Behaviour
To the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom and back. A dog who follows you is usually a perfectly normal dog. What matters is how he feels when he cannot.
Worth knowing. A dog who has suddenly turned clingy, especially one over 8 or 9, may be in pain, losing his sight or hearing, or showing the first signs of brain ageing. Before any plan, see your own vet.
You get up from the sofa for a glass of water and the dog gets up too. Off to the bathroom, and he lies down pressed against the door. You walk from the kitchen to the bedroom and back, and he makes the trip with you every single time, eyes on you, even if he was fast asleep a moment ago. Some people love having a "velcro dog". Others cannot take a step around the house without a shadow behind them and wonder whether it is normal. Most of the time it is. Sometimes, though, it is a sign of unease worth working on, and telling the two apart is easier than you might think.
Dogs are social animals and have lived alongside people for thousands of years. Wanting to stay close to their person is natural. What matters more than the following itself is what he does when he cannot follow. A dog who trails after you but settles quietly when you close a door has no problem. One who whines, scratches at the door and pants when he cannot see you has one.
The causes usually come mixed, two or three in the same dog, so it is worth running through all of them.
Herding dogs, small companion breeds, labradors and generally any dog bred to work close to people have staying by your side in their blood. For an Australian shepherd, keeping track of every person in the house at every moment is practically a job.
He follows you into the kitchen and now and then gets a piece of cheese. He follows you to the door and sometimes you go for a walk. Over time, staying near you has brought him a great many good things, so he keeps doing it. The habit itself is a good one. It just helps to know where it comes from.
A dog with nothing to do all day sticks to the only source of excitement in the house, which is you. Any move you make might mean something.
Shy dogs, recently adopted dogs and dogs who are scared of noises (thunderstorms, fireworks, building work next door) seek out their person as a safe place. After a house move, a loss in the family or a stay at the vet's, many dogs get clingier for a few weeks.
In some dogs, following you around the house is just the visible part of a bigger worry: they cannot bear being separated from their person. The signs are clear. He gets upset when a door closes between you, gets agitated when you put your shoes on or pick up your keys, and after you leave he barks, howls, damages things by the door or wees indoors. We have a separate guide to separation anxiety.
Puppies of a few months follow you everywhere, and that is a good thing, because it is how they learn. Older dogs whose sight or hearing is starting to go, or who show the first signs of brain ageing, can suddenly become much clingier, especially in the evening.
A dog who feels unwell sometimes seeks out his person more than usual. That matters most when the change comes on suddenly.
A pregnancy, an illness of yours, tension between people. Dogs notice very well when routines or moods shift, and they respond.
Shutting the door in his face without warning. A dog who follows you out of insecurity and suddenly runs into a closed door becomes even less sure of himself. Next time he watches you more closely so he does not miss the moment.
Ignoring him completely, as a method. The advice to ignore him entirely so he "unsticks" may cut down attention-seeking for a while, but in an anxious dog it leaves the anxiety untouched. It works far better to give him your attention exactly when he is settled on his own.
Telling him off. A snapped "leave me alone!" aimed at a dog who comes to you to feel safe only confirms that something is wrong.
A second dog to keep him company. Dogs who are glued to their person usually stay glued to their person, even with a sibling in the house. A second dog is a fine idea if you want another dog, but it is not a treatment.
Fussing over him at every step. If every trip round the house ends with a stroke or a treat, following you becomes more and more worthwhile. It is not a serious mistake, but if the following bothers you, this is where you start.
If the following does not bother you and he stays calm when he cannot see you, you do not need a plan. If it does, there are five parts.
Write down when he follows you, where, what he does when he cannot follow (lies down, waits by the door, whines) and how long it takes him to settle. After three days you will see whether it is habit, boredom or unease.
A lot of the clingy dogs we meet simply do not have enough to do. In the morning, a sniffing walk on a long line. His meals from a stuffed food toy or hidden around the house. While you work, something to chew: a suitable chew, a root. A dog tired out by things he enjoyed finds it much easier to stay on his own cushion.
Pick a bed or blanket and put it, to begin with, somewhere he can see you from. Every time he lies down on it of his own accord, praise him and drop a treat on the blanket. Then ask him to lie on it for a few seconds, then a minute, then five, praising him calmly and taking the treats to him on the blanket. Once he settles well two metres from you, move the blanket a little further, then next to the door, then into the next room. A dog who has learnt that his blanket is a good place no longer feels the need to be glued to your leg.
Put a baby gate between rooms so you can see each other but he cannot come through. Go into the kitchen for ten seconds and come back without any fuss. Next time, twenty. Leave him something good to chew on his side. Come back before he starts to whine. When he copes calmly for a few minutes, close the door for a few seconds, then for longer.
When he chooses by himself to stay in another room, in the garden or on his blanket, wander over calmly, say something kind and leave again. He learns that good things happen when he is away from you too.
| Day | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | Notes. Sniffing walk in the morning. Meals from food toys. |
| 2–4 | His blanket: treats when he lies there on his own, then a few seconds on request. |
| 4–7 | Blanket a few metres away. Baby gate, separations of 10–30 seconds, many times a day. |
| 7 | Reread your notes: is he whining less, settling faster? If not, see the section on getting help. |
In a few situations, see your own vet first and start the plan afterwards:
Pain, fading sight and hearing, and brain ageing often change the way a dog seeks out his person. Training exercises will not fix those.
At mantrailing training we often see dogs who will not leave their person's side at home working at the end of a ten-metre line, nose down, making their own decisions. Searching gives a dog a job he does well without you next to him, and the confidence he builds there shows at home too. You do not need to take up a sport. Treat-finding games around the house, with the treats hidden further and further from you, work on the same thing on a small scale.
A behaviour professional who works with rewards will tell you after an assessment whether you are dealing with a habit, general anxiety or separation anxiety, and which plan suits your dog.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer.
Most of the time, yes. Dogs are social animals, some breeds are bred to work beside people, and staying close to you has brought him plenty of good things over the years. What matters is what he does when he cannot follow. If he lies down calmly, all is well. If he whines, scratches the door or pants, it is worth working on.
Because the closed door takes you out of his range, and he wants to know where you are. For many dogs it is simply curiosity and habit. If he waits calmly by the door, there is nothing to fix. If he whines and scratches, start with very short separations around the house, using a baby gate and something good to chew on his side.
The signs show when you leave or get ready to leave: he gets worked up at the sight of shoes and keys, and once the door closes he barks, howls, whines, damages the door or window frame, wees indoors or drools heavily. Film the first 20 minutes after you go out. If you see panic, you need a separate plan, ideally made with a professional.
He may be seeing or hearing less well and feel safer beside you, he may be in pain, or he may have the first signs of brain ageing, which often show in the evening with restlessness and broken sleep. In an older dog, a sudden change needs your own vet first, then tweaks to the routine at home.
Ignoring him completely may cut down attention-seeking for a while, but it does nothing for an anxious dog who comes to you to feel safe. It works better to give him attention when he chooses to stay on his blanket or in another room, and to build up, step by step, his confidence that he can be calm without you beside him.
A behaviour that appears suddenly or changes for no apparent reason can have a medical cause. For full details, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
He howls from the first minute and only goes quiet when you walk back in. That is panic, and panic is worked in seconds at first, not in hours of 'getting used to it'.
He hides under the table at every doorbell or trembles at lorries. Exposed "to get used to it", he got worse. Confidence comes from distance and his own choice.
Chewing, barking, racing round the house at ten at night and still not tired. A dog like that tires through his head, and you see the change within days.
You hug and within three seconds the dog is between you. What we call jealousy is usually excitement, unease or guarding, and each is worked differently.
An assessment session tells you where you stand and which plan makes sense for your dog. The behaviour programme then works step by step, reward-based only.