Welcoming Loki into my life in 2018 brought immense joy, but it also came with its fair share of challenges. While his silly nature and endless love steals my heart daily, Loki is what we refer to as a “reactive” dog, and so my journey with Loki led me to create this blog and website - a platform to share my experiences, lessons, advice and journey with fellow reactive or anxious dog parents.

Understanding Reactivity

Reactivity in dogs is a common behaviour, often characterised by intense responses to stimuli such as other dogs, strangers, or new environments. Reactive dogs might bark, lunge, or show signs of distress in such situations. Loki’s reactivity often left me feeling frustrated and isolated, but lead us to discover more about his genetics, health and even undiagnosed pain, my journey with Loki has taught me patience, empathy, and the importance of education around canine health, pain, nutrition and dog behaviour and learning theory, especially all the super fascinating science-y stuff about learning mechanics.

My Journey with Loki

Loki’s journey began like any other puppy’s - full of boundless energy chewing my expensive shoes and curiosity. As he grew, I noticed his reactions to dogs became intense and fearful. Starting gradually and then becoming more regular and servere, our joyful walks turned into tearful challenges, and simple outings became overwhelming for us both. I started to feel dread and anxiety at the thought of every walk with him, which should have always been (as many pet parents would agree) the source of great joy. However for me walks became something I would dread most days, reaching for that lead off the hook would send me into worry about how many dogs we would encounter that day or what could go wrong.

Before things worsened I decided to take the steps to understand his behaviour and the science behind it and began to work closely with a veterinary behaviourist and a clinical animal behaviourist and learn how to best manage his reactivity. 

Creating Our Supportive Community

Loki's instagram was initially born out of a desire to document cute photos of Loki after following dogs on instagram for years and sharing in their joy and lives, I wanted to also share my life with Loki, our account initially was full of photography of all our adventures, but then later became a platform to educate and share our experiences it quickly turned into a platform for building a supportive community and sharing my struggles as a reactive dog parent and finding support from those who were also struggling like me. I realised that we weren’t alone in our journey, and there were many other dog parents facing similar challenges. The community has always supported us and it has been an incredible part of our journey.

Supporting Fellow Reactive Dog Parents

This blog and platform isn’t just about sharing our own journey - it’s about creating a community of understanding and empathy. Through accommodation listings, recommendations, insightful articles, guides, and personal anecdotes, we hope to provide fellow reactive dog parents with a sense of solidarity and actionable steps to make their own journeys smoother.

Loki’s reactivity has been a challenge, but it’s a challenge I’ve learned to embrace with open arms. Our Instagram has not only allowed us to track Loki’s progress but has also connected us with an incredible community of dog lovers who understand the unique journey of raising a reactive dog. If you’re navigating the world of reactive dogs, know that you’re not alone. Together, we can turn challenges into triumphs and create a brighter future for our dogs!

Woofs, Lorren & Loki