A Foolproof Guide To Keeping Your Dog From Jumping on Holiday Guests

Having people over for the holidays can be stressful for so many reasons: You need to make sure there’s room in the fridge for Aunt Hilda’s casserole; that people know where to park; that your husband’s underwear isn’t on the bathroom floor. And it’s only after the first person arrives that you remember to not warn your guests that your dog likes plowing people down when they come through the door.

Good news: One of these things can be made easier with the push of a button. Literally.

You don’t need years of training, an expensive trainer, or millions of drills to teach a dog to go to their crate when people come through the door.

You just need four key products, and the know-how to use them together: a snuffle mat, small treats (I like Tricky Trainers by Colud Star) a Treat and Train remote dispenser, and a crate.

1. Fill a Treat & Train with treats The Treat & Train is a remote-controlled treat dispenser that can be used with kibble or small treats. To start out this protocol, you need to fill it with dry food or treats. I like to use ones that are small, hard, and uniform in shape. My go-to’s are Tricky Trainers. The crunchy ones are my favorites.

2. Set up your Treat & Train on your crate The Treat & Train has a removable gray dish that can be snapped off. Once it is off, you can sit it on the crate so that treats will fall directly into it. Depending on the size of your crate in proportion to your dog, you can, as an alternative, keep the dish on it and put the whole thing in the crate.

3. Put a snuffle mat in the crate A snuffle mat is a fabric toy in which you can hide treats. Put one in the crate, and the treats will drop into it. This will give your dog a bit of a fun challenge and will extend the amount of time your dog spends enjoying any single treat.

4. Put the remote on your door with a note Use Velcro, a hook, or tape to put the remote on your door, or by your doorbell, along with a note asking people to push it when they come in. The remote will work at a distance of 30 or so feet. The Treat & Train will make a “beep” to indicate to your dog that a treat is coming out.

5. Practice! Make sure to do a few repetitions every day where it’s just someone in your household coming through the door. In fact, you might as well do it whenever you come in. Help your dog learn that most of the time, the people coming through the door aren’t as exciting as when Aunt Hilda shows up with pot roast.

You can see the setup in action with my own dog here.

When you think about it, there’s a button by your door that’s been training you, too! The doorbell produces a cue that is nothing more than a classically-conditioned indicator that tells you where to go to get good stuff (your favorite aunt at your door) and when (now). The Treat & Train button produces a cue that basically does the same thing… with a reward that is yummier than Aunt Hilda.

A cheaper alternative What I’ve outlined here is a great option, but it requires some products that you have to buy. There’s a cheaper hack you can put to use while you’re waiting for your goods: Attach a cup of treats to your door with a sign telling people to toss it on the ground when they come in. Unless your guest has great aim, this might not involve your dog going to the crate. But it will stop your dog from doing the annoying behavior while engaging in another behavior and making good associations about people coming over to boot.