12/06/2025
This video is for all the super friendly, overly excited social butterflies out there. Having a dog who loves everyone is a great problem to have, but it can become a challenge if they value every person and dog out in the world more than they value you. What I’m talking about here is teaching neutrality first. Before we let these dogs greet others, we want them to learn that we are the source of all the good stuff, and that greetings happen through us, not in spite of us.
This isn't about making dogs antisocial at all. We want them to have great social skills. But the only way to get polite, permission-based greetings later is by teaching neutrality now. When your dog can stay calm and neutral around all the exciting things, you will then have a dog who can actually listen, think, and make better choices. And once they understand that their access to greetings comes from you, your relationship gets so much stronger.
Build the value in yourself first, get reliable neutrality, and then start letting them have those friendly interactions. That’s how we get dogs who can still be their happy, outgoing selves, but with manners, patience, and control 🙂
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