Why Does My Dog Follow Me to the Toilet?

You close the bathroom door. A nose appears underneath it. Privacy has officially been cancelled.

Dogs are social animals and many learn our routines incredibly well. Following you from room to room can simply be about company, curiosity and knowing that wherever the hooman goes, something might happen.

For plenty of dogs it's completely ordinary. But if a dog becomes very distressed whenever they can't follow you — pacing, vocalising, panicking or struggling to settle — that's different from simply being your furry bathroom supervisor.

The important bit is context. A shadow dog isn't automatically an anxious dog.

Although they remain deeply suspicious of why you'd ever want to pee alone.