My dog Dave a golden started to follow me all of a sudden everywhere and becoming clingy. He was always following mom, because she was the one who was feeding him, taking him for a walk and all his needs as she was working from home all the time. Suddenly Dave started to follow me everywhere suddenly. I wondered what could be the cause. Then I consulted Veterinarian he came up with few of the possible reasons, why my dog following me everywhere suddenly:
- Medical problem
- Old age
- Change in routine
- seasonal clinginess
- Insecure
- Fear and anxiety
1. Medical problem
A sudden exhibition of clingy behaviors in a dog should be taken seriously. Sometimes this can be a sign of a medical problem in dogs. the sudden behavior changes need to be discussed with a veterinarian. Sometimes dogs may be losing their sight or loss of hearing due to age-related factors. Dogs become insecure, in order to gain the confidence they tend to stick to the owner or caretaker or someone who is closer to them.
For instance, my dog Dave (Golden retriever) used to get sick during the Indian monsoon season. A tick attack happens during his long walks. The walk was into quite a dense forest where a lot of cattle used to be grazing. Dave used to love cattle and cattle fields are a big playground for him. During this unusual tick attack, I could sense his illness very fast. My dog starts to follow me everywhere suddenly and never leaves me alone. He even jumps to my bed to sleep on my hand. This is a very unusual behavior of Dave, but he does this every time he is sick or with high temperatures. This is the first sign and the next day he will stop eating, becomes very lame, sleeping for long hours, very less physical activity. So I use to act on the initial sign of his sudden clinginess. Take him to Veterinarian to get his shots of medicine. Dogs communicate to us in several ways, we should be alert and understand his problems soon.
2. Old age
When dogs are younger they are more independent in most of the aspects, require minimal help to take care. As they get older, they become weaker and most of their vital organs like eyesight, hearing and even hip joints are vulnerable. They feel vulnerable and unable to take care of themselves, insecurity kicks in this are when your dog starts to follow you everywhere suddenly. They feel secure and comfortable when they are next to you. The stress of old age needs to take care, discussion with the Vet is a suitable choice to be made.
“Dogs become insecure, in order to gain the confidence they tend to stick.”
3. Change in routine
Dogs are more routine conscious. Any change in their routine like a change in the time for a dog walk or change in their food schedule, they could easily sense it. For example, Any new member added to the family, they feel insecure for a while. This may lead to clinginess too. Even If one of the family members is away from home for a few days, this will not go well with your dog. He keeps waiting for the person to come and also sticks to you always to let you know, the person is yet to come or missing from home. Most of the subtle changes can have a very noticeable effect on dogs.
Recently my office schedule got changed. I had to work on the evening shift. usually, I was coming home at around 6 pm. But now I am returning back at 1 am. This change did not go well with my dog. He started to be with me always when I am at home. Where ever I go, he was following me to every room I go. Slowly I started to figure out what was the reason behind this strange behavior. So it’s important to look for the reasons behind their sudden clinginess and change the routine gradually but not suddenly. So that your dog will get used to the new routine.
4. seasonal clinginess
If you have a female dog or bitch which is unspayed then you go this problem of clinginess when she is in heat. You got to understand if she following you everywhere suddenly during this season. This clinginess is temporary and goes off after her heat cycle is ended. This behavior can be easily recognizable if you follow her changes during every heat cycle. My advice is If you are not planning on breeding from your dog, then its good to get her spayed.
Spaying solves a lot of health issues in female dogs. There is a minimal fee associated with spaying, usually before 5 months of their age is the right age for spaying. A surgical procedure to render a dog unable to produce litters of puppies. It is recommended to complete spaying before 5 months of age. If you have not taken that decision before, you can always consult your Vet about spaying. Spaying is always a healthier lifestyle choice if you are not planning for breeding.
5. Insecure
Insecurity for dogs leads to a lot of stress. The insecurity can come in various forms for your dogs. For example, you have introduced a new pet at home, which your dog does feel secure in the presence of a new pet. He will follow you everywhere unless you remove the new pet from home or introduce it to him in the right way. If you have a big family and one of the kids is bullying the dog constantly, he doesn’t feel secure. Even this behavior leads to clinginess.
Have you observed during the fourth of July or any occasional fireworks, dogs get too scared and they will be following you everywhere. There are many factors that affect the dog’s security. These factors need not be physical alone even mentally can be hurting for dogs. So close observation can solve this problem.
6. Fear and anxiety
Dogs are natural peaceful animals who love their owner and home so much that they just lie down there. Looking at their owner and thinking whats going on in your head. But sometimes the fear and anxiety kick in due to various reasons they become clingy. For example, there is a party at your place, where a lot of people are invited. When a lot of people visiting your place the dog’s anxiety level increases and also fear of strangers comes to their thoughts. This is more stressful for the dog to handle, so they will start to follow you wherever you go.
Sometimes finding out the root cause is very though. But whenever you feel your dog is clingy suddenly, then figure out what all changes took place around your dog. Try to understand what is worrying him, work on it to solve the stress in your dog. Dogs take time to get over changes, but its always good to introduce to him for various situations when he is young. A well-socialized dog will face minimal fear and anxiety around new people at home.
Most of the above reasons are easy for the owner to figure out why your dog is so clingy suddenly. You can take certain precautions for a few and certain advice from Vets for few. Basically, you got to keep your dog stress free and healthy.
