Why does my dog bark when I arrive home?

If your dog has been barking when you arrive home you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you a number of reasons why it might be doing it and what you can do to get it to stop.

So, why does my dog bark when I arrive home? Possible reasons why your dog barks when you arrive home are that it is excited, it wants exercise, it is hungry, it needs to pee or you might have been encouraging the behavior by rewarding it.

There are many things you can do about your dog barking when you arrive home and there are a lot of things you can consider when figuring out the most likely cause.

Why your dog barks when you get home

Below are a number of common reasons why dogs do it and what would make them more likely to be the reason why your dog has been doing it.

It’s excited

The cause could be that it is excited. This would be more likely if it shows other signs of excitement when it barks such as wagging its tail, jumping up at you, licking you or wide-open eyes. The reason why it might be excited is that it does not like being left alone and it is excited about the rewards you might have for it.

It wants exercise

The cause could be that it is bored and it wants to get exercise. This would be more likely if it does not bark as much when you gave it exercise before leaving. It would help to make sure that your dog is able to get the daily amount of recommended exercise for its age and breed and it might help to try to give it exercise before leaving.

It is hungry

Another possible cause is that it is hungry. This would also be more likely if it tends to bark more when it has not already gotten food. It would help to make sure that it is eating the right amount and it might help to feed it before leaving instead.

It wants to pee

It could also be the case that it barks because it wants to pee. This would be more likely if it wants to go outside as soon as you get home or if it is still a puppy. It would help to make sure to let it out to pee before leaving.

Encouraging the behavior

It could be the case that you have encouraged the behavior by giving it things that it wants when it starts barking. If you tend to give it things such as toys, treats or extra attention, when it barks when you get home, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards.

Instead, it would help to reward it when it does not bark and to wait for it to stop barking before giving it things that it might want.

Separation anxiety

Another possible reason why your dog barks when you get home is that it has separation anxiety. This is where it does not like being left alone and being left alone causes it to become anxious. This would be more likely to be the cause if it tends to show signs of being anxious when you are leaving.

It might help to follow the tips given in this book on Amazon which is about how to deal with dog separation anxiety.

An issue with the room it stays in

Barking when you arrive home could also be a sign that there is an issue with the room it stays in. This would be more likely if it has started barking since making it stay in a different room. The problem could be that it is too loud, hot or there might not be space for it to lay down.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider when figuring out why your dog has been barking when you arrive home.

What else happened when your dog first started barking when you arrived home

If it did not always bark when you arrive home, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it. This is because there might have been an event that caused it to start.

Things that might have changed could include:

• Leaving it for longer periods
• Giving it exercise after arriving home instead of before leaving
• Feeding it when arriving home instead of before leaving
• Not letting it out to pee before leaving

What is different when your dog does not bark when you arrive home

If it does not always bark when you arrive home, it would also help to consider if anything else is different when it does not bark.

For example, if it does not bark when it has already been given food, it might be barking because of hunger.

How to get your dog to stop barking when you come home

Below are some things you can try to get it to stop barking when you arrive home.

Exercise it before leaving

It would help to ensure that your dog is able to get the right amount of daily exercise for its age and breed. It might also help to give it exercise before leaving since it should help to get it to sleep more and to be less energetic when you are away.

Avoid encouraging the behavior

It would also help to avoid giving it things that it might want when it is barking. Instead, it would help to wait for it to stop barking and to stop rewarding it when it starts barking.

Feed it before leaving

It could also help to give it food before leaving so that it does not have to wait for a long time in order to get fed.

Let it pee before leaving

It would also help to make sure that it gets a chance to pee before you leave so that it does not have to wait too long to pee.