Looking for suggestions on how to handle a dog that gets very excited when company comes over.
For example…Our in-laws came over for supper yesterday. Max, our 16 month saint, barrels towards the front door to greet them. They come in and he’s all over them. He grabs my mother-in-law’s purse and then drops it, tries grabbing my father-in-laws jacket, grabs my shoe and runs (he always seems to grab a shoe when company comes over, but never when we’re home alone). Later, he started grabbing at my mother-in-law’s pant leg and almost knocked her over.
What we’re looking for is ideas on how to handle situations like this. Last night, I’m guessing Max had more than normal energy built up since he’s been homebound because of a knee injury two weeks ago. However, his excitement level was pretty close to normal. He even occasionally jumps (or tries to) on a guest.
We don’t want people to avoid coming over because a 140 pound dog forcefully greets them at the door. He’s a growing boy, and I also don’t want either guests or Max getting hurt.
We’ve tried getting him used to people coming over by my husband or me ringing the doorbell and pretending we’re guests, but of course, we just don’t get the same response. We’re old news.
Any thoughts or ideas?
