Why Does My Dog Follow Me Everywhere?

Dogs have always been there for humans. In the contemporary period, dogs have become a very important part of the household for several people.

In some houses, it helps guard the house and maintain security, while in other places, it can be used as a companion. In today’s time, as one gets out in the parks, they are encountered by dogs everywhere.

As a result of the growing friendliness between humans and dogs, Dogs have become very attached to their owners.

While most of us enjoy having our dogs walk around us, it might seem strange sometimes to see how they do not leave your site even once within the house.

Being a dog owner, one may often have to go to work, which becomes ten times difficult to say goodbye to our best friend.

It is important to note that dogs come with animal instincts; therefore, they always find their pack in those who stay with them from the start.

1. Why my dog follows me everywhere?

The studies show that some people might find it cute to have their dogs blindly following them. According to several veterinarians, it can be a projection of something going on with them.

Young puppies can often imprint their owners as mothers and may feel that compassion because they are the first faces they have seen.

Therefore, most doctors suggest that a puppy should always be under the care of a mother for at least two months to develop skills of individuality, sociality, and self-protection.

These can only be given by the mothers and will be ingrained naturally among them. Similarly, rewarding the dog for following around signals that whatever they are doing, they are welcome to do it. There are various reasons why your dog follows you. Let’s explore them through this article.

2. Companionship

One of the most common causes of the clingy behavior of dogs is companionship. For a dog, born into one family, they were raised within that. Their interaction becomes very limited to the family.

While most of us, from the start, go to various social institutions are part of a different circle of friends. It is comparatively easier for us to be distracted from other stuff. However, for a dog, you are the center of their world. When you go, they suddenly find themselves alone and in anxiety.

You must have been heard about the term separation anxiety. A dog usually becomes anxious due to the absence of its owners, which can also lead to being the leading cause of depression in dogs.

Therefore, socialization is very important for a dog; through socialization, it will not just learn to be comfortable around huge groups of people but will also have a friendlier approach towards the other dogs.

Therefore, just like kids, there should be play dates for dogs, or sometimes dogs from neighboring houses can just hang together, which will help overcome any problems our dogs face.

This is also useful as it saves you the burden of saying a sad goodbye every day; one can just drop it at their friends’ house and go to work without any tension.

3. Attention

Dogs usually imprint on and connect with people they find most comfort in. For instance, even during the adoption of a puppy, one often looks for all the options.

But that connection is only established when there is a different bond between humans and dogs. Dogs are just like babies; whatever they do, they want you to be around them.

For instance, the project that they crave your attention with every progress in their training or any tantrums. A dog begs for human attention to the point that it may trip over you, try to sit on you, cry when you go out of their site.

Have you ever observed that it becomes hard to work when your dog is around; all they want is for you to play with them, cuddle with them, and give them belly rubs?

All these are the signs of loneliness that they face in your absence. Therefore, when kept alone for a long while, a dog may develop an over-attachment with the person, which can be dangerous for its mental health.

4. Lack of Confidence or Anxiety.

Some dogs rely on social presence because they are nervous about being alone. These are some of the very prominent signs of separation anxiety.

Many dogs that exhibit dull behavior during any of the unnormal things such as dust storms or windstorm projects may worry about life way too much, and there exhibit over shadowing behavior.

To understand this, one needs to observe changes that are taking place in the behavior pattern of the dogs.

What is body language, when does it behaves in certain ways?

What is its response to different situations, and how does it cope with them. Usually, a frightened dog will have pinned ears, and wide eyes might constantly bark at one place, pointing towards the fearful object.

Therefore, often when there is a guest in people’s houses, their dogs become suddenly overwhelmed with several strange faces and might start barking in some cases, bit people as a way of reflex.

In such kinds of cases, it is usually best to send them to a place where there is quiet or give them toys that make them distracted.

To avoid such situations, one should always take socialization as an important thing for dogs and their people.

Close-up view of a woman hand high five with the cute small dog over white background. The dog is sitting on the bed. Daytime, pets indoors, lifestyle

5. Curiosity

One of the very natural things observed in dogs is their trait to follow you everywhere. Dogs are very similar to humans when it comes to curiosity. They constantly roam around their owners to not miss out on anything.

Then you ask why my dog follows me everywhere? Therefore, they may follow you everywhere to know what is going on.

They have a fear of missing out. Therefore, they make sure to follow their owners as it makes them feel safe and helps them find new things.

While most of the time, this nosy nature of dogs can be very cute and very adorable, sometimes it might also get on your nerves. However, it is still better than having children.

Sometimes, your dog may not allow you to complete your work; it constantly whines, sits on you while working, or takes away things to prevent you from leaving. Therefore this can sometimes become overbearing and may end up making you agitated.

But worry, not in such kind of situations one should always have backup options to keep the dog distracted and get their work done as soon as possible.

6. Cautions 

Sometimes a dog’s behavior may become very strange and obsessive and, in other cases, very extreme. When this happens, it means that some underlying cause is bothering them.

This can be associated with their comfort in some cases while their regular agitation in other cases.

In the case of adoption, these symptoms might come out as very common. If there was an extremely bad environment, they might have had some traumatizing experiences.

In such cases where the dog has a very bad environment, they may crave empathy more, and when they get this empathy, they become overly attached to the people around them.

In various cases, lack of proper care may lead to isolation; in such a situation, one needs to gain the dog’s trust. Usually, dogs follow around when they are ill, nervous, or afraid of something.

As an owner and the mother figure of the dog’s life, you are one of the dog’s most trusted and known people. Therefore, they may get overly attached to you and try to find their peace in your presence.

It is sometimes good for the dog to follow you around as it gives them confidence in your presence to do whatever they like. 

Where to start Dog training?

If you question that, why does my dog follow me everywhere? One way to overcome the dog’s over-attachment can be through training and engaging dogs in various activities, such as training school or maybe through dog hostels that are easily available in any of the metropolitan cities.

As a pro tip, the first step under consideration to make your dog confident and independent is to make sure that they don’t sleep in the same bed as you.

Make a small bed for him and treat him every time he sleeps on it. This is a good habit that can help your dog in the long run.

Thus, having a dog is a blessing, and getting loved by that dog can be the most beautiful thing. So, when you get their attention value, you never know when it disappears.