Ways To Calm Your Dog If You Have Visitors

It’s not uncommon for an otherwise well-behaved pooch to become frantic when a guest comes to your home. This is a common complaint from dog owners, so don’t feel like it’s only happening with your dog. If you think about it, a guest coming to your home is breaking up your pup’s normal routine. And depending on the dog and whether your dog knows the guests or not, they are a change in your dog’s normal day. For some dogs, you will need to teach them how to greet guests calmly and not jump on them. Here are a few tips to help you teach your dog to remain calm when guests come over.

Training Basics

It’s important to go over a few training basics in obedience to make sure that both you and your dog are on the same page for training.

You will want to work on the Sit command while keeping in mind that this command is all about self-control. Spend time practicing the command in various situations, particularly the front door.

Teach your pup not to run through any open doors since this will help to teach him to be calm at every door. This is when you should practice the Watch Me command, which will enable you to get the attention of your dog when he is distracted.

When To Give Your Dog a Break

If training doesn’t go well, it may be necessary to just give your dog a break when guests come over. This will keep him away from your family and friends when he is too excited. Place your dog in his dog crate at the back of the house away from the confusion and noise. As you put him in his cage, give a few treats or something to chew him to occupy him. Remember this isn’t a punishment since he hasn’t done anything wrong. You are just giving your dog time and a safe space to calm down.

This method, along with training, will allow your dog over time to have the ability to spend a longer period of time with your guests. If you have an active or loud get-together, there may be a point during the party where your dog will need a break. Remember that giving your pup a break will help to stop any problem behaviors, which is both beneficial for your dog as well as you and your guests.

Training Steps For Your Dog When Greeting Visitors

After you and your pup have done a refresher on obedience, you will want to start working on better manners when guests come over.
• Get a neighbor, friend, or family member to help out
• Make sure you have his favorite treats in your pocket
• Keep his leash near the door or over the doorknob
• Ask your friend to knock or ring your doorbell
• Walk with your pup to the front door and call out to your friend, “Please hold on, I need to leash my dog.”
• Leash your pup, tell him to Sit, and then open your front door. If your pup gets up, ask your friend to go back out and start over again. Any treats need to be given by you. Repeat this training several times to make sure you get consistent results.

Try these training sessions several times using different friends to build a good foundation. Added training steps can include asking your friend to come inside and close the door. Next, walking her through the house and ask her to sit down while asking your dog to lie on the floor by your feet.

When your pup becomes distracted, command him to Sit and Watch Me. If needed, use a treat when commanding him to Watch Me. When your dog makes eye contact with you, make sure to praise him and give him the treat. Repeat this exercise any time your dog gets distracted.

Make sure you take each training step one at a time. Do not go onto the next one until the one you were working on gets a consistent response. It’s important that your pup is capable of understanding that he needs to be calm when a guest is in the house. How quickly your training will work all depends on your own training abilities as well as your pup’s motivation to be cooperative with you as well as how distracting your friends are.

Guests Should Ignore Your Pup During Training

It’s also important that you instruct your friends and family to ignore your dog during his training period. Not petting, no treats, and no talking. If he gets attention during this period, it’s just positive reinforcement for the ill-mannered behavior that you are trying to stop. While this may be hard, it’s very important that you convince anyone coming to your home that you want your pup to learn better manners.

Reinforce Good Behavior

Dogs that jump up on people tend to get a lot of attention. And, in your dog’s mind, this is a reward for his jumping behavior. While you may not realize it, you are reinforcing his bad habit, but there are several ways to keep it from happening.

Don’t show affection to your dog when jumps up on you. Just ignore him when he does jump up on your and only focus on reinforcing his good behavior. Remember to keep some treats near your front door. Anytime he begins to jump, use the Sit command. Once he sits, give him a treat. Soon he will begin to associate good behavior with affection and treats and affection.

Remember, that it is never too late to train a dog to have better manners when you have guests over. If he cannot contain his happiness when a guest arrives, it may be uncomfortable for your guests, especially those afraid of dogs. Even if your guests need to stay outside for a minute while you calm your dog, it’s a lot better than then scaring a guest. Consistent training and positive reinforcement will help your pup associate guests with good behavior so that eventually your dog will remain quiet and relaxed when your guests arrive.