Keep dog from jumping on guests.

 

We’ve all been a victim of this in our life: You go visit a friend. You ring the doorbell and their dog immediately starts barking. You try to look through the glass to see what you are potentially up against. When you don’t see anything you feel like you might be in the clear, perhaps the dog is locked up in a room or something. But then as soon as your friend invites you in, their dog greets you in his own special way. He jumps up on you, and gives you a little swat with his front paws. Your friend is embarrassed, you may be experiencing a little bit of pain and you’re probably wearing a good amount of slobber, meanwhile the dog has no idea why all of a sudden everyone is shouting at him. Two words: dog training.

No one wants this to happen to them. Whether you are the visitor or the owner this only promotes bad feelings and anxiety about the dog. Training your dog to greet your guests calmly seems about as easy as climbing Mount Everest, but with a little patience and the plan we’ve outlined your dog will be quietly meeting your guests - saying a lot about you as an owner.

The first step in this training method is to have your dog greet your return in a calm manner. This of course can be difficult because your dog gets really excited when you get home. So the strategy here is to only acknowledge a calm dog.  When you walk in and your dog is jumping at your side, ignore him. Once he calms down then you start giving him attention. After a few sessions like this your dog will begin to realize that they must calm down to get attention. It will work with patience.

For the next step of this dog training method you will need help from some of your better friends. You will need to apply the principals of step one to this set of training. Dogs will not learn to gently greet visitors until they have practiced with real visitors. You will need a few of your friends to drop in randomly from time to time. When you let them into your house, as before do not show your dog any attention until he calms down. This will be especially difficult for your dog because a new person in the house will make them very excited. But like before, ignore your dog while they jump up and down. Once they have calmed down show them a dog treat or dog cookie and affection for their good behavior. 

Nobody wants a dog that jumps all over their friends. If your dog jumps and slobbers on your guests every time they drop in for a dinner party, you will end up having much fewer dinner parties. Your dog is a member of your family and their behavior is an important reflection of who you are as a parent/owner. Be a kind and inviting host by taking the time to incorporate dog training into your schedule to ensure you have a calm and courteous dog. Good luck.