Dogs. We love them! And they love us… just a little more. Does your pup follow you everywhere you go? And we mean, everywhere? Even, or maybe especially, the bathroom?—like it or loathe it, it’s a fact of life when you have a pet pooch. But Fido has his reasons, five of them to be exact.
According to Rover.com, the reasons why your dog follows you into the bathroom are pretty simple:
5 Reasons Why Your Dog Follows You Into the Bathroom
Curiosity
Cats don’t corner the market on this trait—dogs are naturally curious creatures too. When you get up to move from one place to another, your dog wonders why. Are you off to get a treat for him? Or maybe you’re going to have some fun he doesn’t want to miss out on.
Anxiety
While it’s perfectly healthy for your dog to want to be around you most of the time, some suffer from separation anxiety, and this is cause for concern. If your dog cries and whines when you’re in another room, or if she chews up your favorite pillows when you leave the house, it might be time to call in a trainer. If it’s just out of love, it’s fine to close the door when you need to use the facilities. But if you don’t mind having an audience, there’s no harm in letting your dog in.
Personality
Some breeds are bred to be like Velcro. Herding types such as border collies, shepherds, and cattle dogs want to keep the whole family rounded up. If you’re in the bathroom by yourself, you’re a straggler. Rover.com’s list says, “Loyal working dogs like Doberman pinschers and boxers may want to stick close to keep an eye out for danger. And sporting breeds like Labrador retrievers and pointers might just enjoy sticking close to their favorite person.”
Imprinting
Maybe you carried your itty-bitty puppy with you everywhere you went when they first arrived—and now, as a huge, fully-grown dog, they still want that lovey-dovey closeness. Imprinting happens when a young animal comes to recognize another animal, person, or thing as a parent figure or object of consistent comfort as its “mom.”
Companionship
The long and short of it is, dogs are pack animals and they just want to be where you are. According to Rover, “You’re their pack now—and for some dogs, that means not letting anything, not even the pesky bathroom door, come between you.”
Whether you cherish the closeness or you pray for privacy, hard-wiring is the reason why your dog follows you into the bathroom.
