When You First Start Raising a Dog: How to Avoid Awkward Situations with Guests
When you've just started raising a dog, you can't wait to invite your family and friends over to see your adorable new furry friend. It's also a great opportunity for your dog to get to know them. However, you might be surprised when, instead of greeting your guests as enthusiastically as you do when you come home, your dog barks loudly, creating an awkward atmosphere.
After finally getting your guests inside, your dog may not act as affectionate as usual—no playful cuddles or seeking pets. Instead, your dog might fixate on your guests, and even make threatening gestures if they make sudden movements.
These unexpected behaviors are common challenges many new dog owners face at the beginning. The good news is, by doing just one important thing, you can significantly reduce these awkward moments and help your dog feel more comfortable around visitors.
How to Introduce Visitors to Your Dog
When visitors come over, don't let them walk straight into your home. Instead, start by getting to know each other outside! While your friends and family may be very familiar to you, to your dog, they are complete strangers meeting for the first time.
Imagine if a stranger entered your home without saying a word and kept moving closer to you—how would you feel and react? You might feel scared, confused, or nervous, and become alert or even want to grab a broom to chase them away, right? This is exactly how your dog feels when your friends and family visit.
A better approach is to arrange to meet your friends outside first, so your dog can get to know them in a place outside of its home territory. You could all take a walk together in a nearby park, or bring your dog to the doorstep so it can sniff and become familiar with the visitor. After your dog has formed a good first impression, then you can all go inside together.
Once you do this, you'll find that your friends not only enter your home smoothly, but their every move no longer triggers your dog's alertness. Many potentially awkward situations will naturally be avoided.
How to Help Your Dog Calm Down When Guests Arrive
When guests come over, it's important to let your dog rest in a separate room while waiting for everyone to settle down. If your dog usually reacts sensitively or excitedly to strangers, besides introducing them outside first, it's recommended to lead your dog into a room and close the door once you get home. This gives your dog time to calm down from the excitement of the walk. Meanwhile, your friends or family can enter the house and take their seats. Once your dog has settled, you can let them come out to greet the guests.
This outdoor introduction or quiet time indoors is a ritual that should be done regardless of whether your dog has met the visitor before. One of our trainees shared with us that they once allowed a friend who had met their dog two or three times to enter the house directly. Unexpectedly, the dog reacted as if seeing a stranger, barking and warning the guest, which made the friend feel quite uncomfortable.
Actually, this doesn't necessarily mean the dog has forgotten the visitor. Rather, it means the dog wasn't given enough time to comfortably recall the previous encounters. When unfamiliar scents suddenly invade their territory, dogs instinctively become alert. Naturally, they aren't in the mood to remember the happy times they shared before.
Conclusion
If your dog usually doesn't have many behavioral issues but has barked at visitors before, making you hesitant to invite people over, why not try this method next time?
However, if you find that no matter what you do, your dog still has a hard time calming down, it might indicate some underlying issues. In that case, it's a good idea to seek help from a professional dog trainer.
