Why does my dog follow me everywhere?
When we adopt a puppy and he arrives at home, the first thing we want is for him to respond to his name, follow us naturally during walks and come back when it is called. This is normal, and it is also very important to put in place these first learnings which are essential for your future life.
But it sometimes happens that we reinforce this phenomenon a little too much and that it becomes clearly excessive and therefore unmanageable on a daily basis. By insisting a lot on the fact that a puppy follows our slightest movements, we make him a dependent dog who can no longer do without his master.
It is very important to give your puppy some autonomy so that he discovers by himself (but always under your control) what surrounds him.
Then, another important point to raise which, in the majority of cases, explains why a dog ends up following its masters everywhere: it is the reinforcement (often unconscious) of the problem.
Let me explain: at the beginning, a puppy or a dog that even follows us into the toilets, we find that cute, that makes us laugh and the positive energy that we release positively reinforces the behavior adopted by said puppy or dog.
However, without wanting it, we positively accustom a dog to adopt a behavior which, later, will be disturbing and will cause problems. It's exactly the same problem as for jumps: in the summer when your puppy is clean and he jumps on you: it's cute; but in winter when he has grown well, gained a lot of weight and comes back from the garden full of mud and stains your clothes and almost knocks you down, it's immediately much less fun!
What can I do to prevent my dog from following me everywhere?
The key word when you want to prevent your dog from following you everywhere: detachment!
Detachment must be worked on very early to prevent your puppy from following you everywhere and later developing separation anxiety and hyper-attachment in general.
And even if you adopt an adult dog, you can and should anticipate and/or solve this problem.
And if you have an older dog that you've had forever and you want to start detachment work (better late than never), it will only take a little longer because, of course, the more the “ problem” lasted a long time, the more time and patience it takes to solve it.
In any case, anticipating, preventing or curing this disorder is very important because there is nothing worse than a dog who cannot stand loneliness because beyond being a very serious behavioral disorder for the good psychological balance of the dog, it can also be the cause of many other disorders (destruction, dirtiness, excessive barking, etc.) which sometimes lead to the abandonment of dogs.
So, concretely, to work on detachment you must:
- Teach your dog to go (and eventually, stay) in his basket/indoor doghouse. This indication allows you to put your dog in his place when he wants to follow you.
- Set up a progressive learning process of solitude by starting by leaving your dog alone from time to time in a room, even when you are at home.
- Positive absences with occupation toys, treats, etc. In short, make your dog understand that when you leave, really nice things happen to him!
- Delete the rituals that we have during departures (“goodbye my dog, don't do nonsense”) and returns (“oh well yes my dog you're happy to see me, you jump on it, you bark and gesticulate in all directions but I still pet you”): these attitudes only indirectly reinforce the dog's discomfort because often the masters release at these times a great deal of guilt and a certain stress. , that the dog, good emotional sponge that he is, necessarily feels.
- Do “stay still” exercises in the living room, then in the garden and then on walks with the aim that your dog maintains his static position, even when you go away for a long time.
- Ignoring your dog when he demands your attention through jumping, barking or otherwise. And be, in the same logic, always at the initiative of the contacts you have with him, whether for caresses, play sessions or bowl time.
These tips may, at first glance, not seem to be directly related to your dog following you everywhere but, believe me, when you have all this in place, you will definitely observe a Behavioral change in your dog: he will be much more comfortable in his paws and in his head. And even if he no longer follows you everywhere, trust me, he will be grateful for your reassuring and consistent attitude and will love you more!
Finally, to conclude, along with all this detachment work, don't forget to properly meet your dog's needs: spend it every day, make it exercise, so that he is finally tired and thinks of only one thing: sleeping, rather than being on the lookout for your every move.