If you have a blue heeler, chances are they spend all their time with you, and keep on following you. Often people ask the question: why does my blue heeler follow me everywhere?
This is because guarding and herding are some of their natural instincts and they are severely possessive of their family.
Blue heelers have a pack mentality and view their owner as the leader of the pack. They have a strong sense of loyalty and protectiveness over their owner.
Although it is nice to have a pet that has your back all the time, an over dependent pet can lead to irritation.
To solve this problem, you need to know the reason behind the behavior. Hence, below are the top 10 reasons why your blue heeler follows you everywhere.
Top 10 Reasons Your Blue Heeler Follows You Everywhere
If you have your blue heeler follow you everywhere, whether it is at home or outside, these are some of the reasons that can explain it.
1. Lack of Exercise
Blue heelers are highly energetic and need strenuous exercise daily to be satisfied. They need at least 1 to 2 hours of exercise daily.
Therefore, blue heelers may follow the owner everywhere when they have not gotten their daily physical exercise and want the owners to take them outside.
It is necessary that you take the need to exercise into consideration because it can make blue heelers suffer from mental and physical problems. It is one of the reasons why your blue heeler may follow you everywhere.
2. For Guarding
The blue heeler is quite protective of its owners, and in some cases, it may follow the owners everywhere in order to guard them and keep an eye out for danger.
Blue heelers are alert creatures who are obsessed with their owners, and they will do everything to keep their owners safe and out of harm.
3. Need for Attention
Blue heelers also like attention, and by following their owner around, they can indicate they want their attention. There are numerous reasons why they would want attention, such as for love, threats, sickness, food, etc.
In this way, they have the security that they can get your attention towards them whenever they need it, whether because of an illness or other issue.
4. Separation Anxiety
It is a common trait in many blue heelers to have separation anxiety, where they are afraid to be away from their owners. They tend to follow their owners around for comfort and to gain emotional support.
Many blue heelers do not want to be away from their owners because they believe their owners will leave them. With some training and encouragement, you can help your blue heeler overcome this anxiety.
5. Need to Keep Themselves Busy
Sometimes, blue heelers have a good deal of energy and nowhere to devote it. So, in order to keep themselves occupied and spend their energy, blue heelers follow their owners everywhere.
Blue heelers may view their owners as a form of an affectionate creature and someone who can keep them from boredom.
6. For Learning
Blue heelers are also pretty observant; they would follow you to learn something new from you or see that you need help with something and try to help you out.
Your pet may view you as a source for everything, therefore even to learn something new, their idea is to follow you around and learn from your experiences.
7. To Socialize
Blue heelers are also very socially active and love interacting with other people besides their owners. They may follow you around to interact with you in one way or the other.
It may also be because they want to interact with other dogs and animals. Hence, socialization for blue heelers is essential for them to be confident and learn independence.
8. To Get your Affection
Sometimes, blue heelers just want your love and affection and to communicate that they have no other way than following you around and leaning on you.
9. To Please You
Interestingly, your blue heeler may follow you everywhere to please you; to follow and obey every command and be loyal to you. If they have access to you at all times, it will help them to please and follow your instructions.
10. Protective Nature
Blue heelers are protective and loyal to their owners all the time. Protecting their owner from harm and keeping them safe is their top priority.
Being protective is one of their characteristic traits, and they follow you everywhere to protect you from danger.
How to Train Your Blue Heeler to be Independent?
Blue heelers may seem clingy or dependent on their owners when they constantly follow them. While it is nice to have a loyal and protective pet, it can also affect them in negative ways.
So, it is essential to train them to be independent.
Here are some ways to train your blue heeler to be more independent.
1. Train Them as Puppies
It is beneficial to inculcate independence in blue heelers as puppies. Train them with the help of a guide or professional.
Teach them about boundaries and practice other forms of exercises with them that can help overcome their separation anxiety, so they don’t feel like constantly following you around.
2. Carry Out Firm Behavior
It is necessary to behave with your blue heeler with kindness but be firm in your commands. You should not promote dependent behavior by not enforcing boundaries.
It can create confusion and lack of obedience from the blue heeler if you are not clear and firm about your wishes in their behavior. So, it is advisable to form and follow the rules in the growing years of a blue heeler.
3. Help Boost Their Confidence
One of the reasons why a blue heeler is overly dependent on their owner can be a lack of confidence. They want to accompany their owner everywhere as their owners are their source of comfort.
To solve this problem, you should practice in some exercises and activities with your blue heeler to boost their confidence. You can encourage your blue heeler to interact and mix up with other dogs.
4. Increase Their Independence
To make them less dependent, you can start by giving them some space and independence for a short while.
Start with half an hour and increase the period of time gradually, so that the dog can get accustomed to the owner’s absence and not panic or get stressed.
5. Follow Rules Consistently
It is one of the crucial points – you have to be consistent with the rules, training, and boundaries. It can help the blue heeler to be independent in a short time.
They can learn how to be independent and spend some time without their owners, without having intervals of confusion because of inconsistent rule-following or lack of rule enforcement.
6. Encourage Them to Socialize
Owners should encourage their blue heelers to socialize with other dogs and pets. Since they help with herd animals, you can also help them bond with livestock.
Blue heelers are also friendly with other people than their owners, so you can help them socialize and bond with other people to help them be independent and have confidence.
7. Exercise Them Regularly
Blue heelers can be more dependent on their owners if they do not have an outlet to use their energy. So, to help them with their excessive energy and dependent behavior, regular exercise is necessary.
You can look up various exercises and activities online for blue heelers to do, so they do not go through a lack of exercise.
8. Be Patient
While training your blue heeler, you should be patient and interact with them calmly.
Harsh tones or strict actions can make them more agitated and can cause them to be fearful of you. So, you should deal with the training patiently and handle them with love and affection.
Some blue heeler characteristics are to be protective and loyal to their owner at any cost, which is why they may seem clingy or dependent on their owner.
According to them, they are guarding you and protecting you from harmful situations. So, the answer to the question- why does my blue heeler follow me everywhere? It is not only because they are dependent but because of their natural traits.
FAQs
Why are Blue Heelers so clingy?
Blue heelers can get clingy due to a variety of reasons. The most prominent of them is separation anxiety, which many blue heelers are prone to. Other reasons include old age, sickness, stress, exercise, etc.
Do Blue Heelers pick a favorite person?
Yes, blue heelers are likely to choose a favorite person. They like interacting with other people, but their owner tends to be their favorite person. They follow their owner everywhere and are fiercely protective of them.
Why does your Blue Heeler sit on you?
Blue heelers like to sit on their owners or lean on them because they want their owners to show them love and affection. It can be in the form of head pats, belly rubs, treats, etc.
Why does your Blue Heeler follow you to the bathroom?
Blue heelers are known to be natural watchdogs, which means they have a natural guarding aptitude. They think by following you everywhere, even to the bathroom they are guarding you. Hence, blue heelers follow you to the bathroom.
Why does your dog follow you everywhere and stare at you?
For dogs, their owners are their source of everything. Hence they follow them either to learn something, get some affection, or help them any chance they get.
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