4 Reasons Why Your Dog Follows You

May 17, 2018 by apost team

Since getting my dog as a puppy, he's followed me around non-stop. If I'm eating dinner, he's either lying at my feet or eating his own dinner right next to me. If I'm in the shower, he's peeking his head through the curtain trying to jump in the tub. In my home office, he's less than 5 feet away watching me work. While watching TV, I've even had him jump up on the couch and sit upright to watch the television too (we've found he likes dog movies the best, by the way)!

Whether you find constantly bumping into your pup that's following two steps behind you endearing or frustrating, I couldn't help but wonder why my dog was doing this and why he has continued to do it since he was a puppy. But, according to some experts, there are reasons why dogs follow us.
 

One of the most plausible causes for following behavior is anxiety. With most dogs this is a learned behavior, meaning that he/she probably hasn't always followed you but started doing it somewhere along the way.

Dogs that have separation anxiety are characterized by barking, trying to "break free," crying/whining, and destroying (walls, toys, furniture, etc) when away from their humans.

According to expert Cesear Milan, "The Dog Whisperer," this behavior generally starts to form when dog owners soothe their whining dog instead of letting the dog figure out how to calm himself down. Unlike humans, dogs do not need to be nurtured and soothing them can cause anxiety, which can result in following behaviors.

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As puppies, dogs can imprint on the person that is closest to them. Many people use the word "master" interchangeably with imprinting, which is when "animals identify the first being they identify as their mother," according to PetHelpful.com.

While some dogs imprint on their mother, dogs brought home before 12 weeks old can imprint on humans as well. Because of imprinting, the dog is likely to see you as it's source and will follow you everywhere as a young animal would follow its mother.

Some studies have shown that dogs release oxytocin, like humans, do, which is the hormone that makes us feel happy. Dog's release oxytocin when spending time with their owners, such as going for a walk, fetching a ball, or spending time being pet on the floor. Because dogs are social creatures, they think of this time as time spent with friends/family, and this makes them happy.

Naturally, dogs then are drawn to following you around being you are satisfying a basic need and making them feel good. While some dog owners have two dogs, which may eradicate this behavior in relation to the human, many dogs without another dog partner will seek out their human for companionship instead.

Another reason your pup could be following you is because they are curious about what you're doing. If he is laying at your feet, and suddenly you go to get a drink from the kitchen, he may be thinking that you are going to get a ball or you are doing something that interests him. Because of this, he might want to follow you because there is an expectation that good things will happen and he is curious as to what you are doing.

Whatever the real reason for my dog's interesting following behavior, these theories will certainly have me thinking about it the next time I catch him doing it. I'm thinking he may be more in the companionship zone when it comes to his following behavior. Let us know why you think your dog is following you!