When guests come over, your dog’s excitement can quickly become overwhelming, leading to barking, jumping, and rushing the door. While basic commands like “sit” and “stay” are helpful, teaching your dog how to greet visitors politely is crucial to home manners.

At Where Sit Happens, we believe polite greetings don’t happen accidentally —they’re built with patience, consistency, and positive reinforcement. We want to help! Here are seven effective ways to help your dog master calm, respectful greetings.

Why Teaching Your Dog Proper Greetings Matters

Whether you’re meeting a human or another dog, teaching your dog proper greetings is crucial for its safety and well-being. It can also foster positive relationships between your dog and others while giving it essential social skills. 

Proper greeting behaviors keep both your dog and guests safe and relaxed. Overly excited dogs can jump, bark, or dash out the door, creating stress for everyone. Teaching polite greetings helps your dog practice impulse control, builds confidence, and creates more enjoyable social interactions at home and in public.

Here are seven easy ways to teach your dog how to greet visitors politely that we are confident you can master: 

1. Use a Gate, Leash, or Room to Manage Door Excitement

There are two important reasons why keeping your dog away from the door is essential.

First, placing your dog in a separate room or using a leash prevents door-dashing. In your dog’s excitement to see someone, they may rush out the door, which can be dangerous for your guests standing in the way and your dog if they escape outside. 

Secondly, keeping your dog away from the door also helps prevent him from immediately jumping on or running to your guests. This gives you more control over how your dog meets your guests. 

Start by managing your dog’s access to the front door. Use a baby gate, a leash, or a separate room to prevent door-dashing and jumping. This will prevent overwhelming your guests and give you control over how and when your dog gets to say hello.

Setting physical boundaries makes it easier to shape positive behaviors while preventing accidental escapes or chaotic greetings.

2. Create a Safe Space or Quiet Room for Your Dog

Your dog’s peace of mind and comfort are equally important to your guests. 

Sometimes, your dog may feel anxious or overstimulated when guests visit. While this may not result in unwanted behaviors like jumping, it can cause other behaviors like barking or hiding.

If your dog is anxious or overstimulated when guests arrive, create a cozy, safe space—like a crate, mat, or quiet room—where he can relax until he’s ready to greet. Include calming toys or chews and reinforce this area as a positive retreat.

For shy, nervous, or reactive dogs, this quiet space provides a mental break and reduces stress during social situations.

3. Teach a “Go Say Hi” Cue for Calm Greetings

Training your dog to greet guests calmly on cue can help quell impulsive behaviors. 

Once your dog is calm, you can give him a verbal cue—such as “Go say hi”—to allow them to approach guests in a controlled manner. Teaching this cue gives your dog a predictable structure and reinforces the idea that polite greetings are rewarded.

Start with familiar people, rewarding calm interactions with praise or a treat, and gradually build up to greeting new visitors.

4. Teach a “Go to Mat” Cue to Reinforce Calm Behavior

Before opening the door or letting your dog greet someone, ask them to go to a mat or resting spot. This “go to mat” cue teaches your dog to remain calm and stay in one place—even amid excitement.

A rest cue can also be key if you notice any uncomfortable or distressed behaviors from your dog while guests are still present. By sending your dog to their safe space, your guests can decompress and relax. 

Over time, your dog will associate the mat with relaxation and structure, making greetings smoother and more controlled.

5. Instruct Visitors to Ignore Your Dog by Trying the “Feed Your Shoe” Method

Sometimes, training your dog to greet your visitors politely begins with the visitors themselves. How your guests respond to your dog can influence their behavior, reinforcing positive or negative actions.

The “feed your shoe” method is a clever technique popularized by trainer Chirag Patel that encourages calm greetings by rewarding your dog for keeping all four paws on the floor. Here’s how it works:

Place treats on the ground near your feet (or have your guest do the same) as your dog approaches. As your dog focuses on the food instead of jumping, he is naturally reinforced to keep his paws down.

This is an excellent way to redirect excited behavior into a calm and rewarding interaction—without using commands or corrections.

6. Ask Guests to Ignore Your Dog Until They’re Calm

Guests can unknowingly reinforce hyper behavior by giving attention to your dog when she is jumping or barking. Ask visitors to ignore your dog completely when they enter—no eye contact, petting, or talking—until she is calm and has all four paws on the floor.

Once your dog settles, guests can reward calm behavior with a treat or gentle greeting, further reinforcing the desired behavior.

7. Use a Leash for Structured, Polite Greetings

A leash can be an invaluable tool for managing your dog’s struggles with self-control. Leashes help maintain a structured greeting process, allowing you to guide your dog through polite behaviors and prevent unwanted actions like jumping or rushing toward guests. 

Use a leash to prevent lunging, barking, or jumping when practicing with new guests. The leash gives you gentle control over your dog’s space while reinforcing calm behavior. You can guide them into a sit or redirect their attention as needed.

As your dog becomes more reliable with greetings, you can gradually fade the leash in favor of off-leash, self-managed manners.

BONUS TIP: Practice Polite Greetings with Familiar Faces First

When your dog meets a new person, two exciting factors go through its head: the person and the stranger. By removing the second factor, you can help your dog learn polite greetings in a low-pressure environment.

If you’re enlisting the help of friends and family who already know your dog, they can focus more on performing good manners while only being excited by a person without the added excitement of meeting someone brand new. 

Once your dog is consistently calm around familiar people and shows proper greeting etiquette, you can gradually introduce new guests to your dog to meet.

Consistency is Key: Reinforcing Good Greeting Habits

Consistency and repetition are essential to reinforce positive greeting habits in your dog. This means managing unwanted behaviors like jumping.

Like any behavior, polite greetings require consistent practice. Don’t allow jumping or barking “just this once”—it sends mixed signals. Instead, stick to your training routine and reward calm behavior every time. 

Consistent prevention of poor manners and rewarding positive interactions help your dog learn to distinguish wanted and unwanted behaviors. 

Greeting habits take time to learn, just like any other command. As a result, patience is just as important as consistency and repetition, as your dog likely won’t know the right way to greet visitors immediately, especially if your dog is young or easily excitable. With time, repetition, and positive reinforcement, your dog will learn that calm greetings earn the best results. 

Need Help? Let Where Sit Happens Guide You

At Where Sit Happens, we know that every dog—and every human—is unique. That’s why our private training sessions are fully customized to your individual needs. Whether you’re working on polite greetings, addressing jumping or reactivity, or building better manners overall, our experienced trainers are here to help with science-based, positive reinforcement methods.

We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Our structured, one-on-one approach ensures your training plan is tailored to your dog’s specific behaviors, personality, and pace. From basic skills to behavior modification, we’re committed to helping your dog do more than succeed—we want them to thrive.

Ready to build better habits together? Contact us today to talk about your training goals and see how we can support you. Don’t forget to check out what’s coming up on our calendar to discover our upcoming group classes and events in Oxford, CT.

With Where Sit Happens, your dog can become the paw-perfect host!