How to Train Your Dog to Greet Other Dogs
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Introduction
Imagine being out on a walk with your dog in your neighborhood, when you suddenly spot your neighbor out on a walk with her own dog. Now imagine being able to walk up to that neighbor with your dog and have a wonderful conversation with her, while your dog waits calmly by your side.
Training your dog to greet other dogs nicely can make walking your dog less stressful since you do not have to worry about your dog pulling on the leash and barking every time he sees another dog approaching. It can also enable you to bring your dog places where other dogs are present, such as pet stores and parks, and it is very important if you would like to pursue more advanced training with your dog, such as Therapy Dog training, Canine Good Citizenship Certification, and off-leash training.
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Defining Tasks
Knowing how to greet other dogs nicely is a very important skill for all dogs to learn. Having a dog that knows how to greet other dogs is not only beneficial to you, the owner, but it can also benefit your dog by increasing the number of places he gets to accompany you and by preventing him from getting into dog fights that are due to poor greeting behavior.
Be patient with your dog while teaching this. For some dogs, usually those with calmer personalities, this is a relatively easy behavior to learn, but for others, like those with more excitable personalities, this can be a very challenging behavior to learn and it will take them more time.
The goal is to teach your dog to approach another dog calmly and to interact with the other dog politely and briefly. This is something that benefits dogs of all ages, and the earlier you begin training it, the sooner you can enjoy a polite dog!
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Getting Started
To begin, you will need some small, tasty treats that are soft enough that your dog will not choke on them while moving. Something such as freeze-dried meat treats can work well for this. If your dog is not food motivated, a favorite toy or item can also work well.
If you are able to, recruit a volunteer with a calm dog to help you. If you cannot recruit someone, you will need to pick a location where you are likely to see other friendly dogs at various distances from you.
You will need to work at your dog’s own pace. Only increase the difficulty level once your dog is consistently succeeding at the current level. It is important to be patient for this reason, and to practice this several times a week to help your dog to improve.
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The Passing Approach Method
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Warm up
Practice walking your dog at a heel beside you, without any other dogs around. Reward your dog with a treat or a toy for paying attention to you and for staying by your side.
Pass by
Once your dog is focused on you, have your volunteer and his dog pass you from across the street. Keep enough distance between the two dogs for your dog to remain calm.
Reward
Continue heeling your dog past them, and reward your dog for acting calmly, for paying attention to you, and for walking right beside you as they pass by.
Decrease the distance
If you dog remains calm, have them pass by again, but this time decrease the distance between you and them by a couple of feet.
Repeat
Continue to decrease the distance between you very gradually as long as your dog is remaining calm and attentive towards you. If you dog begins to get distracted, work at the current distance until they are calm and focused again.
Greet
Once you are close enough to the volunteer and other dog that the two dogs can almost touch each other, stop and command your dog to “say hi” while giving your dog enough slack in his leash to be able to greet the other dog. Have the volunteer do the same with their dog.
Leave
Let the dogs sniff briefly, and then command your dog to heel again and leave. This will help your dog stay calm during greetings and will decrease the chance of fighting between the dogs.
Practice!
Now practice, practice, practice with all different types of friendly dogs. Practice in different locations, such as neighborhoods, pet stores, and parks to help your dog generalize his new skills to many new dogs and locations.
The Walking Together Method
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Warm up
Practice walking your dog at a heel beside you, without any other dogs around. Reward your dog with a treat or toy for paying attention to you and for staying beside you.
Walk together at a distance
Once your dog is focused on you and heeling, have your volunteer walk his dog parallel to yours from across the street.
Reward
Reward your dog with a treat or toy for paying attention to you, acting calmly, and staying by your side while you walk parallel to the other dog.
Decrease the distance
If your dog remains calm, then decrease the distance between you and the other dog by a couple of feet. If your dog does not remain calm, then work at the current distance until your dog is once again attentive and calm.
Repeat
Continue to decrease the distance between the two dogs by a couple of feet every couple of blocks that you walk. Reward good behavior as you go.
Greet
Once the dogs are close enough to each other that they can almost touch, stop and command your dog to “say hi”. Have your volunteer do the same thing with his dog, and allow the two dogs to sniff each other briefly.
Keep moving
After the dogs have briefly sniffed each other, command your dog to heel, and have your volunteer do the same to his dog, then continue the walk with both dogs walking side by side with each other.
Practice!
Practice this with many different dogs and in many different locations in order to teach your dog how to greet all dogs nicely wherever you go.
The Slow Approach Method
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Warm up
Practice walking your dog at a heel beside you, without any other dogs around. Reward your dog with a treat or a toy for paying attention to you and walking beside you.
Introduce from a distance
Have your volunteer stand with his dog about a hundred feet away from you, where your dog can see them.
Reward
Reward your dog for paying attention to you, for remaining calm, and for sitting.
Movement
Take a step towards the other dog. If your dog stays calm and remains beside you, reward your dog with a treat or a toy. If your dog barks or pulls, then turn back towards the direction that you came from and take a step away from the other dog.
Repeat
When your dog is calmly standing by your side, repeat taking a step towards the other dog. If your dog remains calm, reward your dog and continue to take more steps, one at a time, towards them.
Take it slow
If your dog begins to bark, pull on the leash, lunge towards the other dog, or get too excited, take one step away from the other dog and wait until your dog calms down and is acting politely before taking another step towards them again.
Greet
Once your dog is close enough to the other dog to almost touch him and is acting calmly and politely, tell your dog to “say hi”, and instruct your volunteer to do the same to his dog, then allow the dogs to briefly sniff each other.
Keep it short
Once the dogs have sniffed for a couple of seconds, command your dog to heel and leave. Keeping things brief will help your dog to remain calm, and it will decrease the chance of the dogs fighting.
Practice!
Practice this often with as many different dogs as you can, and in as many different places as you can, to ensure your dog will know how to greet all dogs calmly wherever he goes.
Written by Amy Caldwell
Veterinary reviewed by:
Published: 12/29/2017, edited: 01/08/2021
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Training Questions and Answers
thor
Yorkshire Terrier
Eight Months
Question
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0 found this helpful
I have an eight month old Yorky. He seems to greet other dogs fine but II have a eight month old Yorky. He seems to greet other dogs fine, but after they walk away as when he wants to run after them and Grauel gets a little crazy, how can I correct this behavior
Dec. 23, 2022
thor's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello, I would work on teaching the three commands. First teach him the "Leave It" command for times when you don't want them to greet at all or he needs to disengage when he start to run after. Leave It method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite Second, I would teach the "Out" command, which means move away from that area. Read this entire article for how to deal with pushiness, how to teach Out, and how to use out for with another dog. https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-teach-a-dog-the-out-command/ Third, I recommend teaching "Let's Go". When greetings happen on leash, like on walks around other dogs. Allow three seconds to greet, then tell pup "Let's Go" in a happy tone, and walk away. Pup should have to follow when the leash gets fully extended if he doesn't right away. As soon as he turns toward you to follow, praise and give a treat carried with you on walks. The treat helps pup to learn to come right away willingly in the future and not to feel stressed about having to disengage from another dog. Finally, if the issue is happening around the home, keep the dogs separate while you are sleeping or away, and keep a drag leash on him while you are there to ensure it won't get caught on anything, so you can quickly and calmly step on the leash then use the leash to enforce an Out or Leave It command to teach pup to listen consistently, so that you won't need the leash eventually once pup learns. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Dec. 27, 2022
Frankie
Jack Russell Terrier
18 Months
Question
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0 found this helpful
Frankie is a very playful easily aroused JRT who has difficulty greeting some other dogs in a calm happy way. She loves playing with and going to greet new dogs whilst off the leash but often snaps or lunges toward the other dog which sometimes leads to a fight. She mostly wants to play after she has displayed this behaviour or see the other dog off in some way. She also reacts whilst on the leash to some dogs passing by, barking or growling at them. She has been well socialized from a youg age, walks happily in groups with her dog walker and plays well with lots of new dogs too. I am afraid this behaviour may be escalating and am not sure what is causing it.
Feb. 7, 2022
Frankie's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello Nicole, I recommend working on calmness and more socialization. For the calmness, I suggest working on the structure of your walk first. You want pup to be working during the walk - having to stay behind you, focus on you, perform commands periodically, and not have her mind on scanning the area in search of other dogs. The walk should start with her having to exit your home very calmly, performing obedience commands at the door if she isn't calm. She should wait for permission ("Okay" or "Free" or "Let's Go") before going through the door instead of bolting through if that's an issue. When you walk she should be in the heel position - with her head behind your leg. That position decreases her arousal, reduces stress because she isn't the one in charge and the one encountering things first. It prevents her from scanning for other dogs, staring dogs down or being stared down, and ignoring you behind her. It also requires her to be in a more submissive, structured, focused, calmer mindset - which has a direct effect on how aroused, stressed, and reactive she is. Additionally, when you do pass other dogs, as soon as she starts staring them down, interrupt her. Remind her with a gentle correction that you are leading the walk and she is not allowed to break her heel or stare another dog down. It is far easier to deal with reactivity when you interrupt a dog early in the process - before they are highly aroused and full of adrenaline and cortisol, and to keep the dog in a less aroused/calmer state to begin with. Staying in a calmer mindset also makes the walk more pleasant for her in the long-run. Once pup can walk past other dogs more calmly, you can carry small, soft treats hidden in a treat pouch or plastic bag in your pocket. When pup's body language stays calm, they remain focused on you, or are very obedient when other dogs are within sight, reward pup with a treat and very calm - almost monotone praise (too much excitement can make the situation harder for pup). Thresholds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-w28C2g68M Heel article - The turns method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel Heel Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTiKVc4ZZWo If she barks, I suggest also teaching the Quiet command from the Quiet method in the article I have linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Once pup is calmer in general after the initial training, practice exposing her a lot to the things that trigger the barking normally (make a list - even if it's long). Whenever she DOESN'T pull/bark/get tense/react to something that she normally would have, calmly praise and reward her to continue the desensitization process. Finally, if pup is friendly with other dogs up close and isn't aggressive, work on calm socialization, and don't skip rewarding pup for calmness around other dogs once she is doing better on walk and is calm enough to reward it! That can help ultimately. For socialization, do things like joining obedience classes, trainings clubs, group dog hikes and walks, canine sports, ect...Your goal right now should be interactions with other dogs that have structure and encourage focus on you, calmness around the other dogs, and a pleasant activity with other dogs around - opposed to roughhousing or tense environments with tons of unpredictable dogs loose which increases adrenaline. Recruit some friends with well mannered dogs to go on walks with you and your dog, following the Passing Approach method and Walking Together method to help the dogs learn how to be calm around each other, while also continuing socialization. Passing Approach and Walking Together methods: https://wagwalking.com/training/greet-other-dogs Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Feb. 7, 2022