Content
- canine behavioral characteristics
- Why does my dog follow me to the bathroom?
- Behavior acquired since a puppy
- hyperattachment
- How to handle this dog behavior?
Many people, even if they like the situation, wonder why their dog follows them to the bathroom. A dog's attachment to its human companion is a natural and denotes a good relationship between the two. However, this situation always raises some doubts and, therefore, it is completely normal to ask this question.
When a dog accompanies its tutor to the bathroom, he must certainly accompany him to many other places where he goes around the house, but this fact, which in these cases is almost imperceptible to the tutor, is evident when he goes to the bathroom. This is due to the connotation that going to that place of absolute privacy represents for people. For this reason, in this article by PeritoAnimal, we will answer your question: why does my dog follow me to the bathroom?
canine behavioral characteristics
The dogs belong to a gregarious species. This means that they are evolutionarily adapted to living within a social group. In the beginning, this was an indispensable condition for the survival of the individual in question, which is why dogs have so ingrained in their brains tendency to approach another individual from their social group with which, obviously, they have a good emotional bond.
There are statistical studies of behavioral observation in canine communities that show that a dog it can spend more than half the day within 10 meters of any other member of your social group. Something similar was also observed in groups of wolves.
It is easy to understand, knowing these previous concepts, the answer to the question that many dog handlers ask themselves, saying "my dog does not separate from me", "my dog follows me everywhere" or, specifically, "my dog follows me to the bathroom", which we will detail below.
Why does my dog follow me to the bathroom?
All of the above would not, by itself, explain why dogs follow you to the bathroom, as there are many dogs that have an excellent relationship and a affective bond very good with their human companion but they are not watching him all the time, nor following him wherever he goes in the house they both inhabit.
The behavior of the species helps us understand that our dogs want to be with us in all areas of the house, as they are animals used to living in groups and are also very protective. So maybe he'll follow you to the bathroom to protect you, just as it feels protected by you. It's also why it's common for your dog to look at you when he's pooping. At this point, dogs are vulnerable and seek support from their social group.
So what does it mean when the dog follows you to the bathroom? In addition to what we've already talked about, we present other reasons:
Behavior acquired since a puppy
What the above explanation allows is to begin to understand the genetic basis that gives rise to and maintains the animal's behavior. So why, if there are so many dogs that get along well with their human guardians, don't they all follow them to the bathroom? US early stages of the dog's life, that is, when a puppy, the animal is in a stage of its behavioral development that is and will be fundamental in its current life and, mainly, in its future life as an adult dog.
It is a phase in which all experiences will profoundly mark the animal's behavior, they are called “first experiences”, which have a great impact on the behavior of the individual who experiences them. These experiences can be both negative and positive for the animal. The behavior of a dog that has had an early traumatic experience will not be the same as that of a dog that has had pleasant, positive early experiences.
If since he was little he got used to following and accompanying you while you're in the bathroom, it's totally normal for him to continue to have this behavior into adulthood. He acquired this behavior, and for him, the strange thing would be not to go with you. Now, it can also be totally normal that he hasn't acquired this behavior and therefore doesn't follow you, or has learned that he's not allowed to enter that place.
hyperattachment
The dog is not aware of knowing that the bathroom is a very private place for the human being, for him it is just another space in the house. If he acquired this behavior since he was little, but the relationship he established with you is totally healthy, the dog shouldn't mind if you don't let him in and close the door. He will likely follow you and return to his resting place when he finds he cannot pass. However, there is another situation where the dog may be standing behind the door crying, scratching or barking at us to let him through. In this case, the dog shows symptoms of stress and anxiety for not having free access to the bathroom. Why does it happen?
The reason he does this has to do with an excessive attachment to his human companion. From the inherited tendency of dogs to generate bonds and connections with the members of their social group, and with some of them more than with others, what usually happens is that their tutor was very affectionate or at least paid him a lot of attention and maybe a lot of physical contact when the dog was a puppy. This generates in the dog a strong bond with its human companion, something totally correct, but that in some more predisposed domestic canines, leads to hyper-attachment.
It is one thing for an animal to be attached to its guardian, and another thing is to develop an excessive attachment, as this means that when it is not with its guardian responsible, the dog enters a excessive anxiety state that causes him to exhibit unwanted behaviors.
In short, that a dog generates a good attachment and affective bond with its guardian is something plausible, beneficial and pleasant for both, but care must be taken so that this attachment is exaggerated and generates possible behaviors on the part of the animal that make it unpleasant to life shared by the two. As always, the ideal is neither too little nor too much, just enough.
How to handle this dog behavior?
if your dog follows you to the bathroom and does not show signs of anxiety for not allowing it to enter, it is not necessary to intervene, because the animal already understands that it cannot pass and that nothing happens because of it. Now, if your dog accompanies you to the bathroom because he is very dependent, that is, he has developed hyperattachment, it is essential to treat him to restore the animal's emotional stability.
Dogs that develop this problem often have other symptoms, such as crying or barking when they are alone, destroying objects or furniture, urinating indoors and even throw up, cry when they can't sleep in their tutor's room, etc. They are also characteristic signs of separation anxiety.
Once this hyperattachment behavior of a dog with one of its guardians has been generated and established, the only way to reduce it is through what is technically known as withdrawal from social attention, that is, to generate detachment without the animal being overly attentive. The correct handling of a dog depends on the attitude of its guardian. Letting your dog spend time alone with a toy containing food is a great idea because it allows him to have fun on his own.
Likewise, taking him to a park and letting him interact with other dogs and even allowing other people in the house to walk the dog and spend time with him are great options. In any case, the dependence is often such that, without knowledge, it is practically impossible to try to correct the situation. So it is advisable to go to a canine educator or ethologist.
Now that you know why a dog follows you to the bathroom and understand what it means when a dog follows the tutor in different situations, don't miss the following video where we detail this subject even more:
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