Question
My dog always seems angry with me when I return from my office. This behavior is regular and he bites almost all of my family members, but still we want our dog to be with us. Any idea why is he behaving like this? Any solution?
Answer
So, first of all, I don't think it's anger. Behaviors like this are often a result of earlier "play" with the dog that was a little more physical than appropriate and so the dog learns that biting is a part of play. I can't say, for sure, if this is your case, but it's a common cause. Net effect, this may be a sign that the dog misses you and wants to play.
Obviously the problem here is that the biting is not desirable. The key to that is to make sure that you don't reward the behavior, even unintentionally. Also, don't engage in physical punishment. The idea here is to encourage the good behavior so that the dog learns to gravitate to that rather than the undesirable behavior.
When he starts to bite when you return, you should stop any interaction, gently extricate yourself, and give some verbal clue such as "no!" to the dog. Do not try to move away (you may be sending a chase play signal) or try to calm him with petting as this would be rewarding the behavior. Ideally, if you can treat or reward him for the times he does not bite when you come home, then you'll start to encourage that behavior as a reaction to when you come in the door. In other words, treat when he responds well, no treat when he nips and bites.
Answered By - Joanne C