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Guests: Training Tips for Behaving Around Them

Our beloved pet dogs instinctively attempt to protect us from any and all intruders including guests. We appreciate them for doing so, but honestly, dogs can go overboard at times.

When you’re inviting some friends over for dinner, you don’t want your dog hopping up and down and barking at them throughout the night.

So, what kind of dog training will work so that your pet can start behaving around guests and possibly even greet them politely? The training is actually not that hard as long as you’re willing to commit to it, which you likely already are considering it’s your furry friend we’re talking about.

Without further ado, let’s discuss how to train your pets to behave better around guests.

1. Take Control of Your Dog with the Help of a Leash

It’s important to set your expectations correctly when it comes to training your dog for guests. Though we would all obviously like it if our dogs could get what we are trying to teach right away, chances are that they will struggle early on.

After learning to be on guard for people they don’t know, it’s hard to teach them that some strangers are okay to have around.

This is why it’s important to make use of a leash at first.

If you know your guests are about to arrive, prepare by having your dog on a leash. Once you hear a knock on your door or the doorbell ring, grab hold of the leash. Bring your dog to the door with you and see how he/she reacts to your guest.

There’s a good chance that your dog will start barking and jumping. If this happens, make use of the leash to try and rein in your excited dog. Tell your pet to sit and remember to do so with a calm yet stern voice to get his/her attention.

If the dog is not responding to your command, take him/her to a separate room. Allow your pet to calm down in there for a couple of minutes or so. Go check in on your dog and let him/her out and again, discourage him/her from jumping and being too loud.

This could be a very frustrating process, but if you stick to it, your dog should be able to understand what you want him/her to do sooner rather than later.

Also, remember to keep calm throughout the whole process. By raising your voice or making wild gestures, you could be mistakenly letting your dog know that getting excited is okay.

2. Instill Politeness in Your Dog

Once your dog has gotten the hang of behaving around guests, he/she should be prepared for the next step, which is greeting the guests.

To do this, you first need to ask your dog to sit by the door when your guests are about to arrive. With your dog in the seated position, open the door slowly to let your guests in. Keep your eye on your dog and make sure that he/she remains seated.

You can even allow your dog to sniff your guests for a bit if that helps him/her remain calm.

If your dog is able to calmly welcome your guests to your home, be sure to reward your good boy/girl with your favorite phrase of praise and a quick scratch on the back.

Keep this going whenever you invite guests over and your dog should get the hang of it after a while.

An Important Reminder

Upon hearing you have a dog, some of your guests may be tempted to bring treats. That’s great! However, you need to remind them of what treats to bring.

It’s not good if your guests are giving better treats to your dogs. If your dog gets used to that, he/she will expect something great every time a guest is over and will likely get overexcited.

The even bigger potential issue is that your dog may not listen to you consistently if your guests are bringing over better treats. He/she may just crowd them and ignore you.

You must be in control at all times, so just remind your guests not to bring over extravagant treats.

Politeness and dogs don’t naturally mix, but if you invest the time and effort needed, you can teach them how to behave the right way. Give the tips above a try and tell us how your experience goes in the comments below.

TAILored Pet Services’ professional dog walkers are not certified trainers. However, we will help in any way we can if you are looking to train your dog. We will assist in politeness training and any other plans you have for your dog. Count on us to provide the dog walking service you need at all times. Please call/text us at 425-923-7791 to schedule services.

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