Professional Dog Training Sydney: How to Teach Your Dog to Greet Nicely

On every walk a dog has opportunities to meet and greet other dogs and people. Some dogs seem to do it very calmly while others become overexcited and unable to contain themselves. All of us would rather have the dog who’s calm and collected than the opposite, right? Here’s advice from Professional Dog Training Sydney.

Intermittent reinforcement

Why do dogs repeat unwanted behaviours, like jumping up on people? The answer is intermittent reinforcement. This means that the behaviour is sometimes reinforced, whether you want it or not. For example, every time your dog jumps on someone and they say, “Oh, it’s okay, I don’t mind!” and then pet her, your dog is being reinforced and rewarded for jumping up.

Intermittent reinforcement makes a behaviour harder to stop.

Best Place to Start fixing dog training issues:Basic Good Manners Training Classes

A professional dog training class is my first choice for working on any basic manners issues. It gives your dog the opportunity to practise good manners with other dogs and people. Your class instructor, professional and experienced dog trainer, will give you feedback on your own skills and teach you training methods that you can use on your own.

Teach your dog to approach other dogs on a loose leash.

Pulling and lunging on leash towards other dogs can send very unsettling signals to the other dogs, making the encounter less likely to be friendly. It also increases arousal in your dog, making the existing issue harder and harder to manage. Over-excited dogs very often become reactive on lead because of frustration.

When you start greeting other dogs on lead, it should be done in a calm manner. A Leash Manners Class is great for practising greeting manners!

Greet other dogs only occasionally.

Not every dog wants to meet yours! It’s not polite to let your dog approach every dog they see. Most of the time, your dog’s job when she is on leash is to be with you. Teach your dog a vocal cue that gives her permission to greet another dog, and use it sparingly. This prevents over-excitement issues due anticipating meet and play with every dog in sight.

Use high-value treats and consistently reinforce your dog for paying attention to you in the presence of other dogs

This is something most dog owners don’t even think about. If you go to the dog park to let your dog go crazy with other dogs, while you passively stand in the distance, you’ll end up with a dog who ignores you. Reward your dog for focusing on you even around distractions and you’ll have a very obedient dog!