You know how we hoomans have that one thing that makes us absolutely go crazy.
Someone mentions a memory that makes us want to retell the entire story all over again, or they say the name of that one restaurant that brings to mind that one dish that is the absolute fam favorite.
Well, dogs have something like that, too. If you’re a dog owner, you’ll know exactly what it is: doorbells!
Meet Lenka
Almost every dog owner knows the absolute chaos that happens when the doorbell rings.
Pups will either start jumping and barking uncontrollably or will start running toward the person at the door, trying to shower them with hugs and kisses.
Well, Lenka, a two-year-old Czech Shepherd cross, is a mixture of both.
Whenever she notices someone at her front door, she immediately runs toward it and greets them by barking and growling.
Because of this, the family was unable to call their friends over to their home, fearing that an incident may occur.
But what is a home without some nice company, right?!
That is why Lenka’s owners came up with a brilliant plan to allow their friends to come over and teach their pup how to console herself when the doorbell rings.
Follow The instructions, Please
They decided to put up a sign on their door that gave their guests directions on how to properly act whenever they found themselves at the door.
The rules are simple: when you walk through the front door, you will most likely be welcomed by Lenka. However, you are not to touch her, speak to her, or make any form of eye contact.
You should follow these rules until told otherwise.
“Set your dog up for success by making things predictable. She wants to protect us. If we create a scenario where she can predict behavior, it helps with her anxiety and needs to ‘guard’ us,” read the caption on the TikTok video the owners posted.
And it worked!
After an entire year of it being up, the sign helped Lenka control her emotions.
“She is actually super nervous so predictability is key. She needs to be ignored until she is calm otherwise she will physically assault you,” Lenka’s owner told Newsweek.
Lenka now greets the visitors in a very calm manner, sitting at the door and welcoming them inside without any issues whatsoever.
Who knew that such a simple method could help one anxious dog so much?
Therefore, if you and your pup are also struggling with the same problem, try and implement Lenka’s approach.
Maybe it will work just as well as it did with her.
