Dog Reactions When You Come Home

[jacqui835]

Hmmm I have this dilemma a lot too - carry on doing something which isn't showing the desired effect to see if it works long-term, or try something else?

In my case I come in the door, say "hello dogs", put my stuff down and say hello to my OH, then give them quiet slow pats. I find that acknowledging them stops them from pushing harder for attention (like jumping up), and then when I give them calm pats they have a hard time staying in a more excited state than I am and they just relax. Then they've got what they were after and trot off happy.

The exception is if they don't bark at all from when I pull into the garage from when I get in the door, then they get a fuss the instant I walk in :D

You can stop them pushing harder by teaching them a new way to get what they want. If you teach them that the second they leave you alone and stop carrying on, you will call them over and give them a calm pat, they will do what they need to do to get what they want. I did this with my other dog, and this guy at the beginning. Then I just became slack and now well, we have about 60 seconds of madness when I get home but I can ignore him and he goes back to his old ways. Say if I'm on the phone or something, he's still happy to see me but I can just turn away and he finds something else to do till I'm ready for him.

[Marion 01]

My dogs go spak out when we get home, it's all part of their greeting and given a couple of minutes they calm down again. I would never stop them doing it it is their way of showing excitement that we are home with them again.

[Weasels]

Hmmm I have this dilemma a lot too - carry on doing something which isn't showing the desired effect to see if it works long-term, or try something else?

In my case I come in the door, say "hello dogs", put my stuff down and say hello to my OH, then give them quiet slow pats. I find that acknowledging them stops them from pushing harder for attention (like jumping up), and then when I give them calm pats they have a hard time staying in a more excited state than I am and they just relax. Then they've got what they were after and trot off happy.

The exception is if they don't bark at all from when I pull into the garage from when I get in the door, then they get a fuss the instant I walk in :D

You can stop them pushing harder by teaching them a new way to get what they want. If you teach them that the second they leave you alone and stop carrying on, you will call them over and give them a calm pat, they will do what they need to do to get what they want. I did this with my other dog, and this guy at the beginning. Then I just became slack and now well, we have about 60 seconds of madness when I get home but I can ignore him and he goes back to his old ways. Say if I'm on the phone or something, he's still happy to see me but I can just turn away and he finds something else to do till I'm ready for him.

Yep I could, but as other people said I want to greet my dogs when I get home, and I like that they're happy to see me after a long day + commute.

The way I described is a compromise between me wanting to greet them but not have them go spare. I wasn't suggesting it was a better way than ignoring, it's just what works for us

[Guest donatella]

You really need to ignore him. Walk in like it's no big deal and pay no attention to him until he's stopped squealing. Talk to each other, put the bags down and act like nothing is happening if he carries on. Even saying 'no' is attention to him. Then when he's quiet and calm you praise, squeal and jump around like he's the best doggy ever. Hopefully he'll click on that being calm gets all the attention.

It's hard to ignore them though when they are super duper excited to see you.

I have another side to an enthusiastic greeting. Occasionally I have my cousin's miniature schnauzer fro a few days when they go away. All in all he is a great little dog and my young boy gets on so well with him. BUT, whenever we have been out and come home, or when he is finally picked up by his family he lets out an almighty scream, which continues for several minutes. We tell him 'No' to no avail and try hard to ignore him. I'm told that's how his family is greeted the same way. The neighbours must think there is a murder in progress. Any suggestions?

[Dory the Doted One]

My unique house situation means I get to witness my neighbour's dog quite closely. When they first moved in he was a rather enthusiastic greeter when they came home. He still is when it's Miss 8, because she greets him in an excited fashion and then spurs him on.

When Mum comes home...totally different story. I get the feeling she's just not that interested in the dog. She never speaks to him when she comes home, walks right past him there is no acknowledgement....even when he greets her in "super cute, here's my snuggy in my mouth, don't you love me...please...please...love me fashion". So when she comes home now he just looks up, maybe approaches with a tentative wag, but otherwise with no enthusiasm. He acknowledges her, but that is about it.

I think it's kinda sad...his poor little dejected face. Great from an obedience perspective. But she doesn't even give him a pat, even when he is so good about his greeting now.

[HazyWal]

My dogs go spak out when we get home, it's all part of their greeting and given a couple of minutes they calm down again. I would never stop them doing it it is their way of showing excitement that we are home with them again.

Mine do too and I love it.Although jumping all over me when I've only been to the letterbox is a bit annoying.

[Staffyluv]

I probably should clarify that I work from home and go out a few times a day to get mails, meet clients and other errands and this happens every time.

When I had Ollie I did not mind the excited welcome home either but he was one older dog and this is 2 young dogs that run around the house like lunatics, jumping on furniture and me and simply won't listen to anything while they are in this state of mind

It is not that I don't like the hello, I do.

Thanks for the advice I will just continue doing the ignoring while they are being excited and reward when they are calm

[voloclydes]

Ignoring the dog?

I come home and jump out of the car and go "Doggies!! Hello Doggies!! Doggies!! Run Doggies Run!!"

I suggest the OP doesn't do this.

This is my OH too - he yells "PUPPIIEEEEEES!!!!" when he comes in then gives butt rubs and scritches, sometimes gets down on the floor and wrestles with them I'm sure some trainers would have a fit if they saw it :p

Yep my OH is ten times worse than me :rolleyes: He sends them into a freakin frenzy

same including the OH saying PUUPPIEEEEEEEEESSSS.

our lot well the big dally talks sort of whoo whooing... talking not barking and he does a u turn away from you, just once till he's facing which he then repeats to the other direction till he's u turned about 8 or 9 times.

they do however calm down very quickly and within minutes they are installed on the couch or laying at my feet while i check emails...

[Dame Aussie]

Ignoring the dog?

I come home and jump out of the car and go "Doggies!! Hello Doggies!! Doggies!! Run Doggies Run!!"

I suggest the OP doesn't do this.

This is my OH too - he yells "PUPPIIEEEEEES!!!!" when he comes in then gives butt rubs and scritches, sometimes gets down on the floor and wrestles with them I'm sure some trainers would have a fit if they saw it :p

Yep my OH is ten times worse than me :rolleyes: He sends them into a freakin frenzy

same including the OH saying PUUPPIEEEEEEEEESSSS.

our lot well the big dally talks sort of whoo whooing... talking not barking and he does a u turn away from you, just once till he's facing which he then repeats to the other direction till he's u turned about 8 or 9 times.

they do however calm down very quickly and within minutes they are installed on the couch or laying at my feet while i check emails...

Mosley that u turn thing too and the woo wooing

[ktig]

Ignoring the dog?

I come home and jump out of the car and go "Doggies!! Hello Doggies!! Doggies!! Run Doggies Run!!"

I suggest the OP doesn't do this.

Haha. This is me too....probably not ideal but I'm as happy to see my guy as he is me. Plus he settles after a minute or so - I'm happy for him to run around like an idiot for a minute or two after a boring day without me!

[shepherdpower]

When I come home, I always say something like "Hi Guys", to acknowledge my dogs, but I don't make a fuss of them. I just wander around, put my shopping away, etc., as though I haven't been out at all. It seems to work with them really well, as although they always greet me at the gate, with tails wagging, they don't go crazy. The younger one used to when she first came to live with me. She used to jump on the gate, so I would just turn my back until she got down, then open the gate as if nothing had happened, and just walk in. When she used to race around in circles, I would just ignore it and keep walking inside.

[melzawelza]

I think it's important to note that one of the OP's dogs was showing anxiety behaviour when the owner was leaving initially.'

While it's fine if you want your dogs to go nuts when you get home, a lot of people seem to be implying that the OP should do the same. It's important not to overlook the fact that one dog has a strong tendency towards separation anxiety. Working him up into a frenzy when returning home could well send him right back where he was before and compound the issue.

[JulesP]

How about trying a 'go to your bed and get a treat' thing? So start off telling them to go to their beds and giving them a treat and cuddle. I would make this very exciting and high energy. Hopefully after a short time they will anticipate the command and just run to their beds for treats and cuddles.

[Whippetsmum]

I'm looking for sugestions too.....I thought I had my 2 worked out, I didn't make a fuss/ignored them for 5 -10 minutes when I got home, then let them in calmly.

I don't think I can do that anymore though. My girl has taken to eating her way through the cedar sliding door at the back of the house- major chunks get ripped out as soon as she notices us home and the door is closed (doesn't touch it any other time. Any ideas what the correct course of action is for that? Should I acknowledge them calmly and then let them wait?

[Greytmate]

I'm looking for sugestions too.....I thought I had my 2 worked out, I didn't make a fuss/ignored them for 5 -10 minutes when I got home, then let them in calmly.

I don't think I can do that anymore though. My girl has taken to eating her way through the cedar sliding door at the back of the house- major chunks get ripped out as soon as she notices us home and the door is closed (doesn't touch it any other time. Any ideas what the correct course of action is for that? Should I acknowledge them calmly and then let them wait?

It's hard to advise without seeing the door but you could do various things to try to solve this.You could teach the dog to sit and never again let her through the door unless she is sitting first.

You could also think about a way of setting up a harmless 'booby trap' that would give the dog a fright if it tried to bite the door. This need not be something drastic. I have a bundle of light bamboo poles that I use to keep dogs away from things. I would arrange the poles so they were just balanced and If the dog touched the poles they would all come crashing down around him. That was enough of a deterrent for him not to go near the poles again. I used it to stop the dog digging up new plants.

Another thing for you to try might be to paint some crib stop paste (from a horse shop) on the door.

[ludwig09]

I have another side to an enthusiastic greeting. Occasionally I have my cousin's miniature schnauzer fro a few days when they go away. All in all he is a great little dog and my young boy gets on so well with him. BUT, whenever we have been out and come home, or when he is finally picked up by his family he lets out an almighty scream, which continues for several minutes. We tell him 'No' to no avail and try hard to ignore him. I'm told that's how his family is greeted the same way. The neighbours must think there is a murder in progress. Any suggestions?

twodoggies2001 - I have two miniauture schnauzers who do exactly the same thing. Must be a schnauzer thing?? I have spoken to our neighbours about it and they said its the only time they hear them all day so its fine. But if you werent used to it you would wonder what on earth was happening.

[twodoggies2001]

I have another side to an enthusiastic greeting. Occasionally I have my cousin's miniature schnauzer fro a few days when they go away. All in all he is a great little dog and my young boy gets on so well with him. BUT, whenever we have been out and come home, or when he is finally picked up by his family he lets out an almighty scream, which continues for several minutes. We tell him 'No' to no avail and try hard to ignore him. I'm told that's how his family is greeted the same way. The neighbours must think there is a murder in progress. Any suggestions?

twodoggies2001 - I have two miniauture schnauzers who do exactly the same thing. Must be a schnauzer thing?? I have spoken to our neighbours about it and they said its the only time they hear them all day so its fine. But if you weren't used to it you would wonder what on earth was happening.

Really? The first time he did this I thought he was seriously hurt. It's such a loud piercing scream and not being used to it I was freaked out. My two boys don't do anything like this. My younger boy comes to us and gives us a quick 'hello' and then goes about his business. I wonder if your two and Harry are related lol.

[Weasels]

How about trying a 'go to your bed and get a treat' thing? So start off telling them to go to their beds and giving them a treat and cuddle. I would make this very exciting and high energy. Hopefully after a short time they will anticipate the command and just run to their beds for treats and cuddles.

Yep, these are your other options - you could train an incompatible behaviour, or you could redirect & reward. You could even set up the door opening as a cue to go to your bed/mat/crate.

Alternatively if you don't want them jumping on the couches etc. while you wait for them to calm down, you could call them over, get them to do a few tricks, then reward the tricks. That way they get less chance to build the habit of going crazy and you don't have to put up with bad behaviour while you are ignoring them and waiting for them to calm down. I find it quicker to show them what I want them to do than wait for them to figure it out, but that says more about my level of impatience than anything really

All good suggestions in this thread, it's just a matter of finding what works for you

[Weasels]

I think it's important to note that one of the OP's dogs was showing anxiety behaviour when the owner was leaving initially.'

While it's fine if you want your dogs to go nuts when you get home, a lot of people seem to be implying that the OP should do the same. It's important not to overlook the fact that one dog has a strong tendency towards separation anxiety. Working him up into a frenzy when returning home could well send him right back where he was before and compound the issue.

I don't think people were suggesting that, in fact I think it was explicitly said by one poster they don't recommend it

My main thought when I walk in the door is to act exactly as I would if I came in from another room. And, sad as it may be, I do say hello to my dogs and often give them a quick pat when I come into a room

[Staffyluv]

How about trying a 'go to your bed and get a treat' thing? So start off telling them to go to their beds and giving them a treat and cuddle. I would make this very exciting and high energy. Hopefully after a short time they will anticipate the command and just run to their beds for treats and cuddles.

Yep, these are your other options - you could train an incompatible behaviour, or you could redirect & reward. You could even set up the door opening as a cue to go to your bed/mat/crate.

Alternatively if you don't want them jumping on the couches etc. while you wait for them to calm down, you could call them over, get them to do a few tricks, then reward the tricks. That way they get less chance to build the habit of going crazy and you don't have to put up with bad behaviour while you are ignoring them and waiting for them to calm down. I find it quicker to show them what I want them to do than wait for them to figure it out, but that says more about my level of impatience than anything really

All good suggestions in this thread, it's just a matter of finding what works for you

There are some great suggestions in here.

The bolded bit is the problem - I can't get them to come to me. I can't get them to stop, until they are ready and they stop of their own accord.. I have tried calling them, showing them I have a treat for them and asking them to sit but they won't sit still. They continue to chase and run riot.

I am happy they are happy but this behaviour can be quite over the top sometimes. It is getting better with me not speaking to them. By just opening the door and walking outside they do seem to understand but they are still jumping (even when I turn away, they still jump up).

It is better if we go outside rather than I let them inside - where I have no control and they won't stop (until they are ready), even when ignored.

We will just keep working on it and bring in someone to help after Christmas if we can't get it sorted on our own.

Hopefully formal training at the local dog club will be beneficial after Christmas.

The funny thing is, when they are on their own (if I take one out and the other is left at home) - they are both on their best behaviour. They really do egg each other on...