How do I stop my dog from greeting strangers?
Sage Kassulke
2025-07-13 19:23:01
Count answers
: 11
When my dogs meet people, I give them choices during the greeting and I support my dogs’ decisions overtime.
If this helps, my dogs don’t meet other dogs on leash and I’m a professional dog trainer.
The method I now use and tell my clients is the “Asking the dog first” method.
It’s a socially acceptable way of disrupting a greeting while allowing your dog to make a choice.
Next time someone barrels toward your dog with an outreached hand, asking to pet your dog, step between your dog and the person and say, “Let’s ask my dog first.”
If your dog walks over and greets the person, then reinforce calm behavior (i.e. no jumping and sitting politely for petting).
If your dog decides not to engage, respect your dog’s choice and explain, “Well, he’s feeling a bit shy today and that’s okay, so we’ll respect his choice.
Maybe next time.”
Many pet lovers graciously understand this explanation because no one wants to force a dog to do something he doesn’t want to do.
When your dog makes a choice, support his decision every time.
Instead of standing quietly and awkwardly, take a moment and explain why choices are so important for dogs.
Lightheartedly explain, “Dogs really don’t have many choices in this world, so this is my way of offering my dog choices and it works well for both of us.”
Greyson Gusikowski
2025-07-02 16:15:59
Count answers
: 5
Don't make a show of coming and going. It may be tough, but to untrain this behavior, you'll have to start ignoring your dog when you come home until they've calmed down. Train your dog to sit when greeting people. Do not allow a stranger to approach him until all four paws are on the floor. If your dog can't settle down and sit, walk away from the stranger until calm is restored and try again rather than pulling at his leash and shouting commands at him. You may have to speak up and instruct others against greeting your dog until he's followed your commands. Tire your dog out before greeting others. A tired dog is a calm dog. With the added exercise, they won't have the same boundless energy and will be less likely to jump up on others. As always, reward the behavior you want to see and avoid negative reinforcement.
Hyman Runte
2025-06-24 07:58:20
Count answers
: 8
On our puppy walks, everyone who approached Mohawk was asked to ignore him completely before he even approached them. If they complied, I stayed nearby and guided them on how to stroke him when he was calm. If they ignored my request and tried to stroke him, I recalled Mohawk away. Here’s an example of what I said to people: “Hiya, if my puppy comes over, please don’t stroke him, just ignore him! Thanks so much. I don’t want him to learn to jump at people. If he jumps, please step away so I can recall him.
When he calmed down, I would guide them: “You’ve been so helpful, thank you. Now that he’s calmer, if you’d like to stroke him, please do it on his chest, below his neck, and between his front legs. The best thing strangers can do to help socialise your puppy is to ignore them. Politely ask people to ignore your dog. Should your adult dog jump on people or bark and growl, they’ll be far more upset than if they were asked to ignore the puppy initially. By managing human interactions and training your dog properly, you can prevent jumping and ensure calm and positive greetings.
Tess Renner
2025-06-24 03:10:01
Count answers
: 5
When your dog is on a lead and restrained, they are relying on you to advocate for them and keep them safe. You wouldn’t let your child play with total strangers, your dog should be no different. Probably most importantly, you need to be the most exciting thing in the world to your dog for your recall to be effective. If your dog sees strange dogs as more exciting than you, how can you rely on them to come back? Dogs do not need friends, they need mental and physical stimulation. Our dog is now two years old and, in that time, he’s never met a single random dog on a walk, we’ve had two years of lovely walks filled with play, rock solid recall, and engagement. He can walk past dogs in the street perfectly calmly because they’ve never been a source of stress or over-excitement to him. Dog neutrality was always our goal and because of it we have an incredible time with him. I know a lot of the problem is that we’re told “Socialise your dogs!” constantly in this way from the moment we get them but give no-greetings a try for a little bit and watch how your walks improve.
Read also
- Should you let your dog greet other dogs on leash?
- How to greet an unfamiliar dog?
- What to do if an off-leash dog approaches your dog?
- How to teach a dog not to greet other dogs?
- Do dogs need to say goodbye to other dogs?
- How do you greet a dog after a long absence?
- What is the correct technique to use when approaching an unfamiliar dog?
- How do I stop my dog from getting excited with strangers?
- What to do when a random dog approaches you?