Question
George, my 9 year old German Shepherd Dog/Border Collie mix, will make a huge fuss when my wife comes home. If he even thinks he hears her car coming, he will start barking, whining, and making lots of other noises until she comes in.
But if she is home and I come in, he'll trot over to me, sniff and lick my hand, and then be on his merry way.
Why does he makes such a fuss when she comes home? Is this something I should be concerned with and correct? If so how should I go about correcting the issue?
[more info, as requested]
- If nobody is home when I get home, George will come to the door when I get home. I'll pet him, talk to him, and then take him out. If my wife is home, he'll be a bit more happy and excited, but he doesn't bark and make a fuss.
- If I'm home when she comes home, George will start barking and whining and pacing the kitchen until she comes in. He'll start as soon as he hears a car that sounds like hers. He'll continue barking for a bit while she comes in and settles down.
- Apparently if I'm not home, he doesn't do this as much when she comes home.
- If he sees someone he knows (he spends a lot of time in the kitchen because the windows go almost to the floor), who he likes, he'll become excited and do the excited/happy routine that he does when my wife comes home.
- If he sees someone he doesn't know or doesn't like, he'll bark and raise his hackles.
- If we both come in at the same time, he'll come to the door, but he won't do the whole barking routine.
Answer
I notice that I am a lot calmer than she is when I come home.
You mentioned this in the comments. Dogs respond a lot to our energy -- if she comes in the door and goes into a falsetto voice and greets him and puts down whatever she's carrying and pets him excitedly, he's going to learn that her car means play time is about to start. If he knows that when you come home you're going to say hello and pet him calmly, his energy when he thinks you are coming home will reflect that.
See if that applies to the other people he sees coming to the house, too -- you say he gets excited when he sees people he "likes", but what does that really mean? Does he get excited when he sees people coming who he regularly acts excited towards and they play back?
Its hard to say without seeing first hand the behavior not only of the dog but of the people as they come in, but as a general rule (and supported by your comment), dogs will act more excitedly/with higher energy if that behavior has been rewarded in the past with excitement/high energy in return.
Answered By - PeterL