This study examined the behavioural responses of dairy cows toward novel stimuli presented in the home environment with minimal situational novelty. The study also investigated whether any consistency could be found across responses toward different novel stimuli. Four different stimuli were presented each day in a balanced order: usual food (30min provision of 8kg total mixed ration), novel food (30min provision of 5kg of carrots), novel object (30min exposure to a white plastic container) and an unfamiliar person (5min exposure to person dressed in hooded white overalls). Novel food induced increased duration and frequency of sniffing, increased self-grooming, and longer durations of standing compared with the novel object. A novel person induced a higher frequency of sniffing than a novel object. Such results suggest that diary cows, when exposed to novel food or people compared with a novel object, show increased behavioural responses characterized by increased exploration, arousal and behavioural conflict. A correlation analysis carried out on the responses to different novel stimuli showed that correlations were low and non-significant. Therefore, no evidence for consistent inter-test responses across the novel stimuli presented in the home environment was found.