Why Does Your Dog Sit Beside Your Door?

Image Credits: Pixabay

Your dog is always near the main house door. This behavior tells a lot about your dog and what it wants. Most owners do not mind as a dog sitting beside a door brings multiple benefits, foremost among them the security to your home. This behavior, however, may have numerous downsides.

Separation anxiety and hormones

Most dogs who always wait beside the door suffer from separation anxiety. The dog saw you last near that door, and thus it waits beside it. If the dog is extremely attached to you, the animal will follow you around the house. If it does not sees you, like if you are in the bathroom, it will stand outside the bathroom door, sometimes barking anxiously. A few dogs do not always sit by the door but hear keenly for their owners approach. In this case, waiting beside the door is mostly showing appreciation.

There could be another reason your dog always sits by the door- its hormones. This is seen particularly among young dogs of both sexes. If the dog gets the nature's call to mate, it will try to go out and do the needful with another canine. A few dogs are not hormonal but still gets the wild call heard by their non-domesticated ancestors. The dog may also be bored, and he understands the outside world provides a mental and physical stimulation compared to inside the home. It could also be the simple matter of relieving itself. This particularly happens if the dog in question has drunk or ate more than the usual.

Leadership dominance

Be wary if the dog sits in such a way across the door that it is hard for someone to pass. As per behavioral theorists, it is one method through which a dog establishes itself as a kind of leader. The dog, when it controls a passage, reigns over it. Remember that dogs walk through the door in some pecking order. The leader of the pack always passes through first. You may have to establish dominance over your dog if you see the canine always walking in front of you. If the dog blocks you, do not step over he animal. Instead, push it gently out of the way. If your dog insists on going through the door before you, leash it so that you go instead. The sight of your dog waiting beside the door may look cute, but it also brings to light the torture of separation anxiety in canines. The problem can turn for the worse if ignored. To solve this, give your dog a space of its own inside the house where it feels safe even without having you around.