I love when my clients answer the door and ignore me! Seriously! It makes my heart sing when I have a client rewarding their dog for staying on their mat at the door, releasing them then saying hello to me!
Society says that not speaking to your guests when you open the door is rude, but so is a dog who jumps all over you.
Pick your battles people!
I promise you I will not be mad if you slam the door in my face because your puppy made a mistake! I’m pretty sure your guest will not be mad either if you tell them what is going on. (communication is key!)
Do you have a dog who jumps all over people at the door? You want a dog who keeps all 4 feet on the floor when saying hello? That seems like a pretty big endeavor, but with a little management and planning it’s not so hard!
Let’s break it down!
First, what skills can we use to communicate to our dog what we would like them to do? Down and stay are a good place to start. Mat skills make this really easy. Make sure you have taught your dog a release cue to communicate that they can get up.
Break these skills into pieces your dog can be successful with.
Can your dog stay while you walk towards the door with no one there? No?
Can they stay while you drop cookies on the floor, or roll a ball away from them? Yes? Add the door with no one there.
Can they stay while you ring the doorbell? No? Record the sound of your doorbell on your cell phone and practice staying while no one is at the door.
Once all those pieces are mastered, start opening the door while your dog is in a “stay.” Again, no one is at the door at this point. Make sure this step is really solid by running to the door, talking to the invisible person on the other side of the door, go out the door and come back inside, do a dance at the front door, you get the idea. If your dog can keep his stay through all that, then we can start adding people to the door.
My dogs happily laying in a sunbeam. It would be great for this to be the way everyone answers the door!
In the meantime, put your dog in his kennel or outside when you have people come in the door. Practice makes perfect and you don’t want them practicing behaviors you are trying to get rid of. (don’t make things harder on yourself!)
Tell the people coming by that you are working with your dog and you might have to get them to stand on the porch just a little longer than normal. (I think spring is finally sticking around so you are not leaving them in the cold)
If they are just dropping of a package (or children) then put your pup away so you can deal with the quick drop and move on with your day. Don’t frustrate your dog by making them practice until they “get it right.” Obviously the first time you add a person to the door they are not going to be successful. If pup is keeping it together and making good choices, then reward that by letting them say hello to your guest. If they can’t keep it together after 3 tries then they go in their kennel and do not get to say hello. (Yes! Only 3 tries!!)
Keep working at this! It works! If you need some guidance, let me know I am happy to troubleshoot with you!