So I have a fairly new puppy, Jasper, a mini dachshund is now 4.5 months old. And he’s mostly a bloody brilliant puppy despite needing to learn a FEW manners about loving everyone/every dog he meets to death.
But anyway…so Jasper will be fast asleep at my feet and I get up to go to the kitchen. He will happily stay in the loungeroom without budging. But the second I go to the bathroom, he’s ticker-ticker-ticker right behind me!
Now the kitchen is where all the treats are, where he gets fed and more often than not, a cheeky morsel from the fridge for being SUCH A GOOD BOY.
My spousal unit has apparently taught Otis that he gets butt skritches from whomever is on the throne. Since it’s just the 2 of us here most of the time, we can’t be bothered by such silliness as shutting doors. Guess it’s our own fault.
On the other hand, Otis will follow me to the kitchen and plant his big, hairy carcass so as to create the most effective trip hazard. I’ve learned to look down before moving from sink to stove or fridge. Guess he’s trained me…
I would have thought it was the smells, but my dogs often turn their back sides to me, rather than sniffing. My take is that they consider you a captive target - not doing anything else that will prevent. you from petting them. But I agree, it is a weird behavior that all of my dogs have shared.
I’ve always thought it’s because dogs who have no yard have to go on walks, so they never potty alone. Maybe they get the idea that you need a friend along and, being dogs, do their duty as they see it.
Nowadays I have a country dog who is seldom required to potty on lead, but she’s the same way. For her it’s very much the captive audience. I’m sitting and both hands are empty, that’s a perfect time to pet the dog.
This is what I’ve heard. Dogs are social animals and they consider the humans they live with to be their pack.
And one of the duties of being part of the pack is you defend other members of the pack. Your dog is protecting you from a bear attack while you’re sitting vulnerable on the toilet.
My current two cats both follow me to the bathroom (their immediate predecessor did as well, her predecessor did not), and it’s not unusual for someone to hop into the litterbox and make use of it while I’m doing similarly with the human version. They do not do this with my husband. The younger current cat, Kasya, also seems to think I need supervision in the bath/shower. The late Allie did that, too. Again, my husband does not seem to require feline attention in this situation.
Tripping over cats in the kitchen is just standard life with cats.
Just remember to return the favor. Your dog doesn’t want privacy when it’s doing its business in the back yard. They want you to be standing nearby protecting them just like they did for you.
Your new fur baby sounds adorable! Congrats on your selection of breed.
Jasper is much smarter than Oliver, who is now nearly 3 years old and has only just learned how to ask to go out to potty – unlike my last little guy, who learned in about 2 minutes. Oh, well, you take what you get.
Funny Ollie story, though. The very first time I used the loo after he came home with me, he dutifully trotted in behind me. And promptly copied my behavior. I’m sitting there hollering, “No! NO!!” He just figured we were in the Potty Area, and he was going to strut his stuff. Fortunately, that only happened once.
They do seem to like being around their pack members when important things are happening, and I suppose in a dog’s world, marking territory is a big event!
