My dog follows me everywhere....

colleensims

As the title states, my dog follows me everywhere. We have had him around a year now. He was an abandoned dog from abroad.


Now, I love him a lot....I really do...but he even follows me to the toilet .... Is this normal? I don't mind most of the time but if I am doing something like tidying up and going upstairs and downstairs lots of time with washing etc he is literally one step behind. Even when I am just nipping upstairs to grab something or turning a light of he comes with me.
When I am having a shower he waits outside bathroom door for me. If I get out of bed to shut the door he gets out of his bed ready to follow me.


Like I said I love him a lot and most of the time it doesn't bother me but sometimes it does when I just really want to go to toilet in peace


He seems ok when we leave him for a few hours....neighbours say they don't hear him bark or whine at all and there is always a warm patch where he has been sleeping on the bed or sofa when we are out. So don't think its separation anxiety as such.


Does anyone else's pet do this? Do you mind? Is it normal?haha

RobotsinDisguse

Totally normal for a rescue dog in my experience. Even the rehoming place warned us of it!

And I don't mind. She's fine being left for a few hrs and her bed is downstairs so it's not separation anxiety. It's just I think a result of being unwanted/abandoned... She's keen to stay close, to let us know she wants to be in our pack/family group.

mummybearx

My nearly two year old boy does this, he isn't a rescue, I think he just like wandering about :rotfl:

My older dog, no, she won't follow me anywhere unless I'm carrying a plate or anything else that vaguely looks like it will have food in or on it, and that she might be getting a bit of :rotfl:

And they both follow me to the toilet, my girl only if she was already upstairs though. If I don't want them in then I close the door, but generally I don't mind

trolleyrun

Mine would like to follow me everywhere and in the beginning, she did (she's also a rescue). Now, if I want to use the loo alone, I tell her to go and sit down. Sometimes, she goes to the cushion in the kitchen, or my bed or the sofa. It took a while, but it works She still tries to come with me, mind. Quite often, I tell her to "stay" and she tries, but curiosity gets the better of her and she has to come check I'm ok

meritaten

totally normal to me - both my previous dogs did this. and my current cat!
none of them are rescues.

codemonkey

Captain Dumbass does this, and he's perfectly happy to be alone - his bed is also downstairs. But when I'm home, he's on my heels all the time. When I go to the bathroom he sits outside and "guards" the door. On the odd occasion he doesn't follow me, it's because he wants to sneak up onto DH's chair. When we're watching tv or whatever, he likes to either cuddle up to us or sit on our feet. He seems to need body contact at all times if we're around - apparently he used to sleep on top of his sister dog.

He is a rescue but a well-treated one taken to the shelter by the previous owners rather than a stray. It's just we're his humans and he'll be by our side in case bad people try to hurt us or we have food or there's an opportunity for a cuddle.

Person_one

Yep, pretty standard for a rescue dog. mine were like little shadows for the first 18 months or so. I've had them over two years now and they are getting more relaxed but they still generally like to be fairly close and keep their eye on me! Mine are fine being left too, if they know I've properly left they just relax and sleep.

My parents' dog who they've had from a pup will happily take himself off to lie down away from all the family for a bit, I think the difference is security, he's never been given any reason to be stressed or anxious.

Lequirk_2

In my experience it is completely normal for a dog to do this. It starts out cute (maybe), but it can get tiresome!

krlyr

Mine are both breeds known for being 'velcro dogs', but it is a behaviour I try not to encourage because they are breeds prone to separation anxiety.

If the behaviour doesn't bother you and the dog isn't distressed, it's not really a big deal. However, I would probably teach the dogs to settle and be slightly more independant for their benefit as well as yours. This can be done with several simple things - for example, feeding them a Kong or chew on their bed or in their crate. Stay in the room initially, but once they're in the swing of staying on their bed, start to transition so that you're out of the room. This may be just standing up and sitting down again initially, if it's too much for them if you leave the room outright. Taking two steps from the sofa, going to sit back. 4 steps the next time, 8 steps, etc.

I also teach my dogs that it's a good thing when I leave the room. I've done this by keeping a tub of treats by the hallway door, and whenever I've left - even if it's to nip to the recycling bin for 10 seconds, or up to the loo for 2 minutes - I've scattered a handful of treats on the floor. For longer times, e.g. going up for a bath, a stuffed Kong or bone keeps them occupied. Remember to adjust the dog's food amount if giving lots of treats - if the dog is particularly foody and finds it just as rewarding, you can use their daily food allowance for rewards instead of treats. Mine get a Kong with their breakfast frozen in it when I leave for work - so they're occupied for half an hour when I leave and it's become another positive association with me leaving them alone.

'Capturing calmness' may help - basically rewarding the dog when it's settled on its own, so it learns that being settled is a rewarding action in itself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wesm2OpE_2c

Also there are some somewhat unrelated tricks and behaviours that may help - behaviours that increase a dog's confidence may then help it feel happier when left alone. Clicker games like "101 things to do with a box" can help build a dog's confidence. Not to mention that mental stimulation goes a long way to tiring out a dog - and a tired dog is more likely to be one that will snooze on its bed rather than follow you around the house!

colleensims

Thanks for replies. Now at least I know my dog isn't weird:D

System

My two aren't rescue dogs and they follow me everywhere too. They by the side of my bed, sit at my feet when I'm on the pc. Get under my feet when I'm in the kitchen, and yes, they follow me to the toilet too.