Free Tips on How to Teach a Dog Not to Get So Excited

For this Omaha dog training session we shared tips on how to teach a dog not to get so excited. We taught Sophie, a 7-year-old Black Lab and Rat Terrier mix, to calm down when people arrive. She is pictured here on the right with Tanner, an 8-year-old Great Dane and Golden Retriever mix.

How to Teach a Dog Not to Get So Excited When Guests Arrive

One of the most commons times pups get over excited is when people come to the door. And just like humans, dogs are more prone to making mistakes when in an unbalanced state of mind. Many people confuse excited for happy when it comes to canines, but they can be calm and happy too. Teaching a dog to stay calm during excited situations can go a long ways toward improving their behavior.

When I arrived for the session, Sophie was pretty excited, while Tanner waited a few steps away. I waited outside and waved the guardian off when they went to open the door.

A great way to help an excited dog is by waiting outside their reach for them to calm down. As soon as Sophie calmed down, I reached for the door which caused Sophie to become excited again. As soon as she showed excitement, I stopped the process. I kept repeating this start and stop approach until Sophie started to lose interest and walked away.

Then, I was able to come in since the dogs were calm. Calm canines tend to listen better. Tanner and Sofie both received a treat for allowing a guest to enter the home without them getting over excited. This will help them create a positive association with people coming over.

While working with Sofie, I asked her to sit and gave her a treat if she did. If she tried to get up, I would pull my hand away and stop engaging with her. Keep doing this until the dog is able to stay seated while they get their treat. This will help dogs calm down and stay more controlled.

To help stop a dog from getting excited when guests arrive, practice the same technique when the doorbell rings. A useful trick is having kids ring the doorbell and leave, so the dogs don’t associate the sound with excitement. Over time, this will reduce their excitement when someone comes to the door.

These are helpful tips to help an excited dog, especially when they tend to jump on guests.

I recreated this technique to stop a dog from getting excited when people come to the door in the free training video below.

At first, it may take time for your furry friend to learn to calm down with this positive training. However, just like Sophie, the dog will start to calm down more quickly over time.

More Tips to Help an Excited Dog Remain Calm

I suggested that the guardians use these secrets for how to teach a dog not to get so excited when people are at the door. They should do this as often as possible for the next 2-3 weeks. Inviting friends and neighbors over can help your dog stay calm when someone knocks on the door. Practicing with family members is also a good idea.

We talked about several dog behavior tips that can help pups learn self-control and respect for humans as authority figures. To help the guardians remember them all, we filmed a roadmap to success video that you can check out below.