How To Keep Anxious Dogs Calm Around Visitors
As the festive season approaches it’s a good time to consider how an anxious dog will respond to having visitors in the house. While some dogs are generally afraid of all strangers, others can react badly to certain types of folk like toddlers, so try and figure out what triggers fear in your dog so that you can take the right action.
A dog’s reaction to visitors can go from acting shy or going into hiding, to barking at visitors or in extreme cases displaying nervous aggression, so it’s often best to plan in advance.
While dealing with anxiety in dogs is rarely simple, not one of us wish to bar our door to the outside world, and it’s especially tough with friends and family during holiday seasons, so here are some practical tips that should help the visit go smoothly and your dog stay calm.
Prepare for Your Visitors
If you know that visitors are coming, organise yourself and your dog so the visit goes smoothly with the least stress possible for you and your anxious dog.
If your dog is going to react badly to the appearance of your visitors, put your dog in another room before they arrive. Make it a positive experience for your dog by making them comfortable, with a bed and access to water. A toy filled with food could be a great distraction for your dog and a crate can act as a den for a dog giving them some security. Be positive and calm in your interaction with your dog when you put them in the room so it does not feel just like they have done something wrong and are being punished for it.
Ignore Barking and Whining
If your dog starts barking and whining while your visitors are with you, try to pay no attention to it. If you go to them every time they make a noise it will give them encouragement to do it more. They should settle down after a bit and when they’re quiet is the ideal time to go and check on them.
Don’t shout at your dog or scold them for barking or making a fuss as this will not assist in decreasing their stress, it will also make your stress levels rise, which your dog will pick up on, giving them far more reason for feeling anxious.
Introducing an Anxious Dog to Visitors
If you’d like to bring your dog in to meet your visitors, pick your time with care. Wait until things have calmed down a bit and ensure you can stay in charge of the situation.
Ask your visitors to remain calm, not to look your dog directly in the eye as your dog will see this as a potential challenge , not to make a large amount of unexpected movements or noise and not to approach the dog. In fact it’s probably best if they can ignore him to start with as that takes all the pressure off the dog and permits him to make the first move.
Bring your dog in on a lead, particularly if you’re concerned that your dog might react with nervous aggression. Only when you know your dog is calm should you try taking him off the lead. Keep an eye on your dog and if he begins to show evidence of anxiety, take him back to the room.
The idea is to make having visitors a positive experience for your dog and one handy key is to arm your visitors with some dog treats. Your dog may not wish to take a treat from their hand, but if they drop it close by to the dog, that’s a great initial step in making your visitors a more enjoyable experience for them.
The Author Venice Marriott learnt about dog anxiety with her own rescue dog and has been finding the most effective ways to reduce anxiety for the last 2 years. Find out more about anxious dogs when you visit her blog.
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