Should visitors meet my new puppy right away?

Excited group greetings, with everyone crouching down and reaching at once, can overwhelm even a bold puppy. Ask visitors to sit down, let the puppy approach in their own time, and keep the first few visits to 10 or 15 minutes.

Rather than one big gathering, spread new people across the first two weeks: a couple of relatives one day, friends another. This gives the puppy positive, low pressure exposure to different humans without every day feeling like an event.

Give people specific instructions before they arrive rather than hoping good manners take care of it: sit on the floor or a low chair, keep voices at a normal volume, and let the puppy sniff a hand before any stroking starts. A visitor who kneels down with arms open wide is unintentionally quite intimidating from a puppy's height, even if the intention is entirely friendly.

Have a couple of small treats ready so visitors can offer one calmly once the puppy approaches on its own, which builds a positive association with new faces rather than just tolerating them. Skip this for the very first visit if the puppy seems too unsettled to take treats at all, and simply let a calm presence be enough.

If a visitor has been around other dogs recently, especially in a park or at a show, ask them to change clothes or wash their hands beforehand as a simple precaution while vaccinations are still incomplete, since a puppy exploring a stranger's shoes and hands is a normal part of a first meeting.