Tips for dealing with guests afraid of dogs

As much as your dog is cute, obedient and funny, not all your guests will appreciate your dog's attention. If you are having guests not very fond of dogs over, you must prepare yourself and your dog. Nothing is worse than forcing your guests to meet your canine companion, no matter how lovable you think your dog can be. It is a fact of life that not all people in this world are dog lovers and it is a fact off life that frocing them to change their mind can only make things worse.

Interestingly, when people claim they do not like dogs often they simply find it difficult to admit that they actually fear them. These people may have been traumatized by some past experience such as a dog bite or some other threatening dog behavior that was put a dent in their life. Forcing them to meet your dog can traumatize them more. Following are some tips to help make their visit a pleasant one.

• Crate Your Dog

If your guests fear your dog the best and most polite thing to do is to crate the dog. Minutes prior to their arrival therefore place your dog in a crate and keep him in a room far from your guests. Tell your guests they can relax because your dog is safely crated in another room. Keep the crate in a room you are sure your guests will not get close to away from the kitchen, living room and bath room. Fill up a Kong and place it in the crate to help your dog kill time.

• Place a Baby Gate

If you have a dog that is trust worthy, you can put up a baby gate so your dog can be kept away from your guests. This way your dog can have some room to move about if you are concerned about keeping your dog crated for long. Make sure your guest knows where the barrier is placed so they know to avoid that area.

• Keep Your Dog in the Yard

If you have a yard away from your entrance, you can keep your dog in the yard. Make sure all your doors are closed up to prevent unwanted surprises. Leave toys around to make sure your dog has something to play with while your guests are over. Let your guests know your dog is safely in the yard.

• Leash your Dog

Some guests are not really afraid of seeing dogs but are afraid of interacting with them. If your guest is interesting in seeing your dog but does not want to be sniffed, jumped up at or licked, keep your dog leashed if he is well behaved and you are 100% sure he will not pull to go say hi.. A good tool to have good control is a head halter or a sensible harness. Once your guests get to admire your dog put your dog away and take care of your guests.

Having a well behaved dog can work wonders in helping people overcome their fear of dogs. Often, what people fear the most is a dog's exuberance, the whole jumping around, licking hands and sniffing routine may be just too much for some people, especially those who have never lived with dogs before. Those who have been bit by a dog, on the other hand, may have a much harder time to adjust and trust dogs again.