Blog - Say Hello and Wave Goodbye
While it might be a great title for a song, when it comes to dogs, a calm silent interaction works best.
As hard as it is and as alien as it feels to us, the best thing you can do when you first come home is totally ignore your dog and do something else… take your coat off, put the shopping away, put the kettle on, anything other than saying hello to your dog.
You don’t have to ignore him for long, just long enough for the excitement to die down and for him not to mob you. Think about a work situation when an important person comes into the office or the factory, we don’t all go running up and excitedly fawn over them, well at least I hope not anyway, and they certainly don’t come rushing over to us.
Even when we are excited to meet them, we show self-restraint out of respect for the person, and that’s what dogs do when they meet a dog that’s more important, or higher ranking, than they are.
Coming home to a quiet respectful dog is wonderful, no stress, no jumping around, no shouting, no barking, and no barging – it really is a game changer in the relationship we have with our dog.
When leaving the home or coming back in, apply your ‘doorway manners’ so that your dog isn’t barging through and past you, which will calm the energy down, and, if you really struggle with not saying goodbye to your dog, put in a routine that works for both of you.
My routine if it helps, is to put the boys in the office with a biscuit, give them a wee stroke and leave them… then I wander around the house putting my coat on, picking up the car keys etc., and leave.
But I also put them in the office with a biscuit and a stroke when I don’t want them with me – if we’re having a dog free night in the sitting room watching a movie or have friends round for dinner.
Same routine regardless of if I’m out of the room or out of the house.
first published 30 August 2024
buy the book - https://thepetgundog.co.uk/Home/Books
join the club - https://lezgrahamonlinetraining.com/the-pet-gundog-club
Blog - Say Hello and Wave Goodbye
While it might be a great title for a song, when it comes to dogs, a calm silent interaction works best.
As hard as it is and as alien as it feels to us, the best thing you can do when you first come home is totally ignore your dog and do something else… take your coat off, put the shopping away, put the kettle on, anything other than saying hello to your dog.
You don’t have to ignore him for long, just long enough for the excitement to die down and for him not to mob you. Think about a work situation when an important person comes into the office or the factory, we don’t all go running up and excitedly fawn over them, well at least I hope not anyway, and they certainly don’t come rushing over to us.
Even when we are excited to meet them, we show self-restraint out of respect for the person, and that’s what dogs do when they meet a dog that’s more important, or higher ranking, than they are.
Coming home to a quiet respectful dog is wonderful, no stress, no jumping around, no shouting, no barking, and no barging – it really is a game changer in the relationship we have with our dog.
When leaving the home or coming back in, apply your ‘doorway manners’ so that your dog isn’t barging through and past you, which will calm the energy down, and, if you really struggle with not saying goodbye to your dog, put in a routine that works for both of you.
My routine if it helps, is to put the boys in the office with a biscuit, give them a wee stroke and leave them… then I wander around the house putting my coat on, picking up the car keys etc., and leave.
But I also put them in the office with a biscuit and a stroke when I don’t want them with me – if we’re having a dog free night in the sitting room watching a movie or have friends round for dinner.
Same routine regardless of if I’m out of the room or out of the house.
first published 30 August 2024
buy the book - https://thepetgundog.co.uk/Home/Books
join the club - https://lezgrahamonlinetraining.com/the-pet-gundog-club