If you have a dog, you know how irritating it can be while following you everywhere, including the most private area in your home. Why do dogs follow you to the bathroom? No one can give you the exact reason, but there are several probable causes you can check.
Thanks to the experts, you can discover why your puppy loves that activity and why it doesn’t give up that habit throughout its lifetime. However, it is not likely to ever get rid of your four-legged shadow. Your private time under the shower or on the toilet is not an intimate moment for your pet. Let’s try to explain why!
Why Do Dogs Follow You to the Bathroom
1. Breed traits
Believe it or not, some dog breeds, well-known as Velcro dogs, are prone to follow their owners everywhere. So, if you have a shepherd, border collie, or cattle dog, you can expect them to follow you everywhere possible, including the bathroom.
On the other hand, working breeds, such as a boxer and Doberman pinscher, tend to be close to you to keep you safe from possible danger. There is the third possibility, as well. You should get used to the habit of your pointer or Labrador retriever to follow you for pure pleasure.
2. Dogs tend socialization
If you adopt a puppy, you can expect it to follow you everywhere. Basically, the dog gets that habit while still young and follows that pattern throughout its life. From the first day of your life together, you are the whole world for your social pet. Therefore, it wants to stay close to you every minute.
The weird thing is that your dog will behave the same way even though you adopted it as an adolescent or even senior. Once this unbelievable animal starts trusting you, it will follow you around. Unfortunately, it wants to keep you company in the bathroom, as well. If you don’t let your doggy in, it will lie by the door and probably whine until you get out.
3. Dogs have a pack mentality
When they live freely, dogs always gather in a pack. Once you adopt a new pet, you become a member of its pack, and it won’t want to stay alone without you in a moment. Your doggy will follow you everywhere, including the bathroom, to avoid feeling lonely and vulnerable.
4. Dogs have no concept of privacy
The concept of the dog’s pack excludes any sense of privacy. You are well aware that dogs like to sniff each other even when they defecate. As for your dog, it indeed thinks there is nothing private you can do in the bathroom without its company.
Since you are a respected and beloved family member, you should share everything with your baby. Plus, spending time together should be fun, and your dog can’t understand setting boundaries of that kind.
5. Dogs don’t like to be alone
Your dog doesn’t like to be alone, and it can’t understand anyone may want to do something without a best friend. Therefore, you can expect this lovely creature to follow you everywhere, including the restroom. It is its way of offering you a friend’s presence and the best company it can imagine.
6. Dogs are protective
According to your dog’s opinion, any room can be an ideal place for a predator to hide. Therefore, it is his duty to protect you, who are his beloved being and the best friend, from possible danger.
Also, the bathroom can be a dangerous room, like any other. Since you put yourself into danger by entering that insecure space, your doggy needs to keep you safe while finishing the risky business there. What is not clear to you here?
7. Dogs are curious
You can expect that your dog can become curious about your regular visiting the bathroom. Therefore, it may think that something particularly exciting happens there, and it wants to become a part of it.
Also, some dogs will be suspicious of the place their owners visit too often. They can be convinced that something happens there, which requires their monitoring.
8. Dogs like attention
Since your dog enjoys your full attention, it won’t be happy when you decide to visit a mysterious place such as a bathroom without it. Most dog owners make a mistake in the pet’s early age and hug it or offer it a treat before entering the toilet.
As a result, the dog connects pleasure and care with that particular room and wants to follow its owner there. If this is a reason, you should train it to do something else while you are occupied. Reward the change in its behavior, and you will be able to enjoy your privacy after a while.
9. Dogs are supportive
Since your dog wants to be useful, it may consider its presence in the bathroom while you use it as a way of support. I know that it sounds a bit weird, but from your dog’s point of view, your toilet is undoubtedly space where some issue exists since you use it every day. Well, you obviously can’t solve that problem without the help of a faithful friend.
10. Dogs show their love
Often, your dog follows you to the bathroom with a toy in its mouth, tends to pick up a towel from the floor, and offers you the toilet paper. That is its way of showing affection and unconditional love. How to resist it?
11. Dogs want to get to know their owners better
The way dogs get to know other dogs is by sniffing their bottoms. Since you are a member of its pack, your pet will try to sniff you when you sit on the toilet. So, it will consider your time there as an excellent opportunity to connect with you better.
12. Dogs love being with their owners
The rat race in the contemporary world will occupy you most of the day. Since your dog is separated from you all day long, it will need to spend some time with you once you come back home. The bathroom is actually an excellent, quiet place to hang together.
13. Dogs like sitting and staring at their owners
It is quite an annoying and incomprehensible behavior of the pet that most dog owners can’t understand. In most cases, your doggy only needs eye contact to feel safe and beloved. That way, it will confirm an emotional connection, no matter how awkward and unwanted that attention can be for you while using the toilet.
14. Dogs look for a treat
Sometimes, the reason your dog wants to come to the bathroom with you is entirely harmless and childish. It probably believes that you hide some treats in that secret place. Why else would you be so mysterious and spend time in the room without its presence?
15. Dogs love smells
Sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one. The dogs adore the scent of their humans, and a bathroom is a smelling place. You keep some fragrant soaps, shampoos, and perfumes there, which remind your dog of you. Since we are different, you probably can’t understand the tendency of sniffing garbage bin or dirty towels, but it is a source of information for your pet. Deal with it!
16. Dogs are insecure
In some cases, the dog can be extremely insecure. That can be a reason for constant following you around and insisting on spending every second with you. Be aware that it is not a healthy behavior of canines, so you should react on time and prevent further severe issues, such as anxiety.
This feeling in dogs is well-known as ‘resource guarding,’ when the animal believes that aggression is the only way to protect someone it loves. Since it can be dangerous behavior, you should react right away in an appropriate way.
17. Dogs may suffer from separation anxiety
Anxiety is not a naive condition. So, if you notice that your dog suffers from it, you should ask a vet for help. Typically, your dog wants to spend as much time with you as possible, but you should start worrying if it can’t spend a minute without your presence.
In some cases, the dog may react highly stressful as soon as you enter the bathroom and close the door. You can let the dog come with you initially, but it is not a solution in the long run.
You should ask the experienced trainer or vet for advice. It is a matter of love when the dog sits in front of the door and waits for you. On the other hand, constant whining is an alarm signal.
Summary
Once you adopt a dog, be prepared for its weird habit to follow you everywhere, including your bathroom. It is in its nature, and you can’t do anything about it. If you find that trait highly annoying, you can train your dog to stay away from this room. However, that separation won’t make it happy for sure.
