Have you ever found yourself embarrassed or frustrated with your dog’s lack of attention when you have visitors? If so, you are not alone.
It can be almost impossible to keep your dog’s focus when guests come over. I know as I have experienced this as well!
My dog would listen to every command I gave him until someone came over to visit. The minute the door opened and it was someone new my dog flipped like a switch.
No matter what I said or did, my dog would not listen to or respond to any command I gave him.
I was left feeling frustrated, overwhelmed and embarrassed, so much so, that I couldn’t even enjoy the company of my guest! And I got to where I didn’t even want to invite guests over and if I did, I was becoming anxious before they even got there.
Maybe you are feeling the same exact way.
The good news is this behavior is more common than you think, it has a pretty simple explanation, and can be fixed!
In this blog post, I’ll explore the reasons behind this frustrating behavior and tell you how you can put a stop it, so that you and your dog can enjoy the company of your visitors without any stress.
The Reason Behind Your Dog Ignoring You When You Have Guests
Being able to understand the reason behind your dog’s ignoring behavior is key to addressing it.
98% of the time, your dog is ignoring you because they are simply too distracted and focused on your new guests to give you their normal level of attention and obedience.
They may also be dealing with over stimulation, excitement, or they may even be anxious causing them to prioritize exploring your new guest over their usual obedient routine.
Another reason why your dog might be ignoring you when guests arrive is because they are picking up on your emotions.
Dogs are incredibly intuitive animals and can sense when their owners are feeling anxious or stressed. This can cause your dog to become anxious as well and may lead to them ignoring your commands or acting out of character by barking or even growling.
So, it’s important to stay calm and relaxed when guests arrive and to project a sense of confidence and leadership to your dog.
Dogs React Differently to Visitors
It’s important to know that not all dogs react the same way when visitors arrive. Some dogs may get overly excited, while others may become anxious or aggressive.
A factor that can affect your dog’s reaction to guests is their breed. Certain breeds, such as German shepherds, may be more territorial and protective of their home and family. Other breeds may be more social and open to meeting new people.
Observing your dog’s body language when your visitors arrive can give you an idea of what your dog is feeling.
Signs of anxiety or discomfort may include pacing, panting, barking or avoidance behavior. On the other hand, signs of excitement may include wagging their tail, jumping up, or wanting to play.
The thing is, dogs don’t naturally know how to react around new people, you have to teach them the appropriate way to act when visitors come over and how to properly greet visitors. This is KEY to getting your dog to listen to you when you have visitors!
How to Train Your Dog to Listen to You When You Have Visitors
To best way to address this behavior is by practicing obedience training and by providing consistent structure and routine for your dog when visitors come over… before your guests come over.
Create a designated “safe space” for your dog when guests arrive. This could be a raised bed or crate. By providing a comfortable and familiar environment, your dog will be less likely to feel overstimulated and anxious. This provides them with a sense of security and control during a potentially stressful situation.
It’s very important to communicate with your guests and set expectations for how they should interact with your dog. You can let them know ahead of time that your dog is in training and that when they come in to completely ignore the dog, to not even make eye contact).
RELATED===> 5 Expert Tips for Getting Your Dog to Listen When you Have Visitors!
A highly effective way to do this is to teach your dog the place command. This is the exact method I have used to solve this issue!
The place command is where you have your dog ‘place’ on a raised bed. (Some will say that you can place your dog on a rug or dog bed, which you could, but a raised bed is much more effective as your dog can’t inch his way off of his place.)
Once placed, your dog is not allowed off of his place until given a release command. Below, I will share with you a great video from Refined K-9 Dog Training, that will help you teach your dog the place command.
This allows your dog’s brain to calm down from being overstimulated, so that he will be in a state where he can listen to your commands and really just take in and observe what is going on. When your dog is in a calm state it also allows them to properly greet your visitors.
Practice this command while you walk away and open the door, then while someone knocks and rings the doorbell. Then when your dog hears a new voice. You dog needs to master this command at these stages before your guests come over as these are triggers that will distract your dog.
When someone comes to the door and rings the bell or knocks, you need to place your dog before opening the door. Remember, do not allow you guests to engage with your dog, that includes eye contact or saying their name. They need to completely ignore your dog.
Do not release your dog until your dog is calm and quiet.
If you prefer not to use the place command, the bed-stay command or you can do the same thing with a crate. Before you open the door to a visitor, put your dog in their crate. Do not allow you dog out until their calm and quiet. And when you let your dog out of the crate make sure they wait until released so that your dog does not come barreling out at your guests.
With that being said, once you break your dog and they greet your visitors inappropriately, do not yell at them but instead redirect and have you dog place again or go back into the crate.
By setting clear rules and boundaries, your dog will understand what is expected of them and feel more comfortable and confident when your have guests, solving your dog’s ignoring behavior and creating a more enjoyable social environment for everyone involved.
Here is a great video from Beckman’s Dog Training that shows you the process using the bed-stay. You can also follow this video using the place command like I use.
How to Teach Your Dog to Greet Your Visitors Appropriately
It’s important to address specific behaviors, such as jumping on guests and growling to ensure everyone feels comfortable and safe.
In order to teach your dog how to greet your guests properly, your dog first needs to know how to greet you properly.
One effective technique is to teach your dog to sit and stay when greeting guests. Instead of saying sit and stay like most trainers suggest, teach your dog the pet command. This is a command that you may have never heard of. It’s one I personally came up with for my dog one day and he picked it up so quickly it’s just stuck.
To Teach the Pet Command:
When your are sitting on the couch, have your dog come and sit in front of you. While petting his chest, say yes. Release your dog and do this a few times.
After he starts understanding have him sit and before you pet his chest say ‘Pet’ then pet his chest and mark with a yes. Continue to do this. Your dog will learn that when you say pet, he’ll automatically sit down in front of you and wait to be petted. It works wonders for many occasions especially greeting visitors!
Start by practicing with just one person, and gradually increase the number of guests over time.
By following these tips and providing consistent training, you can teach your dog to not only greet your guests in a respectful and appropriate manner, but to also listen to you.
This video shows how to teach your dog to properly greet.
This is how I teach the pet command, except before reaching in to pet my dog, I say pet and pet his chest. That way when my dog greets my visitors, he will go sit in front of them and I will have them give him the pet command so my dog understands exactly what they will do.
Conclusion
By recognizing and understanding that this behavior is not a reflection of your relationship between you and your dog, you can train your dog the proper way to act when visitors come, including listening to you.
By providing proper training and teaching your dog how to behave when visitors come, you can help your dog feel more comfortable around visitors. Remember to be patient and consistent in your approach.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. If you found this post helpful, let me know or give it a share.
