Blue heelers are social butterflies. They love being around people and are very active dogs. It’s extremely rare to find them calm.
Asides from being sociable they’re loyal and protective to a fault. Despite being rambunctious and all over the place, they’re also instinctive and always look out for their beloved parents, you.
But if we’re honest, sometimes their clingy nature can be bothersome. Even though you love them and enjoy having them around, sometimes you need space.
Unfortunately, they’re dogs and can’t stop themselves from expressing how they feel.
If you’re a dog parent and you’re wondering why your blue heeler follows you everywhere you go, even when you tell them to stop, you should read this article to the end.
7 Reasons Why Your Blue Heeler Follows You Everywhere
Blue heelers were initially bred to be work dogs on the farm. This is why sometimes a Blue heeler is called ‘Australian cow dog’ or ‘cow dog’. They’ve always had a company, and this makes it hard for them to be by themselves.
If you’re a parent to one and you can’t seem to understand why your baby keeps following you, here are 7 reasons:
They’re bonded to you
Blue heelers are very loyal dogs and when they love you, they can’t help it. This makes them clingy. They’ll always want to be around you, watching your every move.
They’re scared of you abandoning them
Believe it or not but their clingy nature also makes them scared that you might abandon them. When you move they’ll move because they’re not ready to take any chances.
Anxiety
Your dog might find it hard to adjust to new environments if they weren’t properly socialized.
If this is the case, you’ll notice that they’re generally shy and prefer to separate themselves from public settings.
It’s protecting you
Blue heelers were initially bred to work on the farm. They were responsible for carrying livestock from one point to another. To successfully achieve this task they had to be protective of the livestock.
Yes, you’re not livestock and your baby wasn’t raised on a farm.
We get it!
However, you need to understand that Blue heelers are naturally protective of things and people they care about. It isn’t that they don’t trust you to look after yourself but you mean a lot to them so they won’t risk not looking after you.
Lack of training
Blue heelers should be given obedience training as early as possible. Failure to do this will affect the general socialization of your dog.
Maybe it’s sick and wants you to know
When a dog becomes ill it tends to want to be around its owner. Your constant presence creates a safe space for it because it feels vulnerable being all by itself.
It could also be that it’s trying to get your attention: it needs you to know that it doesn’t feel well so you can do something.
It’s bored and wants to play with you
Blue heelers are very enthusiastic dogs that enjoy being active. When they have nothing to do and are bored they begin to follow you around because they want to play with you.
Now that you know why your dog can’t stop following you, let’s look at some things you can do today to stop it from following you.
3 Things You Can Do Today to Stop Your Blue Heeler from Always Following You
Here are some things you can do today to help reduce the rate at which your dog follows you around:
Regular exercising
Cow dogs are naturally free-spirited and energetic. They constantly need to discharge this energy they carry about.
Exercising is a good way to help them discharge this energy.
Their exercise doesn’t need to be strenuous: a simple walk around the block is sufficient.
Early socialization
Socialize your dog as early as possible to avoid it suffering from social anxiety as it matures.
If you fail to do this you’ll be stuck with your dog always following you because it can’t be alone.
Constant reassurance
Even when you’ve trained your dog properly and it has been socialized, your dog still needs reassurance. Remember, it’s a clingy dog by nature, it needs to always see you.
If you must leave its presence you must reassure it that you won’t abandon it and that you love it.
Conclusion
Blue heelers are naturally clingy but when trained early and properly, you don’t need to worry about them always following you.
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