How to Get Your Dog Used to Visitors? 8 Useful Tips
Do you invite visitors frequently to your home? Being a pet owner can be challenging at times, especially when your dog is not great around visitors. If people do seem to visit your home often, then you need to train your dog to be comfortable around these visitors. A few tips can help you deal with this situation, and we have listed a few below.
1. Inform the Guests Beforehand:
If you have invited people over, it is best for you to let them know about the situation at home. If you have a dog, then they should know about it. If your guests are scared of dogs, you must reassure them that you have implemented ways to manage the dogs while they are at home. If your guests are dog lovers who cannot wait to coddle your dog, make sure that your dog is okay with that. If not, then you need to talk to these guests beforehand and inform them to keep a safe distance from your dog.
2. Prepare Your Dog for Visitors:
There are certain preparations that you can do beforehand. Before the guests arrive, take your dog for a long walk which will tire and relax them so that they are less excited to see people come home. Since they have burned off excess energy, a tired dog will easily be relaxed as compared to a highly energetic dog. Further, create a safe space in your home for the dog and ensure that you are guests do not invade your dog’s privacy. Let your dog settle in, which will help them stay away from any excitement.
Another method could be to let your dog be in a room while you entertain your guests in a different room. You will have to train your dog to spend a long time in the room. You can isolate your dog from the guest completely if your dog is used to being alone for a short period of time.
3. Install a Dog Safety Gate:
If your dog is not at all comfortable being around strangers, then putting up a physical barrier that reduces the risk of physical contact may be the best bet. This will ensure that your visitors stay at a safe distance from your dog. This also gives space to the visitors, especially if they are not very comfortable being around dogs. Also, you can peacefully entertain them without worrying about the dogs.
4. Create Increased Distance:
If your dog has embarrassing habits like humping, then it is not a good idea for them to be around the guess. They may embarrass you without even meaning it. You may question yourself- is your dog sexually attracted to human? Well, Rest assured, that is not the case. This may be because of high energy, or they are trying to show dominance. Correcting this behavior is essential. To discourage this, better keep them away from the guests.
5. Keep Your Dog Busy:
The excitement of having guests over may make it difficult for your dog to relax calmly. Your dog can relax and settle down with the aid of mouthwatering long-lasting chews and enrichment toys like Kongs and Lick mats. Giving your dog a new focus will allow him or her to gradually turn off as the excitement of anything new wears off.
6. Meet Outside:
Meeting somewhere new is easier for the dog if it is done outside the home. With all the other exciting smells outside, your dog will easily disengage. It will also not be threatened as the person is not inside your home yet, which is your dog’s territory. Ask your guests to give you a call as soon as they reach somewhere near your house. Take your dog out on their walk and casually introduce them to the guests. Let them sniff your guests and get accustomed to them before you let them come inside your home. This will also give your dog some more exercise, which will tire them and help them stay calm.
7. Encourage the Dog to be Calm:
If your dog is a big people person and your guests are dog lovers, you can find yourself in a situation where your dog starts acting absolutely out of control. Alternatively, perhaps when your dog was a puppy, guests enjoyed having them jump up and lick their faces. It’s no longer quite as adorable now that your pooch is an adult. It’s quite OK for you to politely explain to your visitors why you don’t want to promote jumping up, leaping into laps, or any other infraction of your house rules. It takes time and dedication to teach these behaviors; you don’t want them to fall apart in one huge joyful event. Give everyone room to settle down using your kennel or safety gate, along with some tasty chews.
8. Give Your Dog Doorbell Training:
All dog owners know that the doorbell is the biggest catalyst for the dog to get excited. Training your dog to remain calm when the dolphin rings is tough. But with some patience and enough training, this can be done. This practice will not happen overnight and will take some time. You need to slowly desensitize your dog to the doorbell. Train your dog to go to its place when the doorbell rings, and after you attend the door, give your dog a treat if it remains calm throughout the process. This will encourage the dog to behave and not get over-excited when the doorbell rings.
The Bottom Line:
These simple tips can help your dog become accustomed to company and can help with little annoyances that may arise when you have people over. Working with a qualified and experienced dog trainer is essential, especially when fear or hostility is present. If in doubt, keep your dog and the guests’ people apart and obtain some expert advice to get everyone moving in the right direction.
