My Dog Gets Overly Excited When Guests Come Over; How To Keep Him Calm?

Typically, a well-trained dog will be socialized enough to tolerate other pets and people. But when something out of the ordinary happens, it is expected for your dog to act out. When your friends or family visit you, your fluffy will zoom around, barking, jumping on people, etc.

And undoubtedly, most of the time, this may make you uncomfortable and embarrassed. In the end, you will be left alone wondering why my dog gets overly excited when guests come over. 

So, why does your dog gets overly excited when guests come over? The simplest form of explanation is that it is a break from his usual routine. He will act according to his point of view and make it clear to everybody whether the visitor is a friend or an enemy. If it’s a friend, your pooch will want to say hello and welcome them into the house. But if it is someone he doesn’t want to tolerate, you will also have to put up with aggressive behavior.

Let’s find out more in-detail!

Why Does My Dog Get So Excited When Guests Come Over?

Your daily routine with your pet may consist of going for short walks, at least two meals, playing tag or fetch for a few minutes, cuddles, and a few more along the line. Anything out of this schedule will excite the pet and make it act out with pleasure or aggression.

This usual routine doesn’t have a slot for visitors either. And that is why when visitors come to your house, your well-behaved furry friend will go nuts and start to do things he has never done before.

You will notice below behavior changes when your dog gets overly excited when guests come over. 

• Starts to do zoomies
• Gets up on your furniture
• Jumps on you
• Look out the window excitedly or with anger  
• Growl, and many more

If you haven’t seen this sudden behavior change in your canine before, any new dog parent will start to get concerned. Have you not trained him enough? Is he trying to get out of control? Was his socialization training inadequate?

Many of these doubts will pop up in your mind from time to time if your dog gets overly excited when guests come over.

Although it may look nothing like your pet’s usual behavior, breaking out of the regular routine is something they look forward to. Like how you would feel when doing the same thing repeatedly, your puppy could feel that every day too.

I get that having your four-legged best friend accustomed to a routine helps you look after him and align his needs with your life schedule. It is easy for both of you to know how the lineup for the day goes.

But just like we’re going on vacations to get away from this routine, they, too, must have something to get excited about. Maybe not every day, but at least once or twice a month.

And him acting out or getting over-excited whenever your doorbell sounds is a small thing you would have to tolerate for your pet’s happiness.

How Do I Calm My Dog Down When Guests Come Over?

• Put up a barrier

If you know that your hound will be acting out, causing a scene, the best, easiest, and quickest way to do it is to put up a barrier. This way, your pet will be cornered to a place where they cannot go ballistic but watch what’s happening from afar.

This won’t stop the canine from barking or growling. But at least you wouldn’t have a frantic dog running around right next to your feet.

• Give them a time out

If your dog gets overly excited when guests come over, making everybody uncomfortable, give him a time-out. The first thing to do is take him by the collar and put him in a concealed room.

Once the pet goes into the room, close it behind them and make sure that you stay behind. It will teach them that bad boys are not tolerated.

But don’t leave him inside the room for more than one minute. Slowly let him out and see his reaction. Then you can decide whether to repeat your action or not.

• Distraction

Your pet might be excited, but I’m sure you think of something far more interesting for him. You can distract your puppy with a toy or his favorite treat.

Or else, you can simply give him a command and send your pup away; if he obeys your order at once.

• Get the help of someone

If you can’t think of another way to control your puppy, you can get another family member’s help. Simply ask them to distract the pooch or take him away from the front door.

This way, after a while, his excitement will die down. Then you will be able to let him around with much less hassle.

• Take precautions before you open the door

You are the parent of the puppy. That means you know your canine and his body language better than anyone else.

So, you can understand the changes happening in his behavior when a visitor comes to your door.

Then before opening the front door, you can either keep him away in a separate room or leash the pet. This way, his overreaction will be contained.

But don’t misunderstand. Doing this will not get him to stop his noise.

You, me, the kids, and everyone become excited when we break our routine. Even if it is as simple as popping a sweet into our mouth or going out for dinner with our family, friends, or a work colleague, we feel that a lot.

If your dog gets overly excited when guests come over, don’t yell at him or punish the canine. Just like that, our fluffy friends like to break their routines and do something that they don’t usually do.

And once they do, it is essential to contain them to an extent. But I personally believe that you must let them have fun once in a while on their own terms. And we must keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t get hurt.

After all, their happiness is our priority. Thanks for reading so far. Stay with us for more!