My Dog Gets Overly Excited When Guests Come Over

Doorbells, knocking, and guests entering your home can send your dog into a frenzy. You're not alone if your dog barks, jumps on people, urinates, or displays inappropriate behavior when guests come over. Many dogs like to greet people, including guests, by jumping on them, barking, and getting overly excited. 

So if you're reading this thinking, "My dog gets too excited when guests come over," it's something many pet parents deal with. Luckily, there are ways to prevent your dog from getting overly excited every time a guest visits your home. 

This article will discuss why your dog acts the way they do when guests come over and how to calm a dog down to prevent this behavior in the future. 

• Why Do Dogs Get Excited When Guests Come Over?
• Identifying Excitement vs. Fear
• How to Calm Your Dog Down When Guests Come Over
• FAQs
• Final Notes

Why Do Dogs Get Excited When Guests Come Over? 

"My dog gets way too excited when guests come over" is something many pet parents have thought or even said aloud. Dogs get overly excited when guests come over for two possible reasons: excitement and stress. 

If your dog likes to jump on guests, lick their faces, or bark, you may have a hyper dog on your hands that may get excited when they see their favorite people. On the other hand, if your dog gets overly excited and displays aggressive behavior, such as nipping or biting, lunging, panting excessively, or displaying destructive behavior, they might be experiencing stress instead of excitement. 

Your dog's reaction to guests coming over might also be determined by how your dog perceives these guests. Some might be friends they've known for many years, while others might be new to the house and make your dog fearful. In any case, your main goal should be to keep your dog calm while guests enter your home. 

Identifying Excitement vs. Fear 

Happy dogs are calm, with relaxed eyes and posture. However, when a dog is excited, it doesn't mean they're unhappy. After all, dogs may get excited and jump on you when you get home from work. Excitement is happiness to the extreme. However, your dog may be fearful if that excitement turns into lunging, biting, whining, or whimpering. 

Dog body language can usually tell you how your dog is feeling. If your dog maintains a relaxed posture, they're usually happy. Most people assume a wagging tail indicates that a dog is happy, but that's not necessarily true. Dogs wag their tails to communicate a range of emotions. If your dog is happy, they'll have a slightly upright tail wagging at a moderate speed. 

But when your dog is excited, the tail will wag faster. Dogs can also wag their tails to display fearfulness, aggression, and anxiety. If your dog's tail is arched over their back and has a fast, stiff wag, it may indicate aggression due to fear.^[1] If you see a dog's tail wagging like this, it's best to leave them alone because they're more likely to snap than a dog with a fully relaxed posture. 

When dogs are excited, they're responding to a stimulus. If it's a favorable stimulus, your dog may be experiencing excitement because they're seeing a person they like walk through your door. You'll generally see a dog with a soft, relaxed body with a wagging tail that may begin jumping on people for attention.^[2]

Unfortunately, dogs can also be stimulated by unfavorable stimuli, producing a fear response. Dogs experiencing fear may begin displaying aggressive signals like barking, lunging, or nipping or distressed behavior like pacing or spinning.^[2]

When dogs are aroused by a stimulus like a guest coming over, you'll typically see the following behaviors and physical signs:

• Jumping or mounting
• Mouthing or biting
• Raised hackles
• Ears forward or at attention
• Upward and erect body
• Stiff wagging tail
• Barking or lunging^[2]

How to Calm Your Dog Down When Guests Come Over 

Introducing your dog to guests properly is crucial during the socialization process, which takes place during the first four months of their life. During this period, your dog should be exposed to as much of the world as possible to help them form positive associations with smells, sights, sounds, people, and other pets. 

Unfortunately, if your dog didn't have any socialization as a puppy, they may be more prone to fearfulness of strangers and guests. Here are a few best practices for introducing your dog to guests to help a fearful or excited dog remain calm. 

• Create a sanctuary space: Anxious pets generally like to hide, although that's not necessarily true for all fearful dogs. Still, creating a sanctuary space for an overstimulated, fearful, or excited dog gives them somewhere to go that feels safe.^[3] Dogs that don't feel safe may become reactive, engaging in aggressive behavior like growling or biting. 
• Manage reactive behavior: Reactive behavior refers to any behavior your dog uses to react to a stimulus. An excited dog may jump on guests, while a fearful dog may bark, lunge, or bite. You can manage reactive behavior by keeping your dog away from the door guests use to enter your home and let your guest get comfortable before letting your dog in the room. You should also ask that your guests ignore your dog and turn around if the dog starts jumping on them.^[3] Of course, every dog is different; if your dog is displaying aggressive behavior towards guests, it is best to keep them in a separate room while you have other people over. 
• Don't force interaction: Meeting new people can be intimidating for dogs, so you should never force interaction. Instead, let your dog approach the guest when they feel comfortable.^[3] Additionally, your guests should never bend over your dog because it can make them feel threatened and uncomfortable.
• Training: Training can help you learn how to calm down a hyper dog. Obedience training, which teaches them how to respond to a knock at the door, doorbell, or someone coming into your home, is one of the most effective methods of preventing undesirable behaviors. For instance, you can train your dog to go to a mat or how to greet people at the door calmly. 
• Identifying fear vs. excitement: Finding the root cause of your dog's behavior is crucial because fearfulness can lead to potentially dangerous aggressive behavior. Before you can learn how to calm a dog down when guests come over, you should determine whether they're a fearful or excited dog. Unfortunately, many pet parents confuse their dog's body language for excitement when they're actually afraid. If you're one of the many people who has ever said, "My dog gets overly excited when guests come over," you should pay attention to your dog's body language to determine if it's really excitement or fear. 

FAQs

Will my dog grow out of jumping on people?

Dogs sometimes grow out of undesirable behaviors, but you can't rely on it. Dogs don't grow out of most of their habits because they're learned behaviors. If your dog jumps on your friends and your friend rewards them with affection, your dog learns that they get rewarded by jumping on people. 

The only way to make your dog stop jumping on guests is to train them not to. Socializing and training your puppy early can prevent this behavior as adults when your dog is much larger and can do some serious damage when they jump on someone. 

However, training can still be effective if you've missed your dog's socialization period. 

Is it rude to let your dog jump on people?

Some people don't mind if your dog jumps on them, but these people are usually your friends and family who have spent significant time around your dog. However, some individuals are particularly vulnerable and can get injured if a dog jumps on them. Children and the elderly can easily get knocked down. Additionally, some people have a fear of dogs. 

Unfortunately, if you want to train your dog to stop jumping on people, you'll have to train them to stop jumping on all people. Letting your dog jump on friends and family and rewarding them with attention makes it confusing for them when you try to teach them not to jump on other people. 

How do I calm my dog to greet visitors?

Teaching your dog to greet visitors calmly is a process, so you can't expect them to do it immediately. However, you can train them to greet visitors calmly by asking that visitors don't acknowledge your dog until they're calm. Once your dog calms down, they can get affection, praise, and treats, eventually teaching them that being calm when people enter your home rewards them. 

Final Notes 

Having an overly excited dog around guests can be challenging. A dog that's jumping and barking can be intimidating for most people, even if you know your dog is friendly. Additionally, a dog can appear excited even though they're actually fearful, and you'll only realize it once you start paying attention to their body language. 

Fearfulness in dogs can cause similar reactions to excitement. However, if the fear isn't controlled or managed, it can lead to aggressive and potentially dangerous behavior. Is your dog excited or fearful? Talk to a Dutch vet. We can help you determine if your dog is fearful or overly excited when guests come over and treat anxiety that causes undesirable behaviors. Try telemedicine for pets today.