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Do you have a hyperactive dog? There are over-excited dogs that seems joyous and excited for the whole day. Mostly, you are staying at your house and nobody else comes.
If that is the scenario, then you wouldn’t worry if your dog jumped on you excitedly every now and then. Maybe you have given up or have gotten used to it.
But the situation becomes different if you are having visitors at your home. Even most dog lovers would be surprised and thrilled if another dog jumps on them out of the blue. And there you are, awkwardly apologizing because of your dog.
No matter how you call, your dog doesn’t recall. It is definitely difficult to restrain a dog full of energy and vigor. Thankfully, there are things that you can do to keep your dog calm around guests at your home.
Steps to keep your dog calm
One of the short term solutions that you can do to make your dog stay calm or make him stop disturbing visitors is to use a barrier. This barrier may be in a form of a gate, a fence, or even a cage that would keep your dog from the front door and the guest area.
Although this method cannot replace the training, it can be used as a simple but immediate solution to solve the excited dog problem.
For small dogs, a folding gate could be used to cage them. They don’t have enough weight in them to topple over the gate. But if you have big dogs, you might want to opt for fences with sturdier material which is more suitable for them.
If you do not have enough space for your fence, you may also choose to tie him on a leash and keep him restrained until the guests leave. Below are the steps that you can use to keep your dog stay put.
1. You have to stay calm
Most dogs would misunderstand the loud voice that they hear from their owners. In this case, there is a high chance of that kind of misunderstanding to occur.
If you yell at your dog, he might think that you are just telling him to go around and play. This is especially if you are having a party and he can see how festive the area is.
So, in order to help your dog stay calm, you have to stay calm too. This makes your voice more understandable for the dog that he really has to stay put in front of the guests. For them, it is rewarding to have a guest at your home.
Whether it’s about the new scents or the new people, they like to explore and enjoy it. If you scold your dog, it would just make your dog misunderstand the situation and stay in his excited mode.
2. Fix your dog’s greeting behavior
Once he gets too excited about the guests and showing signs of hyperactivity, you can say “too bad!” and then isolate him to the nearest room, quickly and gently. In this part, you may have to put him on a leash to make it easier.
Wait for a few seconds to a minute. Release your dog again, and if he is still overly excited, say “too bad!” again and take him back inside the room. Kindly and patiently repeat this sequence over and over until your dog manages to exit the room in a calm manner.
3. Making your dog stay calm after greeting
One of the possible solutions that could get you relaxed with your dog is to make a comfortable place that your dog may treat as his own area.
Simply put, this could be anything from a rug to a towel. However, it would somehow take a long time to make your dog recognize it as his special place.
The first thing you need to do is to choose a rug, a towel, or even a newly bought dog bed. Next, introduce your dog to it and hopefully he likes it. Establish a positive association in this area by allowing him to play in it.
Also, give him treats and toys while he is staying in his area. If he gets up and tries to take the toy somewhere else, grab the toy gently and take it back to the special area that you assigned him.
Lead him back to the bed. Once your dog realizes that he has to stay in his spot, then that means you are successful in this step.
4. Distracting your dog
Now that you have already established an area for your dog to spend his excitement to, you can now provide distractions while you are still having a guest at your home. These distractions could come in the form of a toy or a chewy treat.
Some dogs love toys that have a bit of a movement in them, like the ball. Whenever they play with a ball, it usually rolls over the place. But in this case, you might want to choose a different toy for him to make him stay put in his area.
There are toys that can be filled with treats that would make your dog’s attention to it last longer.
Some toy bones that is specially made for dogs have space inside it that could be filled with treats. This allows for a longer play time for your dog. Thus, drawing his attention to these toys.
Electronic feeders are also available, which rewards your dog whenever he manages to stay even though you have a guest.
By following the steps above, you can now be sure that your guest will have a good time without doing something bad to your dog.
Although these steps can’t make your dog change for the better immediately, you are sure that in time, your dog will learn to stay calm even with guests. Just make sure to be patient and calm to your dog.