The holidays are coming, which often means having friends and family over to celebrate together. (Or you and your inquisitive canine visiting others.)
For inquisitive pet parents with dogs that don’t know how to politely greet people, though, having people over often only adds to the stresses of the season.
As a certified professional dog trainer, dog lover, and dog mom, I find a composed dog greeting, be it at home or along the way, of the utmost importance – everyone appreciates a polite pooch!
So let’s get started with strategies for better dog greeting!
The goal for Part 1 of this behavior training is to teach your dog to greet you and other family members politely. Your dog needs to learn that sitting or standing to greet is much more rewarding than jumping up.
The goal for Part 1 is to teach your dog Sitting = Attention / Jumping up = Being Ignored
Remember, the focus of part 1 is to teach your dog what you want, so she learns what the right choice is. Reward often and reward heavily, so not only does she choose to do it, but enjoys offering this behavior.
The goal for Part 2 is to teach polite dog greeting for other people, including friends and strangers.
When encountering people you don’t know who are willing to do the Part 1 exercise, the following will help teach your dog to generalize polite manners:
Is your dog already skilled at this behavior? Make it more challenging by adding in distractions or asking for a “Down” instead of “Sit.”
Now is the perfect time to practice greeting politely so that by the time the holidays are here, your canine companion will be the perfect greeter, no matter where and when they get to say “Hello!”
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