Ah, the joy of coming home from work, and having a wriggling, happy dog, so excited to see you!

It must be nice, but I wouldn't know. :-)

As is the case with many families, my husband and I both work, so our dog is alone for long stretches at a time. We knew this would be the case when we got him, so I investigated online ways to avoid separation anxiety. We followed two tips when Jack was growing up:

1) When he was a puppy, he got a yummy long-lasting treat, like peanut butter on a Kong, every time we walked out the door. We made no fuss: the puppy went in his pen, we gave him the good treat, and we walked out the door with no sappy good-byes. I still usually give him a very small treat when I am leaving.

2) We ignored the dog briefly when we first arrived home. We would come in, not even make eye contact with the puppy, put away our things, take off our coat or whatever, and then very calmly get the puppy and bring him outside to do his business, and make a fuss over him then.

I think we did our job too well. If someone else walks in the house, the dog turns himself inside out to say hello. But us? Well, when we are here Jack follows us around constantly, as is typical of herding breeds. But when we arrive home, he does what we always did to him (the behavior we taught him, in fact). He ignores us. If one of us is home and one is out, and he is awake and playing when the second person returns, he will come running over and bow and give a little wiggle of his tail-muscles and smile politely, then run get a toy for play (he is not a cuddler, so a lot of petting does not appeal to him). But if he's asleep as he usually is when we are both out, he barely even opens his eyes when I come home! I will walk in the living room, and he'll be yawning on the couch!

In my head, I realize that over-excited greetings are not really the best for a dog, and that it's a good thing that my dog is so relaxed when he's home alone. But part of me misses those exuberant greetings I've had with dogs growing up, the kind Jack shows to guests who enter my home. My guess is his non-existent show-docked tail is part of the issue; I can only see those muscles twitch when he has a high-speed wag going on, and not when he would be just gently waving the tail he lacks.

I'm curious how other people's dogs greet them. I saw the video of Sidney's Chewbacca impression. I must admit, I'm a little jealous. :-)