cinnamindy Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 I have a 1 1/2 year old BC mix, and lately whenever I've been coming home from work he will act very submissive, I think? He will either go into his crate with his head down and ears back or lay down by my feet with his head down and ears back. Is this normal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted September 4, 2011 Report Share Posted September 4, 2011 Hmmm. Usually most people have the opposite problem: their dog is all over them, wagging their tail, jumping up, etc. when they come home. Have you had this dog since it was a puppy, or is it a recent rescue? Jovi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judedog Posted September 4, 2011 Report Share Posted September 4, 2011 My dog kind of has the same thing... He will be very submissive, yet at the same time, follow me around the house as I check to make sure he was good. I kind of think it's him not remembering if he did something bad, so he's not sure if he will be in trouble or not. I try to make it a game and I'll go room to room, and he always gets to the point where he's playing and racing me to the next room to check for the bad behaviors (i.e. wet spots from him licking his paws in the bed, getting into random food items we had stupidly left on the counter while we were gone) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted September 4, 2011 Report Share Posted September 4, 2011 Judedog pointed out a good thought - if you have come home in the past (or a previous owner did if you dog is a rescue), he may have been scolded for undesired behaviors, and now associates homecoming with a potential scolding, even if he hasn't done anything "wrong". We try to greet our dogs matter-of-factly whenever we come home, keeping the excitement to a minimum, to avoid the kind of problems that Jovi describes. For some reason, that has not translated over to greeting company so we usually crate before we open the door - I guess they feel our excitement in that case and respond with behavior that other people (and small children) may not appreciate. Once things have calmed down all around, then we let them out one at a time (at least for the two that are social butterflies; the third isn't into excitement and greetings). If your dog is worried or anxious, make homecoming a quiet but reassuring time of day. Best wishes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinnamindy Posted September 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2011 Yeah I have come home in the past and he has torn up some things, so I usually crate him when I leave now. If I do leave him out of his crate and he does some damage to something while I'm gone I don't really yell at him, I'll pick whatever it is he tore up and just be kind of upset while I'm doing it so he knows I'm not happy when things like this happen. And yes when guests come over I usually do put him in his crate for the first few minutes so he doesn't jump all over them =\ As for how long I've had him, I got him when he was just 8 weeks old.. so all of these behaviors are my doing... I heard somewhere it is best to ignore your dog for a little bit when you first come home so the excitement stays to a minimum so I usually do that... any tips of how I should treat him when it comes to me coming home/guests coming over? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 I also ignore my dogs when I come home so the excitement level doesn't reach a fever pitch. I think that I have done such a good job that my dogs almost ignore ME when I come home. I sort of feel like they don't love me anymore. When guests come, train the dog to perform an alternate behavior i.e. teach him to do something rather than leaving him to his own devices. Your dog can sit or sit and offer a paw (handshake) or maybe run and get a toy to give to the new person. It is a really hard behavior to change since most people reinforce a dog's greeting, even if it is inappropriate. For example, I can think of only one of my dog-loving friends who will cross her arms across her chest and turn away when my dog jumps up in greeting. (He will sit after she does that because he knows that the jumping is inappropriate.) Every other friend will pet him when he jumps on them or if he 'crawls' up their legs to get a pet. So I do have a dog that has inappropriate greeting behavior of guests because I have not been very good about finding training situations where we can practice appropriate behaviors. Jovi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kling Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 I'll pick whatever it is he tore up and just be kind of upset while I'm doing it so he knows I'm not happy when things like this happen. For what it's worth, I really doubt your dog understands this. My understanding is that they don't remember things the same way we do. I doubt it does any harm, but I suspect he's sort of puzzled by your behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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