Every dog owner must follow certain do’s and don’ts when guests arrive at home. It is imperative that if you often have guests at home, your dog is very well trained and especially understands commands like ‘sit’, ‘stay’, etc. An untrained and badly behaved dog will not suddenly become calm and well behaved with visitors in your home. Rather it may become more aggressive and restive and cause you a lot of embarrassment. The following are some tips for dog lovers (these tips are for normal family dogs under normal situations) on how to handle their pooch when guests arrive. If however, you have an unwanted visitor such as an attacker or a burglar at home, you should NOT follow any of the tips below and react according to the danger as you deem fit.
Please remember that irrespective of whether your guest likes or does not like dogs, your dog should not do anything that causes your guest to regret visiting your home.
1) Please understand that not everybody loves dogs. This, however, does not mean that they all hate dogs. It is just that some people do not feel comfortable with dogs. Some people are allergic to dog fur and even if they may not dislike dogs, they still prefer keeping their distance from dogs. So, do not take umbrage if they do not cuddle or pet your dog or say sweet things about him.
2) Make sure you are at the front door to greet your guests and not your dog. This is especially when the guests are coming to your place for the first time. If you allow your dog to greet your guest before you do, it may jump on them – rest assured that even a dog-loving guest will not like to have a dog jump on him. Jumping on any guest, dog-loving or non dog-loving is a strict no-no!
3) Greet your guests comfortably and confidently. Dogs take cues from their owners and if the owner feels comfortable around a visitor, most likely the dog also will.
4) If your guest does not like dogs, then tie up your dog and keep him out of sight of the guest or at a safe distance from the guest. If your guest has brought kids, do not leave your dog alone with the guest’s kids.
5) Do not tell sweet stories about your dog to a non dog-loving guest as your stories will not make him love dogs. This is a sheer waste of time and you do not owe your guest any story about your dog or dogs in general.
6) As far as possible, let your guests know beforehand that you have a dog at home. This will prepare them mentally and they will not be overwhelmed by your dog.
7) If your dog is sensitive to certain behavior and becomes aggressive due to certain actions, please forewarn the guest lest he is attacked by your dog. Let your guest know beforehand if your dog is aggressive by nature.
8) Before guests arrive, please ensure your living room is free of dog fur especially on the sofa set. No guest will appreciate dog fur floating before him and sticking to his clothes.
Keep in mind the above tips and you are unlikely to face any unsavory situation with your guests.
The above article has been written by Manish Jaitly
Photo by Dominik QN on Unsplash
I am a dog lover and creator of this site. I am also the author of ‘Keep Sleeping Keep Missing- if only you knew’ (available on Amazon, Flipkart, Kobo, Google Store, etc.).
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