Have you noticed your furry friends shy away from you and become quiet when you have guests over? Maybe your dog has kept out of your way, quietly buried out of sight all day long. If you’re wondering ‘Why Does My Dog Ignore Me When I Have Visitors’, you’re not alone. Read on to know more.
Many dogs get overly excited and bark resistlessly when they hear the doorbell ring. Worse, they’ll forget to follow your commands and ignore you when you have guests over.
So why is your dog ignoring you? He’s probably jumping, overcome with excitement, and simply forgets to pay heed to your requests.
Why Does My Dog Ignore Me When I Have Visitors?
Below are the key reasons why your dog might be ignoring you when you have visitors:
1. Lack Of Socialization
Your dog’s lack of socialization as a puppy makes him shy and nervous around unfamiliar people, which may show itself as ignoring you when you have visitors over.
Shyly ignoring you around visitors is a definite sign of lack of socialization.
2. Abuse Or Trauma In The Past
Past abuse or traumatic experiences at the hands of strangers may cause your dog to shy away from your guests.
3. Anxiety
If your dog hadn’t been properly socialized and made to meet with other dogs and people as a young dog, he’s likely going to face a host of other problems like separation anxiety and night-time anxiety.
4. Over-excited
If your dog follows all your commands under normal circumstances and only acts up when you have guests over, it’s because he’s thrilled to meet new people and cannot bear to sit still.
What Should I Do When My Dog Ignores Me?
Your pup may be ignoring you for several reasons, whether he’s tuning out your constant chatter or simply cannot hear you over other noises. You can try the following to remedy this behavior:
1. Spend More Time With Your Dog
Spending time with your dog builds a bond between the two of you. Without investing your time in him, he’ll likely want to go off on his own rather than care about what you want.
Play with your dog often and establish structure in their day. Proving him with mental stimulation and entertainment keeps your pooch sharp, alert, and obedient.
2. Stop Treating Him Like A King
It’s true, being overly devoted to your pup can disrupt the alpha-beta social role that you’ve established to get your dog to follow your commands.
You need to reinforce that you have control over all your dog’s needs and treats so you can positively motivate and control his behavior. You might consider an obedience class for your dog.
Also Read: Make Your Dog Smell Good Without A Bath
3. You’re Talking Too Much
If your only roommate is your dog, you’re probably speaking to him all the time and making remarks about his cuteness. Over time, your pup has probably learned to tune you out.
4. Suspect a Loss Of Hearing
Especially if yours is an aged dog, he may simply not be able to hear you calling out for him. If you suspect this is the problem, it’s best to consult with your veterinarian.
How Do I Get My Dog To Like Visitors?
While liking or disliking your visitors is totally up to your pet dog, you can try out the below methods:
1. Tell Your Guests To Give Treats To Your Dog
You can get your dog to like visitors by telling your guests to give them treats when obedient and telling them to give your dogs some space.
Also Read: Never Feed These 30 Items To Your Dog
2. Properly Introduce Your Dog And Visitors
Greet your guests outside the house and make sure to introduce your guest to your dogs. This gives your dog a sense of calm and reassurance that might make him more inclined to be well-mannered around visitors.
Can Dogs Purposely Ignore You?
Dogs can purposely ignore you for several reasons. Some of them include:
1. A Lack Of Positive Reinforcement Training
While most dogs respond to energetic pets and a hearty “good girl!” or “good boy!”, others prefer doggie treats and time with their favorite toy. Your dogs need to like and seek your treats to learn that obeying you comes with sweet rewards.
If your treats are lame and unattractive to your dog, he won’t like to listen to you.
2. “Command Nagging”
If you’re training your pup and you repeat the command more than once, you might be diminishing the potency of the command. Later on, your dog might tune out these repeated verbal cues and ignore your requests.
3. You’re Training Your Dog At An Unsuitable Place
Contrary to what you’ve been shown in movies, dogs do not learn tricks in a place as excitable as a dog park. He won’t be inclined to listen to you with so much open space to run!
Your dog needs to be trained in an environment where he can focus solely on your cues and commands.
What Does It Mean When Your Dog Ignores You?
Your dog may be ignoring you for many different reasons, some of them may be cause for concern, and others typical doggie behavior. Here’s a list of possible reasons your dog’s ignoring:
- He’s suffering from a loss of hearing
- He’s unwell or injured
- There are many distractions in your environment
- He cannot comprehend your cues
- He no longer believes you’re in charge
- You don’t have a close bond with him
- You lost your temper and he’s gone limp in fear
How Do I Get My Dog To Behave When Guests Visit?
Excitable and friendly dogs tend to become uncontrollable when you have guests over. Here’s how you can tame his unwanted behavior:
1. Keep Your Dog On A Leash When The Doorbell Rings
This is the easiest way to teach your pup to be well-behaved when you have guests over. Keep the leash on well before you expect someone. Slowly increase the amount of freedom on the leash.
Keep your dog’s leash on you or close to you so you can snap it on when a visitor arrives and you can direct her behavior.
2. Distract Him
Keep a beloved toy or some treats near the door. If your dog obeys your command to sit when there’s a guest at the door, you can reward him for his good behavior.
Repetition is key; treat your excited dog more frequently till he learns to quell his jumping behavior.
You can also ask your guests for help by telling them to pet your pooch or offer him tasty treats only if he obeys a command and sits.
How Do You Tell If Your Dog Is Protective Over You?
You can tell if your dog is protective over you if they apprehensively stare or growl at people or animals that come near you.
Most dogs guard whatever they believe is valuable. This presents itself as protective behavior towards you. While many pet parents think this behavior is a good thing, it can escalate quickly by turning into aggression towards other beings.
Why Does My Dog Ignore Me When I Call Him?
Your dog might be ignoring you when you call him primarily because of the following reasons:
1. He No Longer Recognizes You As The Alpha In The House
Your dog might not recognize your authority anymore because of your lack of engagement and discipline with him.
He may also ignore you if you’ve failed to spend time with him for a long time.
2. Hearing Loss In Senior Dogs
Dogs’ ability to hear properly diminishes with old age. Hearing problems develop slowly over time and are not very easy to detect. Learn to deal with your older dog’s hearing loss here.
How Do You Say No When Someone Asks To Pet Your Dog?
The best way to refuse someone who asks to pet your dog is to utter a polite, but straightforward “no.”
You aren’t obligated to provide an explanation, but if you don’t mind, follow up your refusal with a short, to-the-point response.
After all, you wouldn’t want your pet dog to be agitated or stressed because of few strangers petting him!
How Do You Know If Your Dog Hates You?
It’s very unlikely that your dogs hate you as a person, they’re probably just unhappy with something you’ve done recently. Here are a few things your dog might do to show his annoyance:
- He will pee inside the house
- Growl at you
- Won’t make eye contact with you
- Keeps away from you
Why Does My Dog Ignore Me When I Come Back From Vacation?
Your dog might be ignoring you after a vacation due to the following reasons:
1. Separation Anxiety
If your dog is prone to anxiety and nervousness, your prolonged absence, like after you come back from vacation, can induce separation anxiety in him. The stress of being kept away from someone he’s greatly attached to can make your dog anxious.
2. Improper Training
Another possible reason is unconscious encouragement to ignore you. Perhaps you’ve repeatedly rewarded him for staying away from you while you were away working or studying.
3. A Complaining Mood
Finally, your dog may just be sulking at you for being away for so long. This behavior will hardly last a few hours before he goes back to playing with you.
Why Does My Dog Go Crazy When We Have Visitors?
Your dog might be very excited to meet new people, especially if you don’t have guests over very often and yours is a rescue dog who loves socializing.
He will jump at the doorbell’s ring and exhibit attention-seeking behaviors when you have visitors.
Thus, a lack of meeting new people or socializing can lead to your dog acting like crazy when you have visitors over.
What To Do If Dog Growls At Visitors?
You’ll need to train the unwarranted growling out of your dog using positive reinforcement techniques. Make use of dog treats or toys for reinforcing positive behavior in your dog.
Try an obedience class to aid you to train your dog. Your dog growling at visitors means that he feels very protective over you.
How Do I Calm My Dog Down During Visitors?
Keep your dog calm when there are guests at your place by the following methods:
1. Leash Training
Keep your dog calm during visits from your friends and family by leash training. Keep a leash near the door snap it on before guests arrive. If your dog obeys your commands, let him looser on the leash.
Reinforce this behavior till he behaves well when you have guests over.
2. Distract Your Dog
Distract him with treats and toys to prevent him from jumping at your guests.
How Do I Train My Dog To Ignore Strangers?
You can train your dog to ignore strangers by means of positive reinforcement.
Treat him with tasty rewards or vigorous pets whenever he obeys your commands of sitting and not behaving rudely by growling or staring at strangers.
Conclusion: Why Does My Dog Ignore Me When I Have Visitors?
Now you know the answer to Why Does My Dog Ignore Me When I Have Visitors? The good news is that this behavior can be reversed. With patient reinforcement and time, you can easily make your dog unlearn this behavior.
