Common Reasons Behind Why does my dog walk behind me You Ought to Know
Taking a walk with your lovely pal is certainly one of the best moments of your life. Such an act gives you pleasure and also encourages bonding with you and your buddy. But many owners have confusion regarding why does my Dog walk behind me, which is the fact. There are many breeds of dogs that generally love to follow behind their owners.
In this article, you will find some of the reasons why your al loves to walk behind you and also why Does My Dog Follow Me Into the Bathroom. So let us understand such traits of the dogs in detail.
Why does my dog walk behind me Curvy nature of Dogs:
One of the actual reason behind Why does my dog walk behind me is their curvy and over-weight issue. They might be suffering from problems in their joints, back, and hips due to their bone structure and overweight issue. Such condition makes them lag from you as they are incapable, and it is not their fault at all. The owner needs to encourage their pal in such cases and be patient for them to cope up with their health issue.
Fear:
Many such dogs are quite fearful. Such dogs are unable to bear stress due to their bitter experience. Such dogs usually get scared by loud noises and strange smells. Such dogs usually prefer to remain behind their owners during their walk time.
Perhaps he Might have Trained to do So:
There are several breeds of dogs, especially the hunting and the working breeds, which are generally habitual to be back from their owners. Such dogs may belong to sled puller breeds of dogs, and that might be the reason why they are always behind you in your walks.
For such dogs, encouragement and gentle admiration are necessary to make them understand the fact that they can walk beside you rather than walking behind you.
Submissive Nature of Dogs:
In ancient times there are several breeds of dogs that used to live in packs. Out of such a pack, one is the alpha dog who used to be the leader of the pack. As a leader, every member of the pack is submissive to him and follows him right behind him. If you feel that your dog follows right behind you, thinking of you as a leader of the pack, try to train him and clear his issues.
Entering into Unknown Territory:
In case you have taken your pal to an unfamiliar environment that perhaps it is also the main reason behind Why Does My Dog Follow Me Everywhere. Such an unfamiliar environment gives your pal a feeling of uneasiness, and so as you are only his guardian, he willingly tends to walk behind or near you for security reasons.
The personality of the dog:
Dogs have some emotional traits as humans. They are capable of bearing pain, love, anxiety, and stress. Once they are triggered with such feelings, then they feel their owner can help them to ease their feeling. For such dogs,
it is essential to use positive reinforcement techniques to make them capable of surviving and fighting for their shortcomings. You can also consult your vet to get some proper medication for such dogs. Similarly, there are also some breeds of dogs that do get stressed with new odors or smells.
Such smell may include an unknown pee, poop, or even roses. Even they try to get their whiff but do feel uncomfortable and so try to walk behind their owners for the sake of their safety. In such cases, it is advised to let your dog take a complete sniff of the unknown substance and make them comfortable with the surrounding environment.
Other Reasons:
Other reasons may include the herding personality and the age factor of your dog that let him stay behind you during the walks. Herding breeds of dogs are usually trained to remain at the back of their herd to watch their moment. It is nearly impossible to change such habits in dogs as such qualities exist in their DNA.
Similarly, an older dog who is facing a lack of energy and medical challenges will also feel secured to remain behind their owners due to security issues. Such dogs believe that as an owner, you may protect them from any unknown circumstances or danger that comes across. It would be better that you create confidence in such dogs by providing them plenty of exercise and attention. Once such dogs gain their confidence will e useful for both the owners and the dogs.
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Ways to How to train your dog to walk nicely on the lead
It is quite easy to train your dog from why does my dog walk behind me. Using a short harness and guiding their motion is the best way to curb such habits in dogs. Make sure that you do not leave a negative experience or upset him to teach him this particular task as it may create anxiety or aggression in your dog. You should train your pal calmly and do pay for his achievement by rewarding him with one of his favorite treats. Here are some of the tactics that you should never use regarding why Does My Dog Follow Me Everywhere-
- Never try to scare your dog if he is not following your command, be calm.
- Never pull your dog forcefully off the leash as it may harm their neck and also create pressure and anxiety levels in your pal.
- Make a common balance between your pal’s emotional, fear, pain, and anxiety levels for best results.
The Answers to Why Is My Dog Walking in Circles
It is a fact that dogs usually circle a particular spot when they have an urge to poop. But in the case when you see that your pal is witnessing such circumstances more than usual, it’s time to take the matter seriously. Such excessive circular movements may dogs can be a problem within their body. Inner ear infection, obsessive compulsion disorder, vestibular syndrome, and injuries are some of the common medical problems that give rise to such acts in dogs. Let us see all the above factors in detail-
Infection of the Inner Ear:
An inner ear infection is a simplest and common reason why dogs walk in circles. If you feel that your dog generates an offensive smell from its ear or you see redness and swelling in his ears, then such problems need to be treated as early as possible. Your dog moving in circles due to ear infection is the initial warning that you should treat his ear by consulting the vet, or else the condition can become more fatal and may need prescribed medication and surgical cleaning of the ear, which can be costly and also be much more painful for your dog.
Vestibular Syndrome:
Such conditions are generally found in older dogs and are caused due to imbalance of the ear in dogs. The reasons behind such imbalance may include injury in the ears, deficiency of nutrition, abnormal growth of tissues, or infection in the respiratory tract.
Apart from your dog walking in a circle, he may also witness lethargy, excessive drooling, and walking with his head down most of the time. It will be better to contact your vet to rectify the root cause of a problem in your dog before the condition gets worsen.
Injuries:
Head injuries in your dog also compel them to walk in a circular motion. If you feel that your dog has pupil dilation and injury at the back of his head together with loss of appetite, then perhaps it’s the right time to visit your vet to get your pal treated.
How to Prevent your Dog From Walking in Circles:
If you feel that your dog walks in circles more than required, there are some of the steps that you can perform to solve this problem.
- Try to distract your dog from walking in a circle. This can be done by you moving in an opposite direction from the dog. Such a method readily works as your dog gets confused by the opposite movement and stops to understand the reason behind it.
- Check the eyes and pupils of your dog. If you think that the eyes or pupils of your dog are not steady and are unable to catch the moving things, then there may be a problem with his eyes or even brain. Further, you can consider asking your vet if you feel that something is abnormal in your pal.
- Finally, if you cannot find answers in the above two steps, it would be better to consult your vet and ask him to provide a proper solution for the problem.
Keeping a healthy and balanced diet for your dog is quite necessary to keep them free from all such unknown problems. A regular ear and dental check-up of your dog will be quite helpful for you to save you from such troubles. There are several timely vaccinations available for the dogs right from their puppy stages that need to be followed to save your pal from several dangerous diseases. It is also true that it is impossible to save your pal from any unknown danger and situations but keeping yourself calm and taking a right precautionary measure will be the best way to handle such a situation.
Some Common FAQs:
Que: Are dogs supposed to walk behind you?
Dogs generally consider as a leader of the pack, and so they walk behind you
Que: Why does my dog walk behind my legs?
Dogs generally walk behind your legs to ensure their comfort and safety. Many researchers have also seen such incidents are witnessed more in large breeds of dogs than short breeds. Such act of dogs is usually due to lack of confidence or anxiety or stress for a certain reason.
Que: How many times a day should you walk your dog?
It would be best that you take your dog at least two times a day. In case you are an owner of hunting or working breeds of dogs such as Newfoundland, Siberian huskies, Alsatians, Labs, etc., make sure that you have to take care to drain their energy through long walks regularly.
Que: When Does a Dog Walk Behind Its Owner?
The dog considers you as a leader of his group, and so to show respect towards you, they walk behind their owner. Apart from this, if your dog is scared or under stress, he will walk behind you to seek protection from you. Older dogs, particularly those facing health problems such as arthritis, also tend to walk behind their owner as they are not confident enough to enter the new environment. It will be good if you increase the confidence level of such dogs.
Que: How to get your dog to stop walking behind you?
You can calmly train your dog to walk, decides you by using a leash, and train him to stop or sit as soon as he starts to walk behind you. Using a leash and limiting his moment is one of the proven ways to calmly train your dog not to walk behind you. It is also essential to understand the emotional level of the dogs behind such acts.
Dogs are one of the best friends of humans since ancient times. They may show their friendship and affection towards us in various forms. There are also some breeds of dogs that do not care whether they walk beside or behind their owner. But there are many such breeds of Dogs that purposely walk behind their owner due to their genetic characteristics.
Finally, I hope that you have received all your answers on How to get your dog to stop walking behind you. Discouraging or encouraging such behavior is completely dependent on their owners. Proper training with love and attention will surely limit the dogs from performing such acts.