goals before recommending a training plan.
During your assessment we will:
• Observe your dog’s behaviour
• Discuss the challenges you’re experiencing
• Review your dog’s history and environment
• Identify triggers and stress signals
• Recommend the most appropriate next steps
This ensures your dog receives the right support from the very beginning.
Behaviour Case Studies
Many dogs who come to see our dog behaviourist arrive with complex behavioural challenges.
Here are a few examples of dogs who have made significant progress through structured behaviour work.
Case Study: Steve
The Challenge
When Steve first came to us, he presented as a dog with deeply challenging behaviour outside the home. While calm and sociable indoors, he was dangerously unpredictable in public settings. He would react intensely to other dogs and small animals, and most concerningly, would randomly lunge at passing people.
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Steve’s owners had already invested significant time and effort into doing everything “right”. He was crate-trained, calm before walks, on a high-quality diet, and receiving plenty of exercise and stimulation. They had also worked with multiple trainers and online programmes, yet progress remained limited. Confidence was fading, and there was a real fear that Steve might never be able to walk safely around other dogs or people.
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The Approach
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From the outset, our priority was twofold: to rebuild belief and to focus directly on the root of the problem.
Rather than attempting to indirectly fix Steve’s behaviour by adjusting lifestyle factors that were already well managed, we addressed the behaviour itself. From the very first session, we exposed Steve to other dogs in a controlled, supported way to demonstrate what was possible and to give both dog and owner a clear goal to work towards.
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Our approach balanced clear structure with appropriate reward and correction, allowing Steve to experience success early on without overwhelming him. While nothing was “fixed” in a single session, one key moment stood out early in the process — Steve was able to walk alongside other dogs calmly. This was a major breakthrough and shifted the focus from whether Steve could do it to how we could help him do it consistently.
Feedback From the client
“Before working with Holistic Hounds, our confidence in being able to help Steve was fading. While calm at home, he was unpredictable outside, reacting to dogs.
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From the very first session, Nathan gave us belief by showing us what was actually possible. Instead of avoiding the problem, he addressed it directly in a controlled and practical way. Seeing Steve walk calmly alongside other dogs for the first time was a huge turning point for us.”
Progress & Development
Over the following months, Steve’s behaviour became increasingly predictable and manageable. With consistent work, structure and clear handling, his reactivity reduced significantly and his ability to make better decisions around triggers improved.
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Nearly six months into the programme, Steve is a noticeably calmer dog. His owners feel more in control and confident, and in most situations Steve is now able to choose appropriate behaviours when faced with challenges that would previously have caused explosive reactions.
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The Results So Far
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Steve has progressed to the point where he is now transitioning from one-to-one sessions into some of our group activities, a step that once felt completely out of reach. His owners remain confident that Steve will continue to improve across all areas of his behaviour with ongoing support and structured exposure.
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This case highlights the importance of addressing behaviour directly, building belief early on, and creating clear, achievable milestones. Steve’s journey is a strong example of how even dogs with complex behavioural challenges can make meaningful, lasting progress when given the right structure, guidance and support.
Case Study: Bear
The Challenge
When Bear first started training with us, he was a very nervous 3 month old puppy and often became reactive towards other dogs and people. This behaviour wasn’t driven by aggression, but by frustration and uncertainty, which made everyday walks and new environments stressful.
As a first-time dog owner, Adam wasn’t always sure which behaviours were part of normal puppy development and which needed the right structure, guidance and support early on to prevent them becoming longer-term issues.
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The Approach
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Bear is a mix of three different breeds, which brought its own challenges when it came to consistency and training as his different breads had different characteristics. Because of this, it was important that we took a hands-on approach, with regular touchpoints and ongoing support between sessions to help both Adam and Bear progress together.
We advised Adam to enroll Bear on our puppy course, where Nathan supported them every step of the way. Our focus went beyond basic commands, prioritising engagement, confidence-building and understanding Bear as an individual.
Alongside Bear’s training, we also supported Adam in developing the skills and confidence needed as a first-time dog owner, ensuring he felt equipped to apply the training consistently outside of sessions.
Progress & Development
As Bear’s confidence grew, he progressed onto the obedience foundation course. Each stage was designed to build on the last, reinforcing positive behaviours while gradually reducing frustration and reactivity around people and other dogs.
Bear now attends regular monthly sessions with Nathan and Lily, allowing us to continue refining his training, building confidence and addressing any challenges as they arise.
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The Results So Far
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The progress made so far has made Bear a far more confident and settled dog, and Adam now feels more equipped as an owner to support him moving forward. The long-term goal is to support Bear towards safe, reliable off-lead walking, at a pace that suits him.
Feedback From the client
“As a first time dog owner, Holistic Hounds helped me build the skills, confidence and understanding needed to become a better, calmer and more consistent dog owner. When we first got Bear, he was a very nervous dog and often became reactive towards other dogs and people.
We’ve now been training with Nathan and the whole team for over a year now and the change and progress Bear has made and been fantastic and is now a loving and friendly dog. Everyone at Holistic Hounds genuinely takes the time to understand both you and your dog, picking up on the smallest details that often make the biggest difference when it comes to behaviour change.”
Case Study: Mabel
Written by [NAME]
Mabel is a Rottie Corso cross, well predominately - there are at least another eight breeds in there and according to her DNA test, she’s 90% guard dog. So, it might be fair to say that she wasn’t the best choice for a first-time dog owner with no previous experience of dogs!
Like all keen owners, my partner and I enrolled her in puppy classes (NOT with Holistic Hounds) and she excelled in learning basics like sit/down/twist/spin/touch blah, blah. She attended these classes until she was almost a year. They were held on a tennis court. All owners and pups sat one side of the net - apart from Mabel and I, who were banished to the other side. We were separated because, from the tender age of four months old, Mabel had begun reacting rather severely to most dogs and some people. But instead of seeking help IMMEDIATELY, we continued with the puppy classes – something I now regret.
We finally sought professional help from a fairly renowned trainer when she was 10 months old but this chap was not at all local and I eventually realised that just one “one-to-one” session, reading his book and a lifetime guarantee of help, at the end of a phone, was not going to fix my dog.
We persevered on our own until she was just about two years old.
By now things had escalated further, Mabel lunged at literally every dog she saw. She was a lethal mix of muscle and speed and would leave me clinging on to the end of the lead for dear life leading to serious rope burn, a broken knuckle and damaged ribs (when she succeeded in pulling me over) which took forever to heal!
Walks were unpleasant. I’d be anxious as soon as I saw another dog approaching, knowing that Mabel was going to lunge, she’d totally feel this anxiety in me and of course that made her even more likely to attack.
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Then I got lucky! I passed a dog trainer around the local lake. Too embarrassed to ask for his business details, I noted the colour of his company t-shirt and searched the internet until I found him. I was now desperate for help so after researching the guy, I called this trainer, Nathan at Holistic Hounds and took up his offer of a free assessment.
The assessment went well, aside from Mabel trying to bite Nathan (she was outraged that he had dared approach us, Nathan was unperturbed). We booked a training package and began learning the skills we actually needed, like how to hold the lead properly (how embarrassing!!), how to stop Mabel literally towing me down the street, how to recognise signs she was about to blow, how to engage her, how to avoid her fixation on dogs, techniques to avoid the lunge and little by little under Nathan’s guidance I began adding “tools to my toolbox”, techniques to help her cope with everyday stimuli without her reacting fearfully and aggressively.
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When he felt we were ready, Nathan invited us on a group walk, I was absolutely petrified. I walked into this field where were are a load of other dogs (on lead) and I was as stiff with nerves, talk about sending tension down the lead!! But we survived the walk, with only a lunge or two, which no-one minded and I kind of enjoyed it so I did another and another and another.
The group walks were varied, by location and by the dogs attending but I began to enjoy them and then I began to love them. I’ve now done absolutely loads, not because Mabel and I necessarily still need them but because we enjoy them so much and we have both made some really lovely friends, of the two- and four-legged variety. My social life has improved which is a wonderful and unexpected bonus!
Having such a blast hanging out with like-minded and non-judgemental people, it was an easy yes for me and Mabes to attend Holisticamp – we are just about to book our third year in a row. A three-day camping event of dog training and wellness, with great food, loads of laughs and a few evening beers around the chimenea has become the highlight of my year.
Nathan deserves a medal for his patience, I’m definitely not the easiest client, I question everything because it’s unfortunately the way I learn and I’ve cried on him, more than once! But for proof of how good Holistic Hounds training is we should look at Mabel now. She’s a different dog entirely.
Members of the public, who I’ve bumped into periodically around the lake, cant believe it’s the same dog. She’s usually off lead when they see her and many have commented on how I have worked wonders with her. I can’t take the credit, it is all down to what I have learned from Nathan and the team during the group walks and their courses I have attended. But to be fair, I have worked super hard, I did the homework I had been set and I continued putting on my big girl’s pants before walks around the lake, when all I really wanted to do was to hunker down at home.
I have now got the most marvellous dog and she is pretty much fixed. She’s a joy on group walks and particularly likes to engage with the new dogs. She’s always looking to start some play and stir up some excitement, not what is wanted on a peaceful group walk! She rarely, if ever, lunges and it will only be if a strange dog is being extremely rude – after all she’s a dog, not a robot and she makes the occasional mistake but I now have the techniques to manage it.
Some would have rehomed her and it has been a long and at times, difficult journey. But I got the dog I needed, the one who frankly changed my life, who forced me to reach out to Holistic Hounds and who ignited a passion for dogs (and training) that I didn’t know I had in me. I’m now a dog bore and I wouldn’t change her for the world.
What Happens Next
Working with a dog behaviourist does not have to feel complicated. Find below our 3 step process to get started.
02.
Meet With Nathan
Your dog behaviourist will assess your dog and discuss the best approach.
03.
Begin Your Behaviour Plan
We will guide you through structured training and behaviour support designed specifically for your dog.