Many dog owners find introducing their dogs to strangers hard because they are so excited.
As dogs, jumping and wagging tails might be cute, but they can be too much and even dangerous as they age.
Furthermore, some dogs may relieve themselves of excitement while meeting strangers. But teaching your dog to calmly and nicely greet strangers can teach them good manners and obedience and make them more pleasant.
In this article, you will learn how to train your dog to greet strangers calmly and politely, reducing the social discomfort of meeting new people. Following expert guidance can train your dog to be more well-behaved and put your guests at rest.
Why Are Dogs Hyper?
Before learning how to teach your dog to greet new people calmly, let’s discuss why dogs are hyper. Dogs are typically social and active, sometimes leading to being too active. Some breeds are more active than others because they were bred to work. However, any dog can get hyper if it doesn’t get enough exercise and mental activity.
Dogs can be hyperactive for several reasons, not just because of their breed or how they were raised. For example, spending less time with others can be a big cause. In addition, dogs that didn’t meet many different people, animals, and places when they were young may be scared or overly excited when they meet new people or animals. This can make them jump, bark, or do other things they shouldn’t do when they meet new people.
They can also get hyper if they have yet to be trained in basic commands or how to act in certain settings; they might jump or do other things to get attention or show excitement.
When you deal with hyper dogs and teach them to greet people calmly, first, you must figure out why they act that way. Then, you can develop a better training plan to help your furry friend become a well-behaved, happy companion by figuring out what’s happening.
Why is it So Important to Greet Your Dog in a Calm Manner?
Calm welcomes are important for more than one reason. Such as:
- They make people feel more at home when they visit your house. When friends come over, a dog that jumps on them or barks a lot can be scary, especially for people who aren’t used to dogs.
- Second, a calm dog welcome can keep people and dogs from getting hurt. A hyper dog can hurt someone by mistake, and an afraid dog can become aggressive and bite.
- Lastly, teaching your dog to meet new people calmly teaches them good manners and makes them easier to be around.
Tips for Calming Your Hyper Dog when Greeting Strangers
● Socialization
Proper socialization is important if you want your dog to feel at ease and confident in new places and with new people. It means taking your pet friend to different places, giving them new things to play with, and letting them meet people of all ages and backgrounds.
But it’s important to make sure your dog meets calm and nice people because being around people who are scared or angry can be scary and make your dog act badly. If you encourage socializing when they are young, they will feel less nervous when meeting new people or being in new settings.
● Use a Leash
Dogs may get too excited when they see new people and jump up on them, which can be a problem for many owners. Putting a collar or leash on the dog can help with this.
If you have a large dog and are considering using a shock collar, it’s important to choose the best shock collar for large dogs with adjustable settings, a wide range of stimulation levels, and a remote control.
But other choices, like head collars or harnesses, also use positive reinforcement to teach your dog to turn away from their trigger and avoid negative reinforcement.
● Make him Exercise
When your guests, strangers, are coming over, ensure your dog has daily exercise before they arrive. These exercises give your dog both physical and mental exercise, which can help keep your dog calm and on task. Giving your dog a lot of movement and mental stimulation can help them be calm and well-behaved when holiday guests come over.
● Keep your Dog in Another Room
If you have a hyper dog that gets too excited when meeting new people, put them in another room until they calm down. This lets you pay attention to your guests and lets your dog calm down and get used to seeing people from a distance. Then, just give your dog something to do, like a stuffed toy, so they don’t get bored while in their place.
● Walk with your Dog
Walking with your guests is a great way to let your hyper dog calmly meet new people. Start by putting your dog on a leash and having guests walk safely away. Your dog can get extra energy and excitement when you walk with him. This will make it easier for him to stay calm and pay attention when meeting guests.
By the end of the walk, your dog should be much calmer and ready to meet your guests without jumping or doing anything else crazy.
How to Train a Hyper Dog to Greet Strangers?
Here are some tips you can try to train your hyper dog.
● Train your Dog to Greet you
One of the hardest things to do to teach your dog to meet you calmly is to ignore them when you get home. This means you can’t look them in the eyes, talk to them, or pet them. Even getting yelled at or asked to “sit” can be a prize for some dogs.
It’s important to make your appearance something that happens every day and doesn’t make you feel anything. So, your dog will learn that jumping up and acting excited won’t get him attention or treats.
But it can be hard to ignore your dog, especially if you like to play with them. You can make it easier on yourself by giving yourself something to do as soon as you walk in the door, like making lunch or changing your clothes.
● Give Commands
To stop your dog from getting too excited when meeting strangers, giving them other things to do to be calm and in control is important. These things shouldn’t go with ways of showing excitement, like jumping. Instead, use commands like “Place” to send your dog to their bed to get their favorite chew or before putting their leash on for a walk, “Sit” before throwing a toy or giving affection, and “Wait” before putting their food bowl down, and “Settle” to get them to relax in any situation.
These are all great ways to teach your dog how to control its initial emotional response to the environment. In addition, these commands teach your dog how to act healthily and properly and help your dog stay focused and calm when life is busy.
● Reward them
It’s important to remember that greetings should reward calm behavior, especially if your dog is driven by affection. If it takes your dog a while to calm down, it’s important to wait to talk to them until they do.
During greetings, setting a good example and staying cool are important. Instead of scratching and using a high-pitched voice, use slow, long strokes and a neutral tone.
Also, avoid meeting your dog when you get home so you don’t reinforce the idea that the doorbell means excitement. Instead, you can meet your dog later to keep them from getting too excited.
● Keep Practicing
Your dog might need time to learn how to meet new people and not jump on them calmly. Some dogs may need more practice than others, but it’s important to keep trying even if they get it later. Be gentle and keep working with them, rewarding good behavior to get them to do more of it.
Remember that some dogs may jump up even more at first because they want to get attention by doing what used to work for them. But with time and practice, they will stop jumping and learn how to greet people in a better way.
● Teach your Dog to Greet Guests
Now to start training, have one or two friends come over and ring the doorbell or knock on the door. Ensure your dog sits still in the greeting stance near the door before you open it. Even if it takes your dog a while to calm down, be gentle, and don’t try to hurry the process. Remember to praise your dog when it does something right.
Once your guest comes in, ensure your dog stays in the welcome position and let your guest pet and calmly talk to your dog. Next, let your dog sniff your guest for a while, and then tell your dog to join you and your guest in the living room.
Repeat this teaching process until your dog is comfortable and sure of himself when greeting people. It might take some time and practice, but with your help, your dog can learn to behave when people visit.
Bottom Line
When you use these tips for a hyper dog, it’s important to be consistent. Even if changes don’t happen immediately, sticking to calm greetings in every situation can lead to good changes in behavior over time.
Doing this can stop your pet from jumping on strangers and make it happy and better behaved. Remember that a calm dog is a happy dog, and by taking these steps, you can make sure your furry friend stays calm around new strangers.
So, keep doing what you’re doing, and watch your dog become a good example of a well-mannered dog.
This content is part of the HWM Partnership.
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