The Poodle must identify the visitors coming and going. Besides, he has to monitor household security. It requires a delicate act of balancing. You want friends and family to visit you without the puppy spoiling their dresses and gifts. So, how to teach Poodle to greet people?
Meeting newcomers could be delightful for many dogs. They cannot suppress their joy in such moments. Jumping, licking, mouthing, and other hyperactive behaviors derive from this newfound excitement.
Many Poodles have no idea how to deal with strangers. Typically, we want them to welcome new people at ease in the house or street.
How to teach Poodle to greet people?
Practice makes a dog perfect. But this socialization drill begs help from other people. Moreover, your role lies in ignoring undesirable behaviors, including jumping, licking, sniffing, etc.
Negative attention still spoils the Poodle as it is one kind of attention. Attention-seeking Poodles can master a negative behavior by taking strength from your negative attention. The Poodle greets humans politely if you apply several time-tested dog socialization techniques.
Basic dog obedience training
Basic dog training involves frequent reinforcement of good manners, including “sit,” “come,” “stop,” and relevant commands. These commands help the Poodle manage an unforeseen situation like a pro.
Polite greetings require handy basic commands. Interestingly, most good manners classes would pay more attention to human behavior than the puppy. They coach you to better cope with volatile dog behavior.
Situational management
Dog excitement starts way before stranger proximity. The dog is itching to do things as the guest approaches the door.
The Poodle goes wild, barking whenever the doorbell rings or the gate squeaks. The dog eventually learns to control its immediate reactions to those noises. However, you have to instill the preferred behavior in the Poodle.
- Locate the excitement trigger. Doorbells, car sounds, and door screeches get the puppy going. Have someone ring the doorbell and observe the dog’s reaction. Reward calmness with treats.
- Ignore the puppy’s excitement until it settles down. Then, give him a treat for calm composure.
- Continue this dog drill until it shows ideal reactions. For instance, the dog must look at you for a treat when the doorbell rings. Gradually, delay the reward for 3-5 seconds. So, the dog can extend and internalize the duration of calmness.
Your Poodle gets a better shape of mind to greet a stranger calmly. The phasing out of excitement sits in over time. If the dog goes crazy, use the “sit” command to control his jumping.
Reinforce the “sit” command
“Sit” turns all uncontrollable dog circumstances a breeze for you. Sit gets the dog dinner and favorite treats or toys. It opens the door for a walk. Sit should become his default behavior. The dog ultimately understands the value of sitting while being approached by a stranger.
Crating
Fervent dogs sometimes need a time out in the crate away from noise and confusion. Give him chew toys and treats to have a good time there. So, the dog can cool it down a little within a few moments.
Typically, dogs can incrementally stay with the guests for more time with good training practice. But the dog might want a time out if the party is going on too long or getting too loud. Give him a break right in those moments to avoid problem behavior.
Related one: Is Poodle a Good Family Dog?
How can a dog greet another dog?
Dog greeting guidelines give safety to you and your dog.
First, dogs can greet each other in an enclosed zone. Hence, you can let the leash go as they strike a friendly chord in the playground. The leash controls their behavior in the first few minutes of interaction. You can pull them apart and remove them from the scene if things go wrong.
Final words:
However, no one is deluding himself here because dog-friendly enclose spaces are not readily available. Moreover, compatible dog playmates are even rarer to come across. Here, humans can get their dogs together to set the workings in motion. Urban dogs mostly enjoy on-leash greetings.
Normal is not possible. Dog owners who live in cities may find safely enclosed dog-play spaces hard to come by, not to mention compatible playmates accompanied by humans who are willing to arrange play dates. Sometimes, the only social options for urban dogs are on-leash greetings.
If you are in the “really have to/want to” category, here are some suggestions to help you avoid future problems: