Why does my dog wait for me to come home?

If your dog waits for you to come home, this post will show you likely reasons why and what you can do about them.

So, why does my dog wait for me to come home? Likely reasons why your dog waits for you to come home are that it wants something from you such as food, it has separation anxiety or that it is just excited to see you.

There are actually a number of possible reasons why your dog waits for you to come home and it might be due to a combination of them. However, there are some things you can consider when figuring out the main cause and there are some things you can do about it.

Why does my dog wait for me to come home?

Below are likely reasons why your dog has been doing it and what would make them more likely.

It wants to see what you have brought back

The reason why your dog waits for you to arrive home is likely to be that it wants to see what you have brought back with you from the “hunt”. This would be more likely if your dog also sniffs you a lot when you get back.

Separation anxiety

The cause could be that it has some separation anxiety. This would be more likely if your dog tends to get anxious when you are leaving by doing things such as pacing or crying.

A problem with the room it stays in

It could also be the case that there is an issue with the room that it stays in. It could be the case that the room is too loud or that there is not a space for it to lie down.

Hunger or thirst

Another possible reason is that it wants something from you such as food or water. This would be more likely if you tend to feed it after you arrive home and if it does not have access to water while you are away.

It wants something

Another possible reason is that it wants something such as to pee or poop or for you to give it exercise. This would be more likely if it normally needs to go outside to pee or poop, when you get home, or if you tend to give it exercise shortly after getting home.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider to help figure out the main reason why your dog has been doing it.

If your dog has always waited for you to come home

If your dog did not always wait for you to come home, it would help to consider what else happened when your dog first started waiting for you. If it started doing it suddenly, it could be due to things such as a change in the time you feed it or give it exercise, you started being away for longer or you stopped giving it access to water while you are away.

What is different when your dog does not wait for you to come home

If your dog does not always wait for you to come home, it would also help to consider what is different when it does not wait for you to come home. For example, if it does not wait when you have already fed it, the cause would be likely that it is waiting to get fed.

What to do about your dog waiting for you to come home

Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.

Limit reasons why it might be anxious

It would help to limit reasons why it might be anxious when you are away such as by feeding it and letting it pee and poop before leaving it and giving it access to water when you are away.

Give it exercise before leaving

It could also help to give it exercise before leaving it instead of after. By doing so, it should help to encourage your dog to sleep, while you are away, and to make it less likely to wait for you to give it exercise.