By Stephanie Oppenheimer, CPDT-KA

Thanksgiving is next week, and you’re hosting. Maybe you’ve recently welcomed a new puppy into your home, and he’s not even potty trained let alone trained to stay off the coffee table. Or, you have an adult dog who long ago decided that jumping is way more fun than sitting politely when Gramma visits.

What to do?!  

First, a reality check: You won’t be able to train your dog to be a perfect citizen within the next week – and probably not within the next month, either, as the winter holidays start filling our calendars. 

Training takes time, and as anyone who has tried to incorporate new habits into their own lifestyle knows, there are no quick fixes. Rather, dogs need to learn what we’re asking of them through clarity and consistency, and we need to positively reward them – in a way they respond to – so that they’re more likely to repeat that desirable behavior. 

Once you’re speaking each other’s language, then you’ll need more time to keep shaping your dog’s behavior through practice and reward. Suffice to say, training a dog – while well worth it over the long haul – is not a lesson in instant gratification.

This doesn’t mean we should just give up and warn our guests to expect the worst. Instead, we can turn to management techniques that will accomplish two things: 1), keep your dog and visitors safe, and 2), keep your dog from practicing unwanted behaviors. Best of all, many techniques are easy; all you need are some basic tools such as a leash, baby gates, exercise “x” pen, or crate. 

Let’s run through common holiday scenarios, paired with prevention management strategies.

• You have an energetic, curious dog. Let’s start here, because in the midst of holiday entertaining, it can be easy to forget that all dogs need enrichment and exercise. 

Take your dog on a long walk earlier in the day, with plenty of time to sniff and explore. Put your puppy on a long leash and let him chase and pounce on leaves. 

Play with them enough so that if someone asked, “Has your dog had mental stimulation and physical exercise today?” you could honestly answer, “Yes.”

• Your guests are set to arrive, and your dog goes wild when greeting a guest at the door. 

Meet your guests outside, with your dog on a leash. Take a little walk – even if it’s just around the driveway – since a dog can’t jump on guests if he’s busy walking with you. Let your guests go inside the house first, and follow behind them so your dog is the last one in; he can’t bark and jump at arriving guests when he’s not there to face them in the foyer! 

If arrivals will be too spread out for that, try this: Set your dog up in a safe area of the house, where he can see and hear easily – a gated mudroom, for example, or even an x pen in the corner of the living room. Give him a favorite calming toy, such as a bone or a stuffed Kong. 

As guests arrive, toss some kibble for him to forage and find in his space while you’re answering the door, and repeat until everyone has arrived. 

Allow your dog the time to get acclimated to their smells and sounds, your guests the time to get settled, and then let your dog greet guests – on leash, if necessary. 

• Your sister is bringing her dog, and while both dogs get along, they haven’t seen each other in a while. 

First, pick up any of your dog’s favorite toys and food bowl so that the guest dog can’t inadvertently “steal” your dog’s most precious belonging or dig into any leftover food. 

Second, with your dog on leash, meet your sister and her dog off property and walk around the block together. Keep leashes loose and easy, as gripping tightly and pulling on either dog conveys stress. 

Once they’re calmly walking side by side, return home and let your sister and her dog enter the house first.  

• Your dog is a notorious counter- and coffee table-surfer. This scenario, perhaps more than any other, calls out for barriers to eliminate this crime of opportunity for thieving canines. If your kitchen has doors, close them. If it has doorways narrow enough for gates, insert them. If your house is open-concept, get free-standing gates to block off the kitchen. 

Put appetizers on a taller sideboard with plates for your guests, rather than using the coffee table. Just as you wouldn’t leave a toddler in a room full of hot stoves, don’t leave a dog in a room full of tantalizing food. 

•  Your house is a no-shoes zone, but your dog loves chewing shoes. Rather than giving your dog a shoe buffet, stow shoes behind closed doors or in a basket that can be placed on a shelf. 

• Your puppy isn’t fully potty trained. If you haven’t already, roll up the rugs so that if he does have an accident, it’ll be easy to clean up. Next, divide the day evenly amongst family members and set your phone or watch alarms so that each assigned family member is reminded to proactively take the puppy outside every half-hour, without fail. 

If everyone thinks someone else is in charge, no one is in charge, and I’ve yet to meet a puppy who can signal their need to go potty over the din of a Thanksgiving dinner!

Above all, enjoy your guests and your dog. With a little preparation and planning, you can learn a lot about what works best for your dog by watching and listening.  Then, apply those same winning strategies to similar, everyday experiences and make “Good Dog!” part of your everyday vocabulary!

Stephanie Oppenheimer is a dog lover, puppy foster, and writer. She is also a certified professional dog trainer with Unleashed Abilities in Falls Church, Va.