Why is my dog hyper when I come home?

If your dog is hyper 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 stop it.

So, why is my dog hyper when I come home? Possible reasons why your dog is hyper, when you come home, are that it is bored, has separation anxiety, is hungry, needs to pee or that you have inadvertently encouraged the behavior.

Since there are a number of possible causes, it would help to consider what would make each of them more likely. Once you have a good idea of the most likely cause, it should become a lot easier to figure out what you should do about it.

Why your dog is hyper when you come home

Below are a number of reasons why your dog might be being hyper when you come home and what would make them more likely to be the main reason.

Separation anxiety

One possible reason why it becomes hyper 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 would help to try to reduce how anxious it becomes by letting it pee, giving it exercise and feeding it before leaving. It would also help to try to come back periodically so that it does not have to be alone for too long.

Boredom

Dogs are generally meant to get a lot of exercise daily in order to be fully stimulated. If your dog does not usually get exercise before you leave home, it could be the case that it is normally full of energy by the time you get back. This would be more likely if it tends to be calmer when you arrive home after it has already gotten exercise.

It would help to ensure that your dog is able to get the daily amount of recommended exercise and it could help to exercise it before leaving it instead of after.

Hunger

The reason why it becomes hyper when you arrive home could also be that it is hungry. This would be more likely if it does not normally get to eat much before you leave it and if it is less hyper when it is able to eat before leaving it.

Encouraging the behavior

It might also be the case that it has learned that it gets things that it wants when it starts being hyper. If you tend to give it things such as toys, treats or extra attention, when it is hyper 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 get hyper and to wait for it to stop being hyper before giving it things that it might want.

It needs to pee

The reason why it does it might be that it needs to pee. This would be more likely if it tends to want to go outside as soon as you get home and if it has to wait a long time to pee when you are away. It would help to try to let it pee just before you leave and to come back periodically to let it out to pee so that it does not have to wait too long.

Excitement

The cause could also be that it is excited. This would be more likely if it shows other signs of excitement when it is hyper 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.

An issue with the room it stays in

Being hyper 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 being hyper 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 the main reason why your dog has been being hyper when you get home.

If your dog always became hyper when you came home

If your dog was not always hyper when you used to arrive home, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it. For example, if it started doing it after you started feeding or exercising it after getting home instead of before leaving, it could have something to do with that.

What is different when your dog does not get hyper

If it is not always hyper, when you arrive home, it would also help to consider what else is different when it is not hyper. For example, if it does it more when it has to stay in a certain room, it could be the case that there is an issue with the room.

What to do about your dog being hyper when you come home

Below are some options you have when getting it to be less hyper when you arrive home.

Avoid encouraging the behavior

As mentioned above, it could be the case that it has learned that it gets rewards for being hyper when you arrive home. Instead, it would help to completely ignore it, until it calms down, then to reward it when it is calm.

Ensure the room it stays in is comfortable

If it does not currently have a comfortable area to stay in, when you are not around, it would likely help to give it one. One option would be to give it crate training which is where you give it a place to go to where it can feel safe. Doing so, should help to reduce how anxious it becomes while you are away.

Limit reasons why it might be anxious

It would also help to take measures to reduce how anxious it becomes while you are not home. It would likely help to let it pee and eat before you leave home so that it does not have to wait so long before being able to pee or eat.

Give it exercise

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 because it should help to get it to sleep more and to be less energetic when you are away.

Give it training

It could also help to give it training before you leave it. The reason for this is that training your dog can help to wear it out so, by training it before leaving it, you should be able to get it to sleep more while you are away and be calmer when you return.