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Nearly every dog gets excited when people come to visit, but some go
completely overboard. They run around in circles, bark their heads off,
or jump as high as they can, leaving dusty little paw prints on skirts
and jackets. Even people who love dogs don't enjoy being greeted with so
much exuberance, and they don't appreciate the intrusion of inquisitive
noses into embarrassing places.
 Apart from walks and meal times, most dogs don't have a lot of high
points in their days, so it's not surprising that they get worked up
when visitors drop by and liven things up. It's easy to train puppies to
greet people with decorum, but it's more difficult to teach older dogs
to behave more soberly. Not only are they set in their ways but also
there may be other reasons for their assertive hellos. Here's what
they're probably thinking.
"I'm
just being myself." Among people, the most socially unacceptable kind of
dog greeting is to have a cold nose pushed into a private place. But
among dogs, this is simply the way they do things, and they can't figure
out why people get so uncomfortable. This is one situation where dogs
and people will never see eye to eye without some training. You should never let your dog put her nose in people's crotches,
she advises. When your dog makes her move, quickly tell her "off" or
"no," and do it every time. "Once your dog has calmed down and is
sitting quietly, you can let her satisfy her curiosity by sniffing your
guests' hands.
"I'm ambivalent about this." Dogs tend to get most excited when
they're of two minds about guests arriving. On the one hand,
they're happy and eager to greet the person entering the house. But
they're also wondering how this new person will fit into the group, and
they aren't quite sure how to respond. So they display a whole variety
of behaviors -- jumping up, barking, and so on -- as a way of "testing"
how this new person is going to react to them.
An easy solution is to distract your dog as soon as people arrive. One
way to do this is to make her lie down straight away. By going into
training mode, you will focus attention more on you than on the new
arrivals. When she does what you tell her, give her a treat. It won't take her long to learn that acting calmly and following
commands gets her something good to eat. Of course, this will make your
dog look forward to visitors even more, but she will also know that
gracious greetings bring better rewards than rambunctious jumping.
Some dogs get the message right away, but others need more work. Putting dogs on a six-foot leash before people come over. As
guests arrive, you can either stand on the leash or take up most of the
slack in your hands. "She won't have enough leash to allow her feet to
rise more than three inches off the floor. "There's no
risk of her jumping around or sniffing your guests."
Greeting problems can be awkward because you can't deal with them in
private -- you have to get used to training your dog at a time you'd
rather be concentrating on your guests. But the slight social
awkwardness will pay off fairly quickly, especially if you ask your
guests to join in. "Try placing a bag of treats outside your front door
and put a sign on it that says, 'These treats are for our dog -- but
only if she is sitting when you come in. Most people
will get a kick out of joining in, and your dog will learn more quickly
as more and more people participate. |
