Elizabeth77 Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Being retired I do spend a lot of time with Meg. However I do leave her in the house on her own for a couple of hours a few days a week. When I come home I open the door and say quite calmly ' Hi Meg I ' m home'. or words to that effect! Then slowly out of the sitting room at the end of a hall she appears . She either sits or stands and looks at me as if I was a complete stranger. Not a sign of aggresion just looks. I have to go right up to her and say 'Its me' and give her a cuddle before the penny drops. Then the penny drops and she gets excited and from then on acts quite normally. I think it is weird she does not recognise my voice and indeed the sound of the car. Very occasionally I have a dog walker and she was very upset that Meg seemed really frightened when she went in to collect her. But why does she not know my voice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurae Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Are you certain she is not hearing impaired? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth77 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Are you certain she is not hearing impaired? Laurae , no she hears very well , no sign at all of impairment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afrancis Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Being retired I do spend a lot of time with Meg. However I do leave her in the house on her own for a couple of hours a few days a week. When I come home I open the door and say quite calmly ' Hi Meg I ' m home'. or words to that effect! Then slowly out of the sitting room at the end of a hall she appears . She either sits or stands and looks at me as if I was a complete stranger. Not a sign of aggresion just looks. I have to go right up to her and say 'Its me' and give her a cuddle before the penny drops. Then the penny drops and she gets excited and from then on acts quite normally. I think it is weird she does not recognise my voice and indeed the sound of the car. Very occasionally I have a dog walker and she was very upset that Meg seemed really frightened when she went in to collect her. But why does she not know my voice? I don't know whether its that she doesn't recognize you, your car or your voice or if she's just been sleeping and hasn't quite woken up yet . This is exactly the routine at our house when I go out and come home again. We have a routine and when I get home, she's usually still lying on the couch in the living room. I say, "Hi Skye-dog" and he looks at me, no tail wag, no effort to get up, and I come over and give her some lovin'. Sometimes she gets up, sometimes she doesn't. If I come home unexpectedly, sometimes she'll be upstairs on the bed and won't even wake up until I come upstairs and see her. Very different from my first dog, Riley, who would be at the door, tail wagging and doing the old I-really-want-to-jump-but-I-know-I-shouldn't dance. I should say that Skye is a very active, happy dog and isn't clinically depressed . I think she just really enjoys her down time. I mentioned once before here on another thread that for a while last summer I brought her to my friend's house to be with her two buddy dogs for the day. SHE HATED IT! So I figured she was much happier having her naps. And yet when its time for walks, she's up and ready to go! But I am of the opinion that a dog is often a reflection of its household; lots of noise, hyper-activity, kids, etc. and the dog can be frenetic as well. Alternately, a house with quiet adults, little loud noises and less still yelling etc., and the dog will be calm and laid-back. And then again there's genetics. With apologies to Tom Hanks, a bc is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get Ailsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Are you certain she is not hearing impaired? Or maybe she's just a teenager... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth77 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Or maybe she's just a teenager... Oh yes she is a teenager!!!And she is also rather keen on the naps so perhaps my concern is unfounded. I still do think she, for some reason, is nervous in that 'coming home' or 'someone is coming into the house' mode. Maybe it is related to some events in that part of her life with which I am unfamiliar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 All jesting aside, Annie does not respond if the house is empty and someone enters. But Heaven help the intruder if one of us is home; then she goes absolutely ballistic. (When I get home from work and W is at home, my life is in peril until Annie recognizes me.) At one time, Missy was the "alpha" dog and did all the protecting; Annie would simply chime in for support, in a way that was almost comical. With Missy gone, Annie has assumed the role of "alpha" dog, including taking over as the prime protector of the occupants of the home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninso Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 How long have you had Meg? My dog did the exact same thing after I first brought him home from the humane society at about 2 years old. It was several months before he would even be out in the open to greet me when I came home and several more months before he would meet me at the door with a wagging tail. He would usually peek out cautiously from the hallway until I came into the house all the way and called him to me. Then he would still be nervous for a minute or so before acting normally. I figure homecomings were not always happy occasions in his previous life. Now I can barely get in the door because as soon as he hears my car in the driveway he's there standing in the doorway, wagging his tail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachdogz Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Hi Elizabeth I went back and checked your introduction in November where you said that Meg came to live with you six weeks ago and that she was 18 months. I got my adopted dog at the same age and have had her now for 5 1/2 months. I sort of had the same reaction from my dog, and I attributed that to "she doesn't really know she is ours, yet." I also board dogs. And I had to remind myself of a particular Golden that I board for 3-4 months in the winter while the owners go to Florida. He gets a lot of yard and family time with us. But at the end of 4 months, he has not forgotten his owner. So I think that with an adoption, it takes them a bit of time to realize they truly belong to you. My dog gets more excited every day when we come home, but still not at the caliber that my older dog is excited. I think if my dog's former family walked in, she would still remember them. I also think that by next year, she will be as crazy about us coming home as my older dog is. So what I'm saying is that maybe yours has yet to realize that she belongs to you...and you belong to her. That day will come. I can see with my own dog...that day comes closer and closer every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth77 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Ninso and Beechdooz I see exactly where you are coming from and I think you have hit the nail on the head. It is a very short time since Meg came to stay. I suppose because she is soooooo affectionate that I overlooked the fact she may in certain circumstances still feel insecure. Many thanks for the replies ; as ever you have been most helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 But I am of the opinion that a dog is often a reflection of its household; lots of noise, hyper-activity, kids, etc. and the dog can be frenetic as well. Alternately, a house with quiet adults, little loud noises and less still yelling etc., and the dog will be calm and laid-back. Just last week I and a couple other middle-aged women friends had been joking about how we could picture becoming hermits - the older we get, the fewer people we really like. I was comparing myself to my dog, who also doesn't really care for a lot of other dogs (or humans) and is quite content socializing with very few others. Then - surprise! - I ran into a former colleague in another building. He's a frenetic kind of guy - very needy, very emotional, loves to be around lots of people, full of noise, and bluster. Nice guy, but it tires me out just being in a room with him. So here he comes down the hall with his 8-month-old boxer pup, who barrels to me and just about knocks me over with her enthusiasm to meet me and her need to demand MORE CUDDLES! MORE SCRATCHING! Maybe we just pick dogs who are like us? Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afrancis Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 Just last week I and a couple other middle-aged women friends had been joking about how we could picture becoming hermits - the older we get, the fewer people we really like. ...Maybe we just pick dogs who are like us? Mary Mary I'm there. Ailsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 We usually crate Scooter in the basement weight room if we're going to be gone from the house for any length of time. When we get home, he never makes a sound. You'd never even know there was a dog in the house. He does a little wiggle when he sees us walk in the room and approach the cage, but other than that, no barking or whining. He's actually a pretty laid back BC, but he will bark if someone he doesn't know walks in. For a second or two. I always wonder if he'd be aggressive if someone tried to break in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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