Why doesn’t my dog greet me?

If your dog does not greet you, 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 greet me? Common reasons why your dog does not greet you are injury or illness, tiredness, depression, not being hungry, or not expecting things such as food or exercise from you.

There are actually multiple reasons why your dog has been doing it and it might be due to a combination of them. 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 doesn’t greet you

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

It’s not hungry

Often, when dogs greet their owners, it is because they are hungry. The reason why your dog does not greet you could be partly because it is not hungry. This would be more likely if it does greet you 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 greeting you, 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 greet you

If your dog does greet you sometimes, it would help to consider what is different when it does greet you. For example, if it does do it when it has not already gotten exercise, it might not greet you when it is tired and it has already been exercised.

What to do about your dog not greeting you

Below are some options you have when getting it to greet you more.

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 be 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 suddenly, 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.