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UPDATE/AFTER-ACTION REPORT – I sent these instructions to my bro and his two sons, who are not dog people and hadn’t met Luca. Before their visit, I arranged chairs in my backyard like the would be at my dining room table. I also had a place mat nearby, as in my living room/dining room. Luca and I practiced Phase 2 Avoidance Heeling, Loose-Leash walking (as I do it, which is similar to what Allie does), and Place.
I told my bro that I when they arrived, I would come out by myself and take whatever packages, clothing they had before I came out with Luca, since I did not want anything to be looming over/swinging above Luca because that would likely trigger him. I also gave them each a few high-value treats, which I told them to put in their pockets.
As soon as their auto parked in front of my house, Luca went into guard-dog barking mode. I want him to do that and so I do not punish him for barking, but if it continues for too long, I tell him to Hush, which he does.
Over the phone, I explained my precise meet-and-greet protocol to them. This was the first time Luca’s met more than one person at a time, so I did everything I could think of to keep Luca from feeling overwhelmed/threatened. I had them line up seperately on the entrance path, at 3 foot intervals. I told them to stand sideways at different angles and reminded them about not eyeballing, etcetc. Although they were a bit nervous, they followed the instructions to a T.
Then, Luca, who was very curious and therefore tugging on the leash, and I came outside. We did a bit of Leash Manners type walking around them, getting progressively closer. I told my relatives to continue ignoring him as we got closer and closer so Luca could sniff each of them and the treats in their pockets.
Luca was excited and curious but I saw no signs of defensive/fear-agression. He needed a few pumps to keep the leash loose but he was obedient and paying attention to me, as if to ask, ‘What’s next? What’s up?”
Luca and I walked in front of my guests. I told them to maintain their distance from each other and we proceeded downstairs to the basement and then out into my backyard. Luca and I gave them enough space to walk to the chairs and sit down. Then Luca and I slowly approached each of them. If I remember correctly, I asked Luca to Sit and when he did, each guest gave Luca a treat. We also practiced Place, with resistance.
These are a lot of words, but the whole thing took no more than 15 minutes. Then we went inside and chowed down. Luca was totally cool with them. I had substituted a short leash for safety’s sake for the 5 foot leash I had been using. But I took it off and he was off leash for the remainder of the visit, smiling, cadging treats and belly rubs etc etc.
This worked for this particular dog. It might not work for other dogs, so if there’s a more general lesson to be drawn, imo it’s that you need to move slowly, steadily and think things out in detail, leaving as little as possible to chance.
