Why doesn’t my dog get excited when I come home?

If your dog has not been getting excited, when you arrive home, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you a number of possible causes and what you can do about it.

So, why doesn’t my dog get excited when I come home? Common reasons why your dog does not get excited when you arrive home are not being hungry, injury or illness, tiredness, or depression.

There are actually multiple possible reasons why your dog has been doing it and it might be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are a number of things you can consider when figuring out the main cause and there are a number of things you can do about it.

Reasons why your dog does not get excited when you come home

Below are a number of possible causes and what would make them more likely to be the main cause.

It’s not hungry

Often, when dogs get excited at their owners arriving home, it is because they are hungry. The reason why your dog does not get excited to see you could be partly because it is not hungry. This would be more likely if it does get excited when you arrive home but you have not already fed it.

Injury or illness

The cause might also be that it has gotten an injury or illness. This would be more likely if it has started doing it suddenly and if it has been showing other signs of being ill or injured such as limping or vomiting. In this case, the best option would be to take it to a vet.

It’s tired

Another possible cause is that something has been causing it to be tired when you arrive home. It might be due to an illness, having difficulty sleeping at night or an issue with its diet. If it is constantly tired, the best option would be to take it to a vet.

Depression

Dogs can become depressed and it might be the reason why yours has not been getting excited when you arrive home. This would be more likely if it started behaving differently way since an event that might have caused it to start being depressed such as an owner or another pet dying. It would also be more likely if it has not been getting excited at all.

In this case, if it does not begin to improve over the course of a few weeks, it would help to take it to a vet.

You’re not the one that gives it food or exercise

If your dog has been giving more attention to someone else since you stopped feeding and walking it, the cause could be that it is hoping to get food or exercise from the other person. In this case, if you start feeding and exercising it, yourself, again it will likely start giving you more attention.

Things to consider

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

What else happened when your dog stopped getting excited

If your dog has suddenly stopped getting excited when you arrive home, it would help to consider what else happened when it stopped doing it. If it started doing it suddenly, it might be due to you intimidating it, illness, injury, you stopped giving it attention, or something causing it to become depressed.

What is different when your dog does get excited

If your dog does get excited to see you sometimes, it would help to consider what is different when it does it. For example, if it does it when a certain person or animal is not around, it might be the case that it is afraid of that person or animal.

What to do about your dog not getting excited when you come home

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

Avoid intimidating it

It might be the case that it has been doing it due to being intimidated. Instead, it would help to use positive reinforcement training to get it to behave the way you want and to be calm around it.

Give it attention throughout the day

It would also help to give your dog attention, throughout the day, in the form of training, exercise, and by playing with it. By doing so, it should get your dog to be more excited to see you because it will be hoping to get rewards.

Be the one to feed it and walk it

It would also help to ensure that you are the one that feeds it and gives it exercise most of the time. Doing so should get it to pay more attention to you and to be more excited to see you.

Ensure it is not ill or injured

If your dog has been showing signs of being ill or injured or it has started behaving very unusually, the best option would be to take it to a vet. By doing so, you should be able to get expert advice tailored towards your particular dog and to rule out medical causes.