In the first doorbell tips video, Craig discussed how to keep your dog in a sit position when the doorbell rings. Here he takes that advice one step further.. what to do when the guests actually come into the home.
Most times when guests arrive, a dog's high energy will cause the humans to give the dog all of the attention. By giving them that attention while in a high energy state we are reinforcing the behavior, causing them to continue the attention seeking behavior every time people come into the home. This negative feedback loop will not change on it's own.
To recondition this, we use the same logic as the doorbell ring. The goal is to have your dog calm and in a sit position when guests come through the door. While the dog is sitting calmly, have the guest give the dog a treat, and then move past the dog.
Once the treat is given, it is most important that the guests continue on with their business and not give the dog any further attention. There should be no eye contact, petting or talking to the dog while the humans greet each other and move along into the home. The reason for this is we don't want to overexcite the dog with undue attention and reinforce the high energy behavior. When guests arrive, your dog's job is to calmly greet them while in a sit, and allow the humans to go about their business. We can give the dog attention again once the energy has subsided and most importantly, when we choose, not when the dog demands it. We should give the attention on our terms, and that should only be after some time when the dog has calmed down and the humans have settled in and are ready to give it.
With time, patience and everyone in the home being on the same page, the dog will eventually understand this role and it will make the moments when guests arrive a much less stressful experience. Be sure to follow these steps and practice with every visitor, or set the situation up with friends or family to practice as often as possible until you see the change. Repetition, patience and time is what is needed for this to work, but once you start to see the difference it makes, it will have been well worth the effort.
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