The holiday season is upon us. While we make plans to receive family and guests over festivities, we often forget about our canine companions. It’s usual for dogs to act differently in the presence of strangers. Your pet may get too excited and start jumping and piddling or get anxious and start barking or growling to see the visitors. Thus, pet parents must take appropriate action to ensure their dog, and the guests are comfortable in each other company. And this starts with proper training.

If your dog is not accustomed to seeing strangers too often, they are more likely to behave poorly around them. Many veterinarians at animal hospital Virginia Beach suggest socialization and training of pets at an early age itself.

How to socialize pets at an early age?

Although dogs are playful creatures and love having people around, they may act differently when they see strange faces. The best way to deal with such a situation is to train your dogs from their puppyhood. Early training will help them not get anxious or too excited when they see your guests. To start:

1. Take your puppy out for morning and evening walks to the nearby playground.
2. Let them meet other people, and dogs interact with them.
3. If you have friends with dogs, arrange playdates, or treat them with dogs’ day out.

If your dog doesn’t like being around your guests and misbehaves, here are some tips to make them comfortable.

Tips for helping dogs become comfortable around visitors and guests.

Assign a safe area for your dog.

Having a well-assigned place for your dog to go to when there are guests at home is the best way to deal with an anxious or hyperactive dog. Train your dog to follow your command and go to their designated space when you ask them to. Reward your dog for using the space with treats to instill positive behavior.

Reinforce commands.

When your guests are around, it’s essential to keep control over your pet. Use commands like “sit,” “stay,” “no” to help your dog behave appropriately around the guests.

Keep your dog on a leash.

Keeping your dog on a leash is one of the best ways to keep them in control. This will also ensure that they don’t jump on your guests and scare them. Also, train your dog to remain calm every time there is a knock on the door or not to rush to the door when it opens. Veterinarians from pet care vet Virginia Beach advise pet parents to start the training process at an early age itself.

Allow the dog to get accustomed to your guests.

Dogs sniff to gather information about their surroundings and the people around them. When you have visitors over your place, allow your dog to sniff them. Guide your guests to stretch out their hands to let the dog sniff them. This will make both your dog and guests comfortable around each other.

Avoid too many guests.

Not all dogs are made the same. While some dogs love being around people and warm up to strangers too well too quickly, others don’t enjoy people’s company. If your dog gets too nervous and anxious around strangers, it’s best to avoid too many guests at once. Gradually allow your dog to get accustomed to having too many people around before you plan a big party. You should also consider consulting doctors from pet hospital Virginia Beach to look for the underlining cause of your pet’s anxiety.