How to Train Your Dog to Be Calm Around Strangers
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Introduction
When company comes over, does your dog lose control, jumping, barking, running around in circles, and otherwise making a nuisance of himself? When you are on a walk and encounter a stranger, does your dog act aggressive, lunge, pull, bark and growl? Unless you live under a rock, you and your dog are going to encounter other people, people your dog doesn't know, and your dog needs to know how to behave when this occurs. A dog that reacts aggressively to the presence of strangers can end up lashing out and biting. Even a dog that does not show overt aggression but gets overexcited is usually reacting from anxiety, which can eventually manifest in aggression. If you have a particularly large dog, his excitement around strangers can send someone flying if he jumps up, or result in a scratch to a face, especially with children or seniors.
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Defining Tasks
Your dog is going to come into contact with guests in your home, service people, delivery people, and strangers on walks and trips. Your dog will need to learn to be calm, comfortable and quiet around unfamiliar people. Although, it is normal for your dog to let out a bark to warn you someone is approaching you or your home, this should not be excessive, and should stop once you have been alerted. A confident, controlled dog will not go on barking, become hyperactive, jump, or be aggressive around strangers, which is usually a reaction to fear. To train your dog to act appropriately and be calm when he encounters strangers you should never punish reactive behavior, do not yell or pull back on a lead, which creates more excitement and anxiety and makes the behavior worse. You want your dog to be mentally relaxed when he encounters a stranger. Although he may be happy, and excited, or bark to let you know someone is there, there would be a confident, balanced, relaxed posture, and his behavior should be controlled and calm. The best way to create calm behavior around strangers is to socialize your dog early by exposing him to lots of different people and situations. An older dog that becomes over excited or aggressive around strangers will need to have their behavior corrected and replaced with appropriate calm behaviors.
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Getting Started
During the training period you will want to keep your dog from being exposed to strangers except during scheduled training sessions, where you can modify your dog's behavior. To do this you may need to avoid strangers when walking your dog by crossing the street, and keep your dog contained in a separate room when you have people over unless you are actively training. You don't want to give your dog the opportunity to be hyper or aggressive around strangers, as this only reinforces the behavior. Do not punish or force your dog to accept handling from a stranger during training, you will need to exercise patience and move at your dog's pace. Remember, your dog is reacting out of fear. Enlist friends who are not afraid of dogs, and who your dog is unfamiliar with, to assist you in training. Have lots of treats available to positively reinforce appropriate behavior. If your dog is aggressive, or apt to bite, you will need to ensure everyone’s safety, and a basket muzzle may be appropriate. The use of a crate as a safe place can be used to help desensitize your dog to the presence of strangers.
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The Ignore Method
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Most Recommended
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Find a "stranger"
Have a friend act as your stranger and meet your “stranger” either out on a walk or have them come to your home.
Ignore
When your dog overreacts to the stranger's presence, you should both ignore your dog's behavior, do not restrain, yell at, or even look at your dog while they are overreacting. Remember to be calm yourself.
Small reward
When your dog stops reacting by barking, jumping or running, have the stranger toss the dog a treat. Neither you, nor the stranger should pay excess attention to the dog.
Increase reward
As the dog becomes calmer around your stranger, your assistant can place a treat near them or even provide the treat by hand, as long as the dog continues to be calm. If the dog starts acting hyper, aggressive, or over excited again, withdraw treats and attention and ignore the dog.
Repeat
Repeat with several different people, as often as possible over a period of weeks. If possible, have your “stranger” join you on a walk if you are out walking. Ignore excited behavior and reward calm behavior until your dog learns that there is no positive reinforcement for overreacting, and that being calm is rewarded with attention and rewards.
The Down and Stay Method
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Effective
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Teach down/stay
Teach your dog to sit/stay or down/stay on command, on a mat in your home, with no strangers present, until your dog performs this reliably. Practice down/stay on the mat on and off leash.
Bring a stranger in
Have a planned “stranger” come over to our house. Put your dog on a leash prior to the stranger ringing the doorbell and entering the house.
Command down/stay
When the stranger enters your home, give your dog the down/stay command and direct them to their mat, use the leash to direct them if necessary.
Reward response
When your dog is on his mat, obeying the sit/stay or down/stay command, and is calm with the stranger present, give your dog a treat. After your dog is calm for several minutes, call him over to meet the stranger and provide your dog with treats.
Repeat
Repeat in multiple sessions with different people, if possible, over several weeks until your dog learns to calmly sit/stay or down/stay when a stranger enters your home.
The Desensitize Method
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Crate
If your dog tends to be particularly fearful and withdrawn, provide them with a crate or provide a safe distance from your assistant. Have an assistant come to your house while the dog is in his crate or on a leash on the far side of the room.
Interact at a distance
Do not crowd your dog, but wait for him to be calm in his crate or space with the stranger in the same room and then give him a high value treat.
Come closer
Gradually have your assistant come closer to the crate, or your dog. If the dog reacts, stop and wait for him to be calm, When you get calm behavior, provide a reward. You can provide your dog a Kong stuffed with food or a chew toy, to help distract him and give him an outlet for excited behavior that does not involve directing it at your assistant.
Repeat
Repeat multiple times over many sessions, with different assistants if possible.
Increase exposure
If using a crate, gradually have the stranger present with the door open, move to having the dog on a leash, and move to having the dog off leash. Eventually, your dog will earn that the stranger is nothing to fear and that reacting calmly to their presence is associated with rewards.
Written by Amy Caldwell
Veterinary reviewed by:
Published: 10/08/2017, edited: 01/08/2021
More articles by Amy Caldwell
Training Questions and Answers
Khalia
Great Pyrenees Mix
Four Years
Question
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My dog is fear reactive and protective. He's scared of new people. It wasn't always like that. But last year he was hit pretty hard with a weed eater by a person in our yard that wasn't supposed to be there. Now he's very uncomfortable and distrustful of every one he doesn't already know. What can I do to help him and avoid someone getting hurt when he encounters someone new
Nov. 5, 2023
Khalia's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1133 Dog owners recommended
I highly recommend hiring a professional trainer to help you in person with this. First, pup needs to be evaluated to determine what type(s) of aggression are present. For example a dog who is fearful is trained a bit differently than a dog who has learned to use aggression to get what they want or a dog who is acting possessive of something. Often treating aggression involves building the dog's general trust and respect for you, through things like having pup work for everything they get in life by asking pup to obey a command like Sit before you give them anything. This helps pup listen to your instruction and relax knowing you are handling the situation they are uncomfortable with. It involves giving pup a lot more boundaries and rules to follow to build structure and predictability into their routine and help them make better choices. Often a basket muzzle is introduced gradually using food rewards so that pup can wear that to keep everyone safe during training when interacting with pup around other people, until things improve. Pup would also be desensitized and counter conditioned to what they are reacting toward about using food rewards to reward pup for good responses, very gradually increasing his exposure to people overtime, using safety measures like a basket muzzle and back tie leash, to keep distance between him and the person practicing with him. A training group with lots of different trainers, who can practice being "strangers" while knowing how to safely interact with him in a controlled scenario that's been set up, can allow him to practice this counter conditioning without putting others in danger. There may be other specific things that need to be addressed as well. Look for a trainer who specializes in behavior issues like aggression and fear. If pup is aggressive toward strangers or other dogs too, you will need a trainer who works with a team of trainers and/or has access to other well mannered dogs, like the trainers' dogs so that the training can be practiced around a variety of people and other dogs, to help pup generalize what they are learning to people and dogs in general, and not just the trainer and yourself. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Nov. 30, 2023
Grace
French Bulldog
Six Months
Question
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
While we’re out on walks and a stranger is walking, my dog will try to run and pull and jump to go up to the stranger to say hi and it’s the exact same for dogs because she has absolutely no fear, what should i do to stop that?
Aug. 16, 2023
Grace's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1133 Dog owners recommended
Hello, I would see if you can recruit friends, family or neighbors to help you practice the Passing Approach Method, then later the Walking Together method from the article I have linked below. This method was written for passing other dogs, but the principles are the same for passing people too. Passing Approach method and Walking Together method: https://wagwalking.com/training/greet-other-dogs Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Aug. 25, 2023