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Is your dog getting overly excited when guest come over?
Don’t worry, you’re not alone with this!
Dogs getting over excited with visitors or guests is actually one of the most common behavioral issues in dogs.
I’ve struggled a lot with that with my dog Baloo. He’s a veeeery excitable dog and gets hyper about every little thing. Plus, he loves being the center of attention. So, having guests over can be a bit too much for him to handle.
Luckily, I found a few ways to deal with this behavior over time. So, in this article I’m showing you what you can do if your dog gets overly excited when guests come over.
Why does my dog get overly excited when guests come over?
It’s very exciting to have guests over! Who doesn’t love entertaining visitors?
Your dog might think it’s super exciting to have people come over, too. Unfortunately, if he gets too excited that can be really disruptive to your guests.
And not everyone feels comfortable having an overly excited dog jump all over them! Worse, when it’s all just too much, sometimes dogs might even start humping one of your guests!
For your guests’ sake, you’re probably looking for ways to help your dog calm down. With a little bit of work, you can teach your dog to stay calm when people come to your house. This will make your visitors—and you—much more comfortable.
Before we get into understanding why your dog gets so excited, here are some related articles you’ll want to check out:
- How to Train a Dog not to Jump on You or Others
- My Dog Jumps and Bites When Excited—What Can I Do?
- How to Stop a Puppy Jumping Up and Biting
He loooooves the attention
Who doesn’t love getting a little attention?
Your dog certainly loves it! All dog owners know that one of the things dogs love the most is getting attention. And when your visitors come over, they’re probably giving him lots and lots of it.
Unfortunately, by granting him that attention you and your visitors are giving him exactly what he wants. This means that you may be unwittingly rewarding his bad behavior.
And that could be what’s making him so overexcited when your guests come over! Plus, it’s only going to encourage the behavior further, since now he knows acting super excited gets him what he wants.
New people are so interesting
It’s fun meeting new people and getting to know them. Forming new connections and friendships is a great way to spend time.
Your dog agrees! But, while making new friends is a really exciting process, your dog might be getting a little too excited.
The thing to understand is that dogs are very emotional animals. But without proper training, your dog might not understand how to express himself properly. Instead, he might jump all over people when he gets too excited.
Your dog might not be sure how to properly express his interest in new people, which he why he’s acting way too excited.
He might feel threatened by the “intruders”
You’ve invited your guests over. You know that, your guests know that, but your dog might not know that.
He might think that someone’s intruding on his territory when you have visitors over!
If your dog tends to get a little territorial, then this might be the reason for his behavior. You’ll want to be careful with this!
Dogs that are territorial can become aggressive later down the road. You’re going to want to curb this behavior right away.
Guests arriving doesn’t fit in his routine
Dogs are routine-based animals. They thrive when they have a schedule they can count on.
Of course, guests coming over isn’t necessarily going to fit into his routine. And because this is a shift in his routine, that can really throw him off!
Like I said earlier, dogs are very emotional animals. And your dog might deal with his confusion over his routine changing by getting over excited. It might be the only way he knows how to handle what he’s feeling!
How to calm a hyper dog when guests come over
The first step to fixing any problem is figuring out why the problem is happening in the first place. But now that you know why your dog is getting overly excited with visitors, you can start working on ways to help.
Stay calm!
You know now that dogs are emotional animals. Part of being so emotional means that they can easily pick up on your emotions.
That’s why it’s important that you model proper behavior for your dog. If you get really excited when guests come over, then your dog will think it’s okay for him to get super excited too.
Likewise, if you pay too much attention to your dog while he’s in this state, that’s only going to reinforce that behavior. Instead, make sure you stay super calm. Remind your guests to stay calm, too. You’ll find that he settles down much faster this way.
Put him in the crate until your guests have settled in
Staying calm is really important. But if your dog just can’t seem to calm himself down and nothing is helping, then putting him in his crate might help.
Crate training your dog is a great way to help him learn to settle down in situations where he may feel overstimulated. Your dog’s crate should be like his den, or his bedroom. A place where it’s very calm and quiet that can help him relax.
Are you interested in crate training your dog, but not sure where to start? Check out how to crate train a dog easily in 13 steps.
Make sure he’s tired
You should always make sure your dog is getting the right amount of exercise.
Ever heard the saying “A tired dog is a happy dog?” This is because a tired dogs tends to be a relaxed, well-behaved dog.
It’s important to ensure your dog gets a healthy amount of exercise (that means not too much or too little). But if you know you have guests coming over, you may want to spend some extra time tiring him out.
Physical activity like a long walk or playtime will help. But don’t forget to exercise your dog’s mind too! Make sure to check out these 10 brain games for dogs to play at home for some inspiration.
Practice proper greetings
Practice makes perfect! The same is true for having visitors over.
If your dog just doesn’t know what to do with himself when guests come over, then the best thing you can do is teach him the appropriate behaviors and practice, practice, practice.
Make sure you work on proper greetings with your dog. For more information, check out Zak George’s great video on the subject:
Get a friend to help you with training
You can certainly work on training your dog yourself. But since the issue is having guests over, getting a friend to come help will make a big difference.
You can have your friend stand outside your door and knock. Tell your friend to only come in if your dog is acting calm. If your dog starts getting overly excited when your friend comes in, then tell him “Oops,” or “Too bad,” and keep practicing this until your dog can greet people calmly.
With consistency, your dog will learn that he doesn’t get to say “Hi” to guests unless he’s acting calm.
Give him something to chew or lick
Sometimes, just having something else to do will help your dog a lot!
Dogs love using their mouths. This is because their noses and mouths are extremely sensitive. It’s how they experience the world around them!
If your dog gets really excited when guests come over, then try giving him something he can chew on or lick right before your guests arrive. With any luck, this will help keep him too distracted and busy to focus on the excitement of having visitors.
Why does my dog go crazy when someone comes to the door?
If your dog seems to completely lose his mind when people come to the door, there’s usually one or two possible reasons why.
The first is that your dog is super excited to have guests over! If this is the case, then you’ll want to work on training him to stay calm. Even if it’s just the mailman coming to your door to deliver the mail, a dog going insane on the other side of the door can be pretty unnerving.
If your dog is a little bit territorial, then that could also be the cause of his behavior. Again, work on training him out of this right away. If you don’t keep an eye on your dog’s territorialism, you might run into some problems later in his life.
How to calm an overly excited dog?
A dog that’s overexcited might be cute at first. But it doesn’t take long for that behavior to get old—not to mention frustrating.
Dogs that are overexcited lose control of themselves. They stop being able to regulate their own behavior. This is where you’ll need to step in.
If you’re struggling to get your overexcited dog under control, then these articles may help:
- How to Deal with an Overly Excited Dog on a Walk
- 9 Hyperactive Dog Symptoms and How to Help Your Dog Calm Down
- 5 Tips to Calm an Overexcited Puppy Quickly
Conclusion
It’s always fun having visitors over. Laughing and catching up with friends is an awesome way to spend the day.
But if your dog gets too excited when guests arrive, that can really dampen the experience. To make the experience more comfortable for everyone, it’s important to work on training your dog.
Practice proper greetings, make sure you’re giving your dog enough exercise before guests come over, and consider giving him a high-value treat to work on before your visitors arrive. All of these things will help keep your dog nice and calm when you have visitors. Your guests will thank you!