Introduction

Whether it’s friends or a repair person your dog doesn’t need to go anywhere near the door when someone enters your home. They don’t need to greet them and they don’t need to learn to sit at the door as someone comes in. What we want to teach them is they don’t need to get excited, everything is cool and we have things under control.

What we’ll be doing is creating a space for them where they’ll have access to reinforcement that will keep them busy and help them get over the excitement of someone coming into the home. They’ll be able to see the person come in, but not have access to them. You also have the option to put your dog in another room with a high value long lasting treat that will keep them occupied.

This is based on the “Off Duty Hack” from the Family Dog Mediator seminar/course. 

What you’ll need

HIGH VALUE TREATS

This isn’t the time for peanut butter Kongs! We need stinky meaty products. Think beef tripe. Think liverwurst. Both kinda make me gag when I think about them. 

This is the most important part! Here are my recommendations.

• Nothing they get on a regular basis. This includes the food they get at meal time. 
• Barkworthy trachea or other food dispensing toy stuffed with wet food they haven’t had before, ground beef or lamb, tripe, liverwurst, etc
  • The brand of Liverwurst I purchase is John Morrell Braunschweiger. For those of you near a Stop & Shop that is where I purchase it.
    • If you can’t find that specific brand just be sure whichever you purchase has no extras like onions and/or garlic.
    • Some brands have bacon added. Bonus!
  • Honest Kitchen pâté works well
  • Freezing is optional but recommened.
    • Some dogs will give up if they don’t make progress. Some dogs love it.
    • If you freeze it and you know when your guests are arriving, take it out early to let it soften up a bit.
• Other things to give them in addition to the stuffed trachea/frozen treat.
  • Snufflemat to encourage sniffing.
    • Sniffing promotes relaxation.
  • Lickimat
    • Licking is soothing.
  • Cardboard box to shred or bully stick or other long lasting chew.
    • Dogs enjoy shredding and chewing. They are natural behaviors. 
  • It’s very important that these are given in addition to the stuffed trachea/frozen treat. 

Safe Space

• A space where you can set up your dog behind a gate.
  • NOT A CRATE
  • Provide a bed or blanket in the space so they can get comfortable.
  • They can see who is coming in.
    • We want them to see who is coming in and watch our body language and reactions to see there is nothing to be concerned about.
    • You should also be able to see them to supervise, especially when chewing and shredding.
  • Some dogs may need to be leashed/tethered to something in combination with a gate. The tether should be long enough for them to lie down and reposition themselves.
  • Do you have a space that has a door to access your fenced in yard? Try giving your dog the choice to go outside, away from all the activity.
• Water bowl.
• Alternatively, your dog can be placed in another room or separate rooms entirely, away from the front door.

Practice Runs & Other Tips

• If you are going to put your dog in another room practice by putting them in there for short periods of time. Gradually increase the amount of time they spend
• Practice with a family or friend that your dog is used to coming into the home. 
• Start building a positive association with the setup by feeding your dog a meal in that space, behind the gate, but not when you are expecting guests. 
• Avoid triggers that indicated someone is coming in:
  • Communicate to your guests and delivery drivers (where applicable):
    • Text when you arrive, are parking, driving down the street, etc. 
    • DO NOT RING THE DOORBELL
      • Cover the doorbell and/or add a note not to ring it.
    • DO NOT KNOCK ON THE DOOR
      • Put up a “no knocking” sign
    • Don’t interact with the dog at all.
      • No sniffing hand
        • This is how you get bit by a scared dog.
      • No attempting to pet
        • This is how you get bit by a scared dog.
    • Follow any other instructions explicitly. 
• Be prepared, you never know when a spontaneous game night is going to happen. Keep a few stuffed tracheas in the freezer.
  • Don’t forget to take one out early to soften up.
• When possible take your dog out for an activity they enjoy earlier in the day before your guests are scheduled to arrive. 

The Setup:

You have two options

• If you know when your guests are arriving put your dog behind the gate and give them their treats a few minutes before arrival time.

            OR

• When the doorbell or knock at the door happens, use a cue like “company!” and bring them to their off duty space.
  • You can practice this before people come over.
  • You can also practice with people that your dog knows and doesn’t get too excited about. 

When your guests arrive, let them in without any commotion or over excitement. Your guests should do their best to ignore your dog. 

Your dog might go through their normal routine of barking, jumping, etc – IGNORE THEM. Act naturally. Tell your guests to act naturally. It may take a few minutes but they will almost always go back to their high value treats.  I’ve had a 99.9% success rate with this when properly setup, so if your dog isn’t going back to their treat we need to troubleshoot why.

Once your guests are all in and have settled in, give your dog another 15-20 minutes to settle down. You can let them join the group after they have finished their chews. Your dog might decide to stay where they are and take a nap. And that is ok!

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Off Duty Hack in Action

Your setup does not have to look like this. You can also start from the beginning watch the intro. This link goes right to the action!