Did you know, cortisol can remain in a dog's system for up to 72 hours?

A reactive dog who encounters triggers several days in a row may never return to baseline.

They're operating in a constant state of physiological stress — which makes the next reaction more likely and often more intense.

Sometimes the kindest thing you can do is implement a “cortisol vacation”: a 3-day period without walks or trigger exposures to allow these hormone levels to reset.