hello! i am a newer dog owner here and my pup is an almost 6 month old keeshond australian shepard mix. i hadn’t really heard of the term “reactive” until coming upon this subreddit but i am personally convinced that dakota, my puppy, is reactive.

when we are out on walks, he will start barking and almost screaming like a mad man whenever we see another person or another dog. he is fine with the other two dogs i have at home, but dogs he doesn’t know he goes crazy around. he will throw his head back and he sounds almost vicious when he barks and growls at them. and i know he is harmless, but i don’t want him instigating a fight or if another dog sees his behavior and then attacks him because of it. he also salivates a lot at the mouth when he has his outbursts as well.

i guess i’m trying to figure out if he is still too young to label as reactive or if this is simply just puppy behavior. i’m worried for his safety and other dogs safety when he acts like this and i guess i’m also trying to figure out how to prevent this outbursts from happening!

sorry if this doesn’t make any sense or if i’m doing something wrong, i’m new to this subreddit and any advice for be amazing. dakota is my baby and i’m just trying to do my best for him. thank you!