The 'calm down first' rule that fixed our excited-greeting problem

Our dog's excited jumping at the door used to get worse the more we tried to calm her down with soothing voices and pets the moment we walked in — because attention, even calming attention, was still attention, and attention was the whole reward she was after.

The fix that worked: completely ignore the excited greeting, no eye contact, no talking, until she settled on her own, and only then give attention and affection. It felt harsh at first, withholding a greeting from an excited dog. Within two weeks the jumping had mostly stopped, because the actual reward (calm attention) only ever arrived after calm behavior.

Related reading: The Practical Pet Owner's Guide: Training, Behavior, and What's Actually Normal.