Dog Behaving Strangely

[Rebanne]

Believe it or not, even the hare got excited. He kept watching me, quivering, trying to figure out if a person that looks and sounds and smells like someone he remembered was actually the same someone.

your kidding right how could you possibly know what the hare was thinking?

[7464]

Hmm, Cody is the opposite. He goes mental when he sees me even if it's been months (Once I had to move and then get him a couple of months later) His whole body wags.

Also, my parents travel a lot but when he sees them when they get home, he does the body wag.

Edited November 21, 2010 by Lofty Nickers

[raz]

My dogs do the body wag when I get home but they do the body wag when anyone visits them so I dont actually think they give a crap when I go away for a holiday. They get a holiday with the Doler who boards them and have too good a time to be wondering (wishing) I was dead

Dogs dont have a concept of death anyway.

[poochmad]

I think it depends on the dog. We have an overly shy dog who is easily spooked. Sometimes she will greet us all happy at the door and then other times she will come to the door and then run away when we open it, acting as though she doesn't know who we are. We just say her name and then she knows it's ok. She's so sensitive in that you can change your shirt and she may run away if she didn't follow you in as she is unsure who you are (different smell I think).

My sister had an Irish Setter who remembered her after she had lived overseas for 5 years. It was incredible watching his reaction to her.

[Adza]

When I get home from work, Tahli will stare at me for a moment, sometimes takes a while to recognise that it's me, all I have to do is say something and she comes bolting to me. Same thing as Hanna I could be out for 20 mins and it's like she hasn't seen me in ages! I love the excited welcomes though :D She does the full body wag and licking, she's like that with most people though.

Lucky she stopped doing the piddles

[Pollywaffle]

every time I 'come home' it's like the second coming..even if I've just been to the letterbox....

[corvus]

your kidding right how could you possibly know what the hare was thinking?

Yes, I was kidding, or at least shamelessly anthropomorphising to the nth degree. I was also kidding when I said I think my dog thought I was dead and was happy to be proven wrong.

In reality, I know what excitement looks like in a dog, but it's a bit harder to pick in a hare. Hares don't get excited so much as nervous. He has intensely communicative ears, though, and that's the giveaway in the end. That and where he looks. If he's scared he goes still, flattens his body and ears, and stares out of the corners of his eyes. If he's excited, the ears go straight up and face forward and he stands on his hind legs a lot. He looks right at you instead of out of the corner of his eyes. He looks similar when he's curious, but is more animated when excited, more stopping and checking. I could probably write an essay on hare body language I have got to know it so well. I can only imagine what goes on in his head, but given when I do seem to hit on something I'm usually thoroughly amazed and suddenly feel like I live with an alien, my imaginings are often a stab in the dark. The facts are in the behavioural changes (or lack thereof) when I try applying my imaginings.

[Ker]

My sons maltese is a nut. She's one of those dogs that greet me like the long lost prodigal son when I come back in from the letterbox. Not sure how my lappie is -I haven't gone anywhere for a long period.

I had a foster dog stay a couple of months ago and I ADORED him. He was rehomed and his new owner bought him to the next dog meet. He went NUTS when he saw me and the kids and got so excited, I thought he was going to wet himself. It was lovely to see.

[Sheridan]

every time I 'come home' it's like the second coming..even if I've just been to the letterbox....

Ah yes, indeed. And the loo.

[GSDowner]

Well, my dog did not stay in a hotel, he stayed with my partner at home (our home).

He had very good conditions and was visited by another member of our family daily.

He is spoilt rotten by the whole family and usually sleeps on my bed. In my absence he was sleeping on my partner's bed.

Being a german shepherd I thought he would at least miss me; Now everything is back to normal

he sleeps on my bed and goes berserk when I come home.

[moosmum]

I had to leave my 6 year old dog when I went overseas for a year asa teenager.

When we got home and I asked to go get him,my father tried to talk me out of it,saying he wouln't remember me and the people who were looking after him were very attached and wanted to keep him.

Finaly I convinced my dad I would leave the dog with his foster family if it looked like that would be best and off we went.

When the car pulled up.he ran out in front of it barking and doinghis guard dog bit untill I opened the window and called his name.

He sat down and th bark turned to a howl.As soon as the car door opened he was in and refused to get out to even say goodby.

I got my dog back with no arguments from anyone.

[GSDowner]

I had to leave my 6 year old dog when I went overseas for a year asa teenager.

When we got home and I asked to go get him,my father tried to talk me out of it,saying he wouln't remember me and the people who were looking after him were very attached and wanted to keep him.

Finaly I convinced my dad I would leave the dog with his foster family if it looked like that would be best and off we went.

When the car pulled up.he ran out in front of it barking and doinghis guard dog bit untill I opened the window and called his name.

He sat down and th bark turned to a howl.As soon as the car door opened he was in and refused to get out to even say goodby.

I got my dog back with no arguments from anyone.

and I suppose the above is supposed to make me feel bettter

[moosmum]

I had to leave my 6 year old dog when I went overseas for a year asa teenager.

When we got home and I asked to go get him,my father tried to talk me out of it,saying he wouln't remember me and the people who were looking after him were very attached and wanted to keep him.

Finaly I convinced my dad I would leave the dog with his foster family if it looked like that would be best and off we went.

When the car pulled up.he ran out in front of it barking and doinghis guard dog bit untill I opened the window and called his name.

He sat down and th bark turned to a howl.As soon as the car door opened he was in and refused to get out to even say goodby.

I got my dog back with no arguments from anyone.

and I suppose the above is supposed to make me feel bettter

That was 1 dog.

I don't know how long you have had your dog,but this was a very intelligent working breed who was with me almost constantly and usualy went with us on hollidays.He had 6 years of that before we went away.

I have had others who act like they didn't know we had been away.

I wouldn't be offended with your dogs behaviour,I realy think dogs see things in very different ways depending on breed and personality and the type of intelligence.

If I'm going to be unashamedly anthropmorphic,maybe your dog is just getting huffy that you dared leave." Oh,and who is this visitor then? I'll will just have to decide wether I like this person or not!" (walks off sniggering)

Edited November 23, 2010 by moosmum

[all that glitters]

Indeed, I have learned not to go on holidays. I have staycations instead.

Ditto! I gave up holidaying so I could enjoy the companionship of a dog

[GSDowner]

Indeed, I have learned not to go on holidays. I have staycations instead.

Ditto! I gave up holidaying so I could enjoy the companionship of a dog

I have had him since he was a puppy of 8 weeks.

I, too would never leave him if it meant leaving him in strange surroudnings ie a doggy hotel;

but he was left with my sister's family. Now he is back to his old self :-)))

[lovemesideways]

every time I 'come home' it's like the second coming..even if I've just been to the letterbox....

Ah yes, indeed. And the loo.

Yes! And God forbid if I try to sneak away to the bathroom without Riddick knowing, (so he can sit and watch, making sure I don't sneak away through the secret door he knows is in there..) No sooner have I shut the door, then you hear SNIIFFFF SNIIIIIIFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF under the door frame.

[corvus]

My loo actually does have a secret door. My dogs have happily learnt to let me toilet and shower and even feed the hare in peace, though. We're still working on checking the mail and getting things out of the car. I like it when my dogs don't get up and follow me around the house waiting for me to appear from behind closed doors. It took a long time to get my younger dog comfortable enough with separation to stop doing that.

Frankly, I had a dog that would pine when I wasn't around and I'd rather not have another. I was delighted when the dog I got after her showed me he would go home with anyone that fed him and gave him cuddles. I never have to worry about him when I go on holidays. I can leave him with anyone and he will get by, even though he's now a bit of a mama's boy. When I come home he is glad to see me and gives me kisses, but then he gets over it. With my last dog she would be very needy for at least 24 hours after I got back, wanting to lie on my feet and getting growly with any other animal in the house that wanted some of my attention. I had 13 1/2 years of that and tried everything to get her to be less possessive and nothing worked very well. I found it to be a lot of pressure. I would say be happy you don't have a one person dog. I've been there and it wasn't all that fun. It didn't make me feel special. It made me feel frustrated and anxious.

[wuffles]

One of ours doesn't even get up off his bed or lift his head when we get home It's actually quite nice having your own 'space' and it took a while to get used to our other dog who is a shadow.

[fainty_girl]

Last night my mum arrived home after 7 weeks away and Jessie (a velcro dog with my mum) certainly didn't have any trouble recognising my mum this time around. She wiggled, jumped up and cried and looked very happy. She was like my shadow for the past 5 weeks, so I will miss that in some ways, but I knew I had no chance. I have never seen a dog so obsessed about a human as Jessie is with my mum.

When I was younger I went overseas for 6 months and my old dog at the time (a gorgeous 15 year old kelpie X who had cataracts) didn't recognise me straight away but when she did after a minute or two she just stood there near me with a happy dog smile. Very cute .

[spikey]

I too get the "second coming" treatment every day when I get home from work, same thing if OH and I go out for a walk to the shops and our girl gets left at home, she just about turns herself inside out when we come back, and she's really just a bit of a sook all round with us, follows you around the house, etc. So we were a bit worried when we were going away for 5 weeks last year and had to put her in kennels - OH's parents weren't able to look after her this time, and her previous owner (before my OH bought her) got her from a dog's home, so we were worried that she would think we were abandoning her or something, especially now she's around 10 years old and hadn't been in a kennel-type environment for about 6 years. She was NOT happy when I dropped her off at the kennels, whining, pacing and working herself up into a terrible state, so I left as soon as I could so she didn't distress herself any further. This was a few days before we actually flew out, so I rang them a couple of times to see how she was settling in - took her a couple of days, she was off her food etc but then started eating and seemed to be settling in. So off we went on our trip.

After previously having a GSD who would (literally) just about knock you out with the enthusiasm of his greeting after being in kennels, I was fully expecting the same when we went to pick our girl up. She was brought out of the kennel block to the area where we were waiting and ... she was all over the kennel owners like a rash, jumping on them and loving them to death. Er, we're over HERE?? She eventually noticed and it was a pretty casual "oh, hi Mum and Dad" before she went running back to them!! I was a bit offended, I must admit!! I mean, I'm glad she seemed to enjoy herself so much there - she was fit as a fiddle, looked sleek and healthy, and was apparently "Queen of the Kennels" once she'd settled in, but I didn't quite expect the (lack of) greeting we got! Little baggage - and here I was worrying about her all that time

Once we got home, she slept like a log for most of the next few days, and then was back to normal. Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about her fretting when we're away LOL

Edited November 25, 2010 by spikey