Leaderboard

Tx. Very helpful. I understand.

Hi there! With excited greeters, practice, practice and more practice is what is needed. More than corrections, these dogs need to learn what we expect from them and we need to make the desired behaviors extra rewarding. Now, one may say, how can I teach my dogs to behave despite the distraction of guests, when they are over the top and super "over threshold"? Here is a read on threshold levels by the way, and what it means: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ We basically help them through management, baby-steps, using super-duper tasty treats and organizing set-ups for training in a systematic way. Let me go over these. Management: practice makes perfect. The more dogs rehearse over-the-top, overly excited behaviors, the more these are likely to establish and risk becoming their default behaviors. So yes, if they act uncontrollably and over the top, it is best to keep them away (behind a baby gate, in another room, in a safe yard, crated with some tasty goodies, or in an x-pen), at least, until you can get them a little more under control and get the cognitive part of their brain in a semi-working state. This is usually just a temporary measure, and/or for those times when you don't have willing guests who take directions on what to do or you need to give them undivided attention. Baby steps: Dogs learn best when we present them with training offered in easy-peasy steps. These easy-peasy steps have a two-fold advantage: they help dogs better assimilate the training and help us as well as we are more likely to get results, which makes us more energized and motivated, versus getting discouraged and frustrated. Steps are offered incrementally, gradually raising criteria. If at any times, the dog struggles with a certain step, it's a sign we need to go a step back and make it easier or make some other adjustments. Super-duper treats: greeting guests can be a very exciting and overstimulating event for dogs, there may also be some stress mixed in. It may be difficult to grab the dog's attention and therefore we need to use super high-value treats that are capable of competing against the saliency of guests. Organizing set-ups: these require that we have some volunteer guests who can follow our instructions. Guests who give dogs ANY FORM of attention when they bark and jump all over them, are a big no-no because they will likely reinforce those behaviors. So you need guests who are cooperative and can ignore your dog when entering your home ( no "aww, what a cute dog as the dog jumps all over them!"). It is very helpful to start with only one dog, since dogs feed off each others' emotions and tend to compete over greeting guests. You may find it helpful leashing your dog initially and keeping distance from the guest and taking baby steps. Skipping the knocking/ door bell can also help if your dogs start getting overly excited by that. You can work on that separately, here is a guide of desensitizing to door bells and door knocks: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/barking/doorbells-knocks-on-doors/ Training starts easy peasy, by having your volunteer enter the door as you toss several small pieces of tasty treats on the ground. Once the dog is about to finish the treats, the volunteer leaves. Rinse and repeat several times, until your dog seems calmer. After several trials, have the volunteer enter and try asking for a sit before tossing the treats. If your dog was able to sit, toss the treats and once again, have the volunteer leave once the dog is about to finish the treats. Rinse and repeat several times, until your dog seems calmer. Next, further raise criteria, see if you can ask your dog to lie down before tossing the treats. If your dog complies, toss the treats and have the volunteer leave once the dog is about to finish the treats. Rinse and repeat several times, until your dog seems calmer. Repeat the above with your dog off leash. If your primary door leads to unfenced yard, practice only with a door that leads to a fenced yard for safety (many dogs will escape if a door is opened just a bit and they see something that attracts them). Next, further raise criteria. Add a mat, place it nearby the door and as your volunteer is about to enter, ask your dog to go lie down on it. Give the treats there. Have the volunteer leave once the dog is about to finish the treats. Rinse and repeat several times, until your dog seems calmer. Next, ask for a long down/stay on the mat. As your volunteer enters, ask your dog to lie on the mat and this time offer a longer-lasting chew *(like a whole dog cookie). Have your dog stay there as you chit-chat and shake hands with the guest. As your dog is about to finish the chew, have your guest leave. Further raise criteria. As your volunteer enters, ask your dog to lie on the mat and this time offer a much longer-lasting chew like a stuffed Kong or safe long-lasting edible. Have your guest sit down on the couch for some time. As your dog is about to finish the chew, have your guest leave. Then, you would practice with both dogs together each lying on their own mats. *Avoid this exercise if your dogs are prone to resource guarding valuable foods in presence of people or each other. The goal is to be able to have the dogs engage in alternate behaviors. These alternate behaviors help dogs swap to a rational, cognitive state versus acting over the top. The alternate behaviors can be several (doesn't have to be lie on a mat, although this may work best as it has built-in duration) and you can pick which ones you prefer. Having the dogs hand target the guest's hands when the guests are sitting works also well to replace obnoxious hyper behaviors. If your dogs also jump on you, it also helps to do several trials at home where you see what behaviors evoke hyper behavior and gradually expose your dog to them as your dog sits watching, then you can work on entering the house, turning around and exiting when your dogs act hyper, and entering and praising when your dogs act calm and even sit. If your dogs can't resist jumping on you, they will find it even harder not to jump on guests, so make sure they learn with you first before working with guests. Here is a case study on working on jumping: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/case-studies/02-maggie-assessing-jumping-behavior-desensitization/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/case-studies/02-maggie-practice-greetings/ Hope this helps, I am here is you struggle with nay parts or need to do some troubleshooting. Best regards, Adrienne