Why Does My Dog Watch Me Poop?

By now it should be very obvious to you that your dog does not understand the general concept of privacy. Whether your bathroom is large or small, you find yourself not being able to ease yourself privately as your pet seems very intent in joining you and most at times stare intimately at you during these sessions.

So why is it that your dog wants to watch you when you poop? What is it about these moments in the doggy world that makes it so important for him or her to join you?

Dogs are pack animals and all pack animals look out for each other when necessary. For dogs, when they poop. It is a state in which they are vulnerable to physical attack and since they feel vulnerable in this state, they somehow apply the same logic to you when you poop. So, in essence, your dog is standing guard and protecting you while you poop.

To understand the situation better, let us delve into the mindset of your dog when he or she goes to poop.

Like I said earlier, dogs are pack animals. This is something inherited from their wolf ancestors. A form of primal instinct that their ancestors used to survive in the wild. This means that each wolf takes a turn in watching over each other from time to time. You can imagine it as running a work shift of some sort.

Coming back to modern times, your dog now stays with you and your family. This means that automatically your dog has a new pack. For clarification, this new pack is you and your family. It is worth noting that even in packs some members have more respect and authority than others, but that is another topic altogether.

Whenever a dog wants to poop, survival instincts let him or her understand that she is very vulnerable to any form of physical attack at this time. This automatically means that the responsibility of making sure nothing happens to him or her falls on you. Since your dog does not speak human. The best way it tries to communicate with you is to stare at you intently.

There is also the concern of you suddenly wanting to have a private moment. As pack animals generally don’t understand what having alone time is, they somewhat feel that you are in some sort of danger when you are locked away in the bathroom for some time without any form of explanation to them.

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There is also this wholesome attraction that dogs have for bathrooms and toilets. As humans when you make fantasies of having quality time. You don’t imagine yourself staying long hours taking a dump as the smell from this act would be disconcerting. But for your dog, the scent that comes from this place is for lack of a better word glorious to him or her. The mix of body odors and poop after smell makes it a place to relish and explore more for your dog. Just because of this fact, if your dog follows you to the bathroom, he or she may want to mark this place as their special territory.

To further understanding these, take into consideration your dog’s behavior whenever he or she is about to take a poop outside the house. These are some of the common behaviors you may notice itemized below.

1.Indecision

This is likely the first phase, your favorite dog is sniffing around rapidly and it looks like she can make a final decision on where to poop. Well, you shouldn’t fret much over this. What is happening here is that your dog does not just poop when the urge comes, but also needs to mark her territory from time to time. At that very moment, where she is going to poop is her territory and it is very important to choose the right spot.

You can liken it to when you are waiting at the bus stop with your possession, or when you are waiting for your flight. You will usually look for a place that you are best comfortable and dignified in. So yes, it is the same thing with your dog here. You may not accrue much importance to this activity but your dog accrues a very high level of importance to it.

If you find that your dog is undecided, you can help out by encouraging him or her that where they are about to embark on this activity is safe enough.

2.The spin.

Every ardent dog lover would have noticed that their favorite dogs like to spin around a lot of things. It seems at most times that it impossible for your dog to get dizzy and you might sometimes marvel at this but the answer to why they do this is very simple. They are just taking an all-round view of their newly acquired territory to make sure it’s safe. Most of the times, this is done out of instinct.

You can say that it is a form of habit that has been handed down through there genetics from generation to generation. This last-minute act helps the dog be more comfortable in the newly secured territory.

3.Starring

Your dog stares at you during there pooping sessions for two main reasons:

i.) They are waiting for your confirmation that they can start pooping.
ii.) When they start pooping they watch your eyes and body movement to be sure that the environment is safe for them to continue.

It’s straightforward enough right!! Makes you wonder what would have made you miss this fact all this while. Well, you are not alone. You don’t speak dog language and your dog doesn’t speak the human language so our means of communication are limited here.

As a member of there pack, you have a responsibility to guard her environment. Especially when they are pooping. So when your four-legged friend follows you into the bathroom. Don’t feel embarrassed. They are simply returning the favor.

4.Scooting

Your dog might decide to start scooting when he starts to enjoy his session. There are usually three main reasons for this:

i) There seems to be an interesting smell down there, your dog is thinking. Why don’t I check it out?
ii) She is trying to concentrate and the moving motion helps to expedite the pooping process
iii) Her session is finished and she is just cleaning her ass(Oh yeah!! We can be “clean conscious too)

Minor scooting is not a thing for major concern, but if you notice that it is too frequent, then please book an appointment with your vet doctor. But in the scheme of things, a minor scooting means that your dog is into the process and is enjoying herself (Oh yeah!! This feels good).

5.The kick

After her session, you may notice that your pet love to try and cover up her poop. This is usually done by using her hind legs to kick up a lump of soil or grass close to the poop. Funny enough in most instances, they end up making a mess of the whole place. But why go the extra length to make a mess of what is already messy.

Well, in the doggy world. What he or she is trying to do is actually trying to clean up the mess they have created. (They always seem to make it worse).

Secondly, the act of kicking up the sand or grass helps your dog to express the glands in your pet’s feet. Just liken it to people that like to make cracking sounds with there fingers from time to time. It can actually be a form of relief so don’t sweat your dog. But if you don’t like it, a little obedience training session can easily handle that.

6.The hide

I purposely left this for last. You need to know that it’s not all dogs that would want someone watching their back while they poop. In fact, this act is soo important to these dogs, that they can’t trust any person in their pack to handle their safety details.

They would rather go off on there own do their recognisance and take care of themselves before coming back to you. Of course, if your dog is like this, then following you to the bathroom would also be very important to him or her. You can liken it to the individual that wants to handle all aspects of an activity and doesn’t believe that another person can do a better job than him or her.

At the end of it all. You need to understand that your dog does all these things from a place of love. No two dogs are ever alike. Just like every human being has their own preference, your dog has her preference too. It is up to you to understand and assist her in the best way possible.

As a last note, there is a habit that I did not add to the list because I believe that not all dog habits are good and some need to be dealt with properly and not encouraged in any form. This habit is dog eating their own poop. The medical term for this is called Coprophagia. If your dog is engaged in this activity. It is a key sign of poor nutrition for your dog. It also indicates that your dog might be suffering from a parasitic infection or an enzyme and pancreatic deficiency.

A quick visit to your vet doctor would be very necessary at this stage. You would likely discuss things like switching diet for your dog and prescriptions to handle the infection.