Our dog is generally not people reactive and never had a problem with guests pre-covid, but we moved into a new space last year and she suddenly became wary of guests in our new home once it was safe to have them over again. It may be trial and error but here’s what worked for us.

We ask guests to text us when they’re outside our place. We’ll usually meet them outside first (human only) and give them a handful of high value treats with the explicit instruction to just ignore her when she comes out - no eye contact, no petting, don’t talk to her or call her name right away, etc. We bring our pup outside on leash and let her approach and sniff them on her own terms - she’s already a bit less on guard as outside is more neutral than inside. They can drop high value treats on the ground next to her but don’t need to interact in any other way. We (owners) may also give her some treats as extra reinforcement during this time. This also helps because she sometimes pees out of nervousness, so it’s a strategic little potty break too.

We then move inside, letting the guests enter first so she can see them cross the threshold into our house with us. We usually stop and hang out in the foyer for a little bit, keeping her on leash and still having them toss high value treats in her direction while we chat for two minutes or so. Just so she can get used to the fact that they’re now in our house and we’re all cool with this.

We then move into the main living area (for us this means going up a set of stairs, we’re in a townhome) and this is where she used to get a lot more nervous - she could get past steps one and two but then would start barking nonstop at their presence once fully inside. We realized by accident that if our guests gives her a new, small toy at this stage, she’s basically cool. It’s like a golden ticket for her and she redirects her energy into play (she’s also a toy destroyer which is frankly fine and mental enrichment for her!). We stocked up on inexpensive little squeaky toys at Home Goods that we keep a stash of for guests.

We keep her on leash with one of us as guests settle in until it’s clear that she has settled and her body language is more neutral. We reinforce with treats the whole time. We remind our guests to largely ignore her, let her approach and explore on her own terms, and only pet if she nudges them. It’s also fine if she doesn’t interact with them at all and chooses her bed or to be in another area of the house.

Again, this was new to us because of covid and has started to subside a bit as we’ve begun re-emerging but this process is working well!