How does your Corgi greet you when you come home?
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. :-)
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. :-)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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We board Jack a few times a year at the same kennel, and when we drop him off he wanders behind the desk for a sniff, then the woman takes his leash and walks him back and off he trots, without even a backward glance! And he's been there often enough he knows what is coming.
They love him at the kennel. They say all the other dogs bark and go crazy whenever someone walks in, or they bring in a dog. But Jack? He just sits there, calm as could be, and watches it all. She says he's so calm and he never makes a sound. At home, he barks quite a lot.
When we pick him up, he's a bit happy to see us, but more excited to see the car and can't wait to get in it, because he knows car rides= Fun Things.
When we did CGC, I had no worries about the "leave with a friendly stranger" part of the test, because he doesn't even turn a hair.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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We've never gotten the wiggly-butt, jumping, howling, talking kind of greeting. He does it to other people, even people he sees a lot, but if it's just me or my boyfriend? He used to at least meet us at the door with a sniff and sometimes he would jump up for a little pat on the head, but now I walk in and he's just laying on the couch. I ignore him when I first get home, only because he sometimes has accidents when we're gone, so before I start my "Hello Dax! *pethugpet*" I always walk around to make sure there isn't anything on the floor, during which time he usually just lays on the couch (never even lifts his head) and watches me.
It's funny because if I say "Good boy!" he'll jump off the couch and come up to me with a little nub twitch and a smile, but if I see that he's had an accident I'll usually say "Daaaax" and turn around and he just rolls onto his back and looks at me with pitiful eyes. I don't punish or correct him for accidents that happen when I'm not around, but he can always tell that I'm disappointed in something. I know most people say that dogs don't remember what they've done, but I know Dax does. When he used to meet us at the door (which is during the time the majority of the accidents happened), we would open the door and he would already be rolled over on his back, and at that point we knew he'd done something. Other times when he hadn't, he would meet us at the door with a smile on his face. Really weird, but I know he knew he did something wrong before we even saw it.
So yours isn't the only one who couldn't really care less that YOU come home, but let someone else come into the house? Full nub wag and body wiggle, ears back, and sometimes he'll forget himself and jump up, but he listens fairly well when we tell him to stop. He'll follow guests around my house for 30 minutes, and every time they make eye contact with him or say something to him, the whole nub wag/body wiggle/ears back process starts all over again. :) I love seeing it, and even though I don't like a jumping, spastic dog when I come home, I kind of wish he was a little more excited to see us.
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A bit off-topic, but:
As far as your dog knowing he did something wrong, what I've heard from behaviorists is this: the dog does not know he did something wrong, but he knows the result of his action makes you unhappy (and dogs are very good at reading body language, so even if you don't actively correct him, he knows you are disappointed.) So it goes something like this, in the dog's head (supposedly):
1) Dumping over the garbage can is fun! Wheeeeeeeee!
2) Shredding papers from the dumped garbage can is fun. Wheeeee!!!
3) Dog is done playing with garbage. Looks around room, sees trash strewn everywhere.
4) Mental image of "Trash strewn about = unhappy owner."
5) Uh-oh. Now dog is unhappy because of mental image of "strewn trash=angry mom."
But the dog never makes the connection with "Tipping over the garbage is what makes mom unhappy." Which is why you (as you know) can only correct a dog if they are caught in the act; even if they look like they are guilty and understand exactly what they did, they really don't. All they know is strewn garbage (or doggy poops, or overturned plants, etc) make you upset, but NOT that the act of actually putting those accidents in place is what you are really unhappy over. That's why correcting after the fact can increase the dog's anxiety, making him more likely to make a mess.
Greetings:
Jack is like that with other people; ears back, butt wriggling. Leashed he'll (almost) never jump on people, but loose he will and no matter how many times I tell people "Please don't pet him if he jumps" they always say "It's ok". Except it's not. With a short dog, I think people prefer when they jump up, as they are easier to pet. I think I need to start being firmer with the people; the dog's just fine. LOL
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Oh, and I get the "doesn't even lift his head off the couch" thing too. LOL It's a bit disappointing when I come home and have to go looking for the dog to see where he is. Yet when I'm home, he gets upset and starts to yap if I so much as close the bathroom door.
Once, he quite literally followed me into the shower. Pushed aside the shower curtain, waltzed in, and sat in the front corner of the shower for five minutes, licking the water dripping off his nose and blinking. I was laughing so hard I couldn't do anything about it, then he got out and shook and made a mess of the whole place.
But leave him alone and he's King of the Castle, Lord of the Couch, and could not care less whether I come or go, as long as he doesn't miss a meal.
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Ha. I know what you mean. Dax follows me into the bathroom when I'm in the shower. I've never had him jump in before, but when I get out (and I swear this is the reason he sits and waits) he always runs up to lick the water off of my ankles. Lol.
When I come home, once I get in the door and we've said our hellos, he usually runs to get his rope toy for me to play with him. It's like "hey you're home, whatever....oh wait! YOU CAN PLAY WITH ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!" And if I don't play with him, oooooohhhh my god you would swear the world was going to end with the pitiful look he gives me. He then proceeds to wuff at me as if to say "Hey. Play with me. That's what you're here for, don't you know that?"
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If I don't play with Jack, he will lay down with his chin on the floor and the toy in front of him, looking like he's going to cry. They he starts making noises that sound like "Oh, woe! Woe woe! Oww, oww." It's pitiful. As soon as I look over at him, he gets a gleam in his eye and snatches up the toy as if to say "Hooray, finally! You'll play!"
It sounds like Dax and Jack have similar personalities.
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Permalink Reply by Lou Ann Lemaster on
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Duncan and Chloe get excited when we come home. The difference is, I make them sit to pet them and my husband lets them jump all over him. So, when we have guests, they jump all over the guests, which irritates me, because my mom is frail and they can knock her right over.
Also, go shopping and bring home a sack, Duncan HAS to stick his head in it to see what you brought home. And he has to look into each and every bag, looking for that "new" toy he is sure I got him.
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Permalink Reply by Kyle, Megan and Loki on
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Loki usually wakes up and comes to lick my legs.
Unlike a lot of corgis he has a tail (well enough of one to wag) so its not so much a bum wiggle as a tick tock effect (his knub is about 2 " I would wager, slightly less) I like that he is happy to see me, I like knowing that me being home makes him that happy. I can't say I've ever considered not training him to react to it.
I wouldn't say he is over excited, but definitely happy, its not as if he tries to jump on my leg while wheeling my cycle in or anything though.
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Permalink Reply by Violet on
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WOW Violet is so happy when I come home she runs laps arround the kitchen and up the stairs. It doesn't matter if I'm gone just for my 30 minute workout or a whole day at work she's always thrilled when I come home. Her little body just wiggles with happiness. I put my things down, first rule people first so my husband gets a hug and a kiss. Then the dogs have to sit and I pet them and tell them I'm happy to be home to. After our welcome home ritual we go do whatever is next in our day. She likes to lay in the kitchen while I make dinner and is very polite while I prepare food. In the morning she's very happy when I wake up too. My husband gets up first and lets Violet out then she bounds into our room and cuddles. Sometimes she kisses but I'm glad she's not an excessive licker.
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Permalink Reply by Becky S on
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Usually hubby is home first, so when they hear me come in they come running to the kitchen door to greet me. Brody just follows me around, waiting for pets. Lilly is finally learning not to jump up. Funny thing... Brody won't jusp up on us, only strangers, Lilly won't jump up on strangers, only me! They both follow me downstairs to say hi to hubby, rolling over for belly rubs, grunts and arooos for pets. Then they follow me back up to change clothes and th possible opportunity to lick toes!
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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They're on sentry duty in the window an hour before my time. Sometimes I try to sneak in the back way, seldom succeeding. The alarm sounds, I get mobbed at the door, noisily, barking and jumping. This is when I wish they had tails. Gwynnie fetches a toy, always. They compete to fawn over me. Bad for my ego problem.
Me = Dinner, then walk.
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