Training Your Dog to Meet New People
>> 10/31/09
Most dogs love attention so they have a natural desire to seek out new people who might provide more attention. While it might be cute to see your dog excited to meet someone new, it can be quite terrifying for the other person. Remember it’s hard to tell an aggressive dog from an excited one, especially for people who don’t know that much about animals.
For this reason, you need to teach your dog the proper way to meet and greet new people. You don’t want to stop him from meeting people. After all, this is a critical part of healthy socialization. But you do need to teach him the right way.
Meeting New People at Home
When a new person (new to your dog – not necessarily to you) visits your home, your dog might have a couple of different reactions. Some dogs are a bit threatened by the presence of a stranger so they may bark or seem a bit standoffish. Other dogs are eager to get to know the person so they may rush forward seeking out attention.
In both cases, you need to establish proper etiquette. First, you should have your dog sit and stay before you open the door for the new visitor. This is something you’ll need to practice a great deal. Staying will be a huge challenge for any dog in this situation. Just remember to practice and reinforce your desired behavior with treats and praise.
You should also instruct visitors not to have any contact with the dog – not even eye contact – until they have gotten comfortable in the house. At that point, you can release the dog from the stay command. If the dog is too excited or too forceful in getting attention, make him sit and stay until he calms down. Make sure your guests never give your dog attention until he is calm so they don’t accidentally reinforce a bad behavior.
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For this reason, you need to teach your dog the proper way to meet and greet new people. You don’t want to stop him from meeting people. After all, this is a critical part of healthy socialization. But you do need to teach him the right way.
Meeting New People at Home
When a new person (new to your dog – not necessarily to you) visits your home, your dog might have a couple of different reactions. Some dogs are a bit threatened by the presence of a stranger so they may bark or seem a bit standoffish. Other dogs are eager to get to know the person so they may rush forward seeking out attention.
In both cases, you need to establish proper etiquette. First, you should have your dog sit and stay before you open the door for the new visitor. This is something you’ll need to practice a great deal. Staying will be a huge challenge for any dog in this situation. Just remember to practice and reinforce your desired behavior with treats and praise.
You should also instruct visitors not to have any contact with the dog – not even eye contact – until they have gotten comfortable in the house. At that point, you can release the dog from the stay command. If the dog is too excited or too forceful in getting attention, make him sit and stay until he calms down. Make sure your guests never give your dog attention until he is calm so they don’t accidentally reinforce a bad behavior.