The Project Dog: Bentley’s Story

We are so happy to have you join us for the Project Dog series. Let’s start things off with a little bit of an introduction.

Hi, I’m Erin, and this is my dog, Bentley. Bentley is a 7 year old pit mix who I adopted when he was just 10 weeks old. He’s a happy boy with a lot of love for people. He especially loves giving kisses (and that’s putting it nicely!). I grew up with family dogs, but Bentley was the first dog I got on my own. He’s happy, anxious, and full of energy. He loves sunbathing, playing with his tennis balls in the yard, going on walks with friends, and going to agility class.

We most certainly know about Bentley’s affinity for kisses! Having adopted Bentley as a puppy, when did you first realize that there were going to be some challenges to work through?

Bentley was a very nervous little guy. He spent most of the adoption event sitting at someone’s feet or wanting to be held. I remember thinking that if I decided to bring him home, he would need some time to settle in and build his confidence. I was ready, or so I thought, to give him all the love and encouragement to do that.

During our first few months together, we worked a lot on building his confidence out in the world. He was afraid to walk along busier roads or pass anything on the sidewalk including fire hydrants, lawn signs, garbage cans, you name it. But with time and encouragement, he slowly became more comfortable and confident. He was also attending puppy classes and seemed to be doing really well socializing with other dogs. About three months after bringing Bentley home, I quickly realized we were really only at the beginning of our journey when he started showing reactivity toward other dogs. Going for a walk felt impossible. Somehow, he seemed to know when a dog was nearby, even if it was barely visible or still miles away, and he would bark, growl, and lunge at the end of his leash. Being outside became stressful for both of us and the walks that I had imagined would be fun and relaxing, quickly became something we both dreaded.

I think your experience with walks is something that a lot of reactive dog guardians can relate to, especially since it is the probably one of the most common activities we expect to enjoy with our dogs. Besides walks, has there been anything else you have wanted to do with Bentley, but couldn’t enjoy together because of his reactivity?

While Bentley has come a very long way, there are still times when I feel like he misses out on things because of his reactivity. When you get a dog, you picture all of the places you’ll take them and all of the things you’ll do together like going to the beach, sitting on a patio with friends, exploring new places, and just being able to bring them along for everyday adventures. Even with all the progress we’ve made over the years, there are still places I know I will probably never take Bentley, even though I know he would absolutely love them. One of those places is the beach when we visit my family in Rhode Island. Of course, there are leash laws, but I’ve been there enough times to know that there are still plenty of dogs off leash, and that’s a risk I just can’t take with Bentley. I think it feels even harder because I have another dog, Ruby, who is comfortable around other dogs and can pretty much go anywhere and everywhere with me. Being able to take her all these places makes me wish even more that Bentley could enjoy them too. It’s hard knowing that sometimes his reactivity is the thing that keeps him from experiencing them.

While it is not easy to make those decisions on our dog’s behalf, making sure their experiences are enjoyable and safe is such an important part of our role as their guardian. While Bentley may miss out on some things (even if he doesn’t know it) we would love to hear about something you never thought he would be able to do that he now gets to enjoy.

I remember thinking when Bentley first started displaying reactivity that we would never be able to have dog friends, go on walks with other dogs, or even comfortably be around other dogs. At the time, my goal was to feel comfortable taking him for a walk during the quietest part of the day and to be able to pass another dog on the opposite side of the street without him reacting. Bentley has far surpassed that goal over the years. We’ve certainly had our ups and downs, and still do, but he has surprised me in so many ways. He went from being a dog who couldn’t see another dog in the distance without reacting, to attending group agility classes and working in the same space as other dogs. We can take walks with other dogs, and he even got to the point of being able to let another dog into the family. None of this happened overnight. It took a lot of time, patience, consistency, and some tears along the way. But working through these challenges together has taught me so much about Bentley and the things that once felt impossible are some of the moments I’m most proud of.

It is amazing to hear that Bentley has been able to make some dog friends along the way, what a milestone in his journey with you! Often times our dog’s reactivity can feel isolating, having to keep our distance from other dogs and their humans, but that shared experience can also be a powerful connection. Have you found ways to connect with other reactive dog guardians?

Joining agility class was the best thing for me and Bentley. We got into agility as a way to build his confidence while working around other dogs, but we have gained so much more than that. One of the biggest things has been meeting so many other reactive dog owners who understand, in their own ways, what it’s like to have a reactive dog. It’s nice to have people who just get it. People you don’t have to explain yourself to, who offer support, tips and tricks, and encouragement.

We always love to hear about experiences that go beyond the training; Agility is such a wonderful sport with so many benefits. What influenced your decision to start Agility training with Bentley?

Without Bentley, I don’t think I would have ever gotten my dogs into agility classes or agility league.

My goal with Bentley was to find ways for him to be around other dogs without needing to interact with them. It has been over 5 and a half years, and we still look forward to agility class every week! As time went on, I started thinking about how fun it would be if Bentley could actually run in an agility trial. But when I started looking into how trials were run, I quickly realized that this was probably something we would never be able to do. There were just too many opportunities for him to encounter other dogs. That was until Supernova started an agility league where events are set up in such a way that allows all dogs, including those that are reactive, to participate. We look forward to these events every month, and getting to experience a trial like setting with Bentley, while also having fun and meeting other people with reactive dogs, has been amazing!

Bentley is exactly the kind of dog that League was intended for so it makes us very happy to hear that you are both enjoying the experience together! It has been wonderful hearing Bentley’s story, and learning about your experiences, challenges, and successes. Looking back on your journey up to this point, if you had a time machine, would you go back and do anything differently?

If I could go back to the beginning of our journey, I think I would tell myself to not put so much stress and pressure on Bentley or myself. Raising a reactive dog has no finish line, only ever changing and evolving goals as progress is made along the way. I think I would also remind myself to focus on the wins and recognize that progress is not linear. Most of the time, our small wins were overshadowed by what I perceived as a loss. When really the wins were a step in the right direction and the losses were a learning opportunity for us both that only helped up grow along the way.