A lot of people think that if their dog is reactive, it means that their dog will never have friends. And that's not always true. My first dog was reactive, and his reactivity was rooted in fear. So for a long time I focused on desensitization, getting better at reading his body language, and working on my timing so I could interrupt or redirect before he exploded. And eventually I started walking with some friends and their dogs. And in the beginning we weren't even close. They'd be on one sidewalk and I'd be across the street on the other sidewalk. That parallel walking let my dog see them, get comfortable, and adjust at his own pace. And over time we slowly closed the gap, eventually walking side by side. And the process worked. My dog gained enough comfort and trust that he ended up with two or three dogs that he could actually play with. And when they were outside in open spaces, he could run and wrestle just like any other dog. Now I want to be clear, I still manage things very carefully, especially in tighter spaces. I always stayed alert because if he felt cornered, his fear could bubble up again. And most of our play sessions happened outside. And when indoors, I kept things structured and closely supervised. But the takeaway is this being reactive doesn't automatically mean your dog is destined for a life without playmates. Once you've done the work, desensitization, learning to breathe through those moments, teaching yourself how to proactively interrupt, then you can start looking for safe, compatible playmates. But it starts with you feeling confident in your handling and in your dog's progress. So if you're at that stage, parallel walking with a trusted friend's dog may be the first step toward giving your reactive dog a social life.