A dog is considered a man’s best friend.
But, this doesn’t mean that they will be equally nice to your guests as well. Dogs are animals who tend to be overly excited and they can jump towards the guests, startling them or lash out at strangers.
Regardless of how loving and sweet your dog is, the guests or strangers won’t like your dog pouncing on them out of the blue.
Some people would not mind it, but it’s not necessary that every guest who visits your place will like it.
The main reason behind your dog jumping on and lashing out at guests can be due to their natural instinct.
They might consider strangers as a potential threat to them and the resulting barking and jumping around is purely instinctive. Teaching your dog how to behave is easier said than done.
You have to teach your furry friend by making him/her practice constantly.
For instance, you will need to go out and come back inside your home over and over again to help your dog understand how to greet your guests.
In this article, we will take you through a comprehensive guide to train your dog to behave well in front of guests.
Take a look at these points to get a clear understanding of it:
Teach Your Dog To Greet You First
If you want to teach your dog to greet your guests well, you will have to start by teaching it how to greet you when you get home.
It will help your pet understand how to behave when you have guests visiting you for the first time.
For practice, you can put a greeting mat inside your front door and when you come home; command your dog to sit on the mat. Once your dog starts obeying your commands, treat and praise it for its obedient behaviour.
When your pet starts learning to greet you, it will also learn to greet your guests in the same manner.
Invite One Of Your Friends Over
Once your dog starts greeting you in a well-behaved manner, it’s time to invite a friend or family member over.
It will help you understand whether your pet is ready to greet your guests or not. So on arrival of your friend when the doorbell rings, ask your pet to sit on the greeting mat and do not open the door until it sits on the mat.
Once it sits on the mat, open the door and ask your friend to greet your dog in a polite way. Make sure that your pet remains in the sitting position for greeting.
Your pet shouldn’t move from its position until you ask it to join you and your guest.
You may have to practice this routine multiple times, so choose a friend who loves dogs and who has an understanding of their behaviour.
Time To Invite Multiple Guests
There is a huge difference between greeting one guest and multiple guests. It is not easy to teach your dog to greet all your guests politely at the same time.
But, once your pup understands how to greet one guest, it’s time for you to invite multiple guests over.
You just have to follow the same process, whenever someone visits your home, ask your dog to sit on the greeting mat. Once your guests enter, allow your dog to sniff them and then encourage your guests to greet your dog in a calm voice.
This process of training your dog to behave well in front of guests will take time, so you have to be consistent and patient.
Ask Your Guests To Ignore Unwanted Behaviour
It is natural for dogs to jump over guests when they enter your home at the beginning of training. You have to ask your guests to ignore such behaviour. Tell them to turn their back whenever the dog tries to jump on them.
If your guests yell at your dog or try to push it off, it will only encourage your pet to pounce on them. When dogs try to jump on people, they are seeking attention.
But, once they realise they are not getting what they want, it makes them stop this behaviour.
Reward Your Pet For Positive Behaviour
It is necessary to reward your dog every time it does something you want it to do. For example, when it obeys your command and does not poop inside the room or when it doesn’t run behind other animals while you’re on a walk.
It also applies to the time when you have guests over, reward your pet with a treat and praise it for calmly sitting on the floor or the greeting mat.
You can also ask your guests to appreciate your dog’s good behaviour with treats and gentle pats.
This process will help your dog understand that it will get attention for being calm and behaving itself in front of strangers.
You Have To Play Safe
You have to play it safe every time guests visit you. You have to help your dog learn how to be patient and remain calm. Dogs need to understand that the guests are visiting your place to meet you and not them.
Dogs often get excited when they are being touched or get attention from anyone. It makes them jump on guests which later can take a turn and go downhill where your dog might end up snapping at the guests or barking at them.
If you own a dog, it’s your responsibility to train it well and teach it how to behave if someone visits your home.
Right from their grooming to their caring, we do a lot of things for our canine buddies and teaching them to behave well in front of guests is a major part of it.
The tips mentioned above can help you train your pup to behave well in front of your guests. But, remember one thing, you have to be consistent and patient to train your pup and make it obey your commands.
Put the tips mentioned above to practice and you will see the transformation in your dog’s behaviour soon enough.