6 Mistakes You Are Making with Your Dog and House Guests

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Living the dog life as a dog mom and wanting to have guests over can seem like the best of both worlds. Parties, holidays, dinners, just to name a few reasons to have fun with friends and family in your house. Although, you hope your dog will just get use to the fun since it is no big deal or feel your dog loves everyone he/she is friendly. Maybe that is true or maybe your dog needs more help then you think. WI wanted to share five mistakes you are making with your dog and house guests to help everyone enjoy each other and make it positive for your dog too.

Often we think the dog training we did with our dog will stay with them and it only takes one time to show them the good behavior and we are done. Unfortunately, that is not true as dog training needs to be done everyday and especially important when a change out of the normal routine is going to occur like having a party at your house.

Here are the Six Mistakes You Are Making With Your Dog and House Guests

Mistake 1: Waiting Until The Last Minute To Plan A Party.

I get how life can happen and having family and friends asking for a surprise party at your house. I love being spontaneous and mixing things up. However, focusing on just the human side of a party or get together and not about your dog could be disastrous. You can still do it, but I want you to be realistic about what your dog can handle. Therefore, give more time to plan for everything especially things you normally do not think about.

Mistake 2: Not Supervising Your Dog.

As guests arrive to your house you want to be the best host and greet everyone. However, by focusing on the guests you are going to be distracted. Therefore, the front door will be open and your dog is inside moving around freely to greet people or walk out the front door. You will not realize it until a guest points it out or you see your dog jumping on people. The best thing you can do is focus on your house guests and make sure your dog is safely secured in the beginning of your party.

Mistake 3: Leaving Food where your dog can reach it.

Choosing how much food, what type of food, and where to setup will be your priority. Buffy style or sit down. However, not realizing your dog will being looking for food on the ground that guests will drop unknowingly, or being able to reach up with their head when no one is looking are some possibilities. What about your dog getting out through the front door or not noticing when your dog is getting stressed. I do not want to scare you with these possible scenarios by realize they can happen quickly.

Mistake 4: Not asking house guests if they are bringing a dog to your house.

Inviting your friends and family and getting them to rsvp can be difficult enough sometimes, but not asking if they will be bringing a dog can pose a bigger problem. I had a family member who would say he was coming up just to visit, but never said he was bring a dog. Luckily, it was okay because I did not have a dog but you may not be as fortunate. I recommend asking ahead of time to avoid any stress on your dog and asking nicely if your guests can keep their dogs at home. They will be more understanding ahead of time and maybe you can arrange another time for you and their dog to meet.

Finally, managing one dog can be hard, but more then one can be complicated. Furthermore, add in a lot of people at your party and that is not a way for you, your guests, and your dog to have a great time together.

Mistake 5: Not sharing tips about your dog to house guests and telling them what they should and should not do.

If you are going to give your guests and your dog a fair chance then be up front with them. Unfortunately a lot of dog parents think that every dog will like them but that is not always the case. Simple things like not being too loud, let your dog approach your guests, or keep your hands away from a certain spot on your dog can make the time together benefit everyone.

Mistake 6: Not giving your dog a safe place or breaks from the house guests.

Often you may think your dog is acting badly when they really need a break from all the noise, interaction with people because it can be too much for them. Especially, a party may not be part of your dog’s routine. Therefore, having a place for your dog to have a break is important to do before your dog becomes too stressed and things do not go well. Your dog is happy and so are you. It is easy to set a timer on your phone and check on your dog. If you have a bedroom, or if your dog is crate train then it will be simple to and important to do this break. Moreover, you could give your dog a food toy like a kong to make it a positive experience for your dog. The great thing about a kong is you can prepare them in advance of a party. I would give yourself extra time to figure out which filling combination your dog loves the best in that kong.

Finally, if your dog is crate trained then that is another option to use when guests come to your house. However, if your dog is not crate trained, you could start working on crate training with your dog way in advance of the party and see how that goes. Any dog training should be simple and short to set you and your dog up for success. There is no need to put pressure on yourself or your dog as this could be a long term goal. Crate training has many benefits for different things in being a dog mom.

If you are looking for more help for you, your dog, and house guests for future parties then my mini course called Guess Who’s Coming Over? is for you. In this course I share what to do before, during, and after the party for your dog to help it go as smoothly as possible with less stress on everyone. If you keep wanting to have parties at your house but do not know how to make it work with your dog then grab this mini course now. It has videos you can watch multiple times and apply immediately in your house. Let’s make parties better for you, your dog, and house guests. Finally, I would love to hear from you if this blog post was helpful by leaving me a comment.