Why Does My Jack Russell Follow Me Everywhere? The Truth

Why Does My Jack Russell Follow Me Everywhere? The Truth

If you have a dog as a pet, remember that you are not isolated in this world. Although you haven’t anyone to share your feelings with, your dog will always be near you.

Only he can’t convert its feelings to words. They can hear you, feel you and even communicate with you through its eyes, tail, paws, and every body part is ready to hear your feelings.

Jack Russell is at the top of such loyal and lovely pet dogs, and many Jack Russell owners question; why does my Jack Russell follow me everywhere because they have this experience. So, if you are also a Jack Russell owner, it is very important to consider this issue. 

Why does my Jack Russell follow me everywhere? Jack Russell is loyal to its owner. They always love to be with him. So, they follow you everywhere for many reasons like; positive reinforcement, separation anxiety, etc. Anyway, it will be a problem for both you and your Jack Russell when it always follows you everywhere. But, don’t worry about that because you can reduce it by; providing it with enough exercises, utilizing crates training, etc.

Accordingly, in this article, I have covered why Jack Russells follow you everywhere. What are the reasons for Jack Russell to follow you? Is it a problem when my Jack Russell follows me everywhere and finally I have provided some tips to stop your Jack Russell from following you everywhere.

Let’s get started!

Do Jack Russells follow their owners everywhere? 

Jack Russell is one of the best choices for you as a pet. It has originated as a hunting dog and is hyperactive and hyper-energetic. It is a small terrier where many people are attracted to the dog with its cuteness and qualities like; intelligence, loyalty, strength, etc. 

Many Jack Russell owners say that; my Jack Russell follows me everywhere. Is it possible? Yes, as a lovely terrier who likes to be always with its owner, it will follow you everywhere. It is a common characteristic that we can find among the Jack Russells. 

There are many reasons for him to follow you, like; positive reinforcement, separation anxiety, etc. But, always the reason is not the same. So, you should find the reasons for it to follow you everywhere to reduce that habit if it is a problem for you.

But, it is better if you can understand your pet. It loves to be with you always. As an example, if you sit somewhere, your dog may sit near you. And if you leave the dog and hide anywhere, for sure, it will find you quickly and start to follow you again. 

Yes, its habit of following you everywhere will indeed create problems for both of you, but do not stop it always; only try to reduce the habit to prevent it from creating problems for you two.

Do not forget to give enough attention to the dog. It is more important for Jack Russell than anything else. 

What are the reasons for Jack Russell to follow you everywhere?

You will feel a great loss with the death of your Jack Russell if you are also one person among the people who question; why does my Jack Russell follow me everywhere because you will feel that you are isolated even in front of thousands of people who do not give the feeling that your Jack Russell gives. 

Anyway, there are many reasons behind this habit of the Jack Russells. So, here, let’s discuss those reasons in more detail.

1. You will be an owner of an eager beaver Jack Russell

There are some Jack Russells who are eager beavers. They are lively, engaging with your routine from the moment you get up and until you go to bed due to their excitement about you.

You can see such dogs are following you everywhere, even inside the house. There is nothing more but only to say hi to you.

And, once they are finished, they return to their favorite place or their bed until it is time to go outside for the next time.

2. To seek attention

Jack Russell is a lovely terrier who always likes to have your attention. If it feels that you lost the attention of the dog even for a moment, they will do anything to have it back, like; barking, licking, digging, etc.

If you do not pay attention to the dog, even if it does anything like that, for sure, it will continue until you give him the attention that it needs. They intend to be present in front of your eyes. 

3. Separation anxiety

Not only have the Jack Russells, but many other dogs also have this separation anxiety. They always feel that if they are unable to be with their owner always, something wrong will take place.

So, they always try to be around you. And if you leave him in such a moment, sometimes it will become neurotic. So, the professionals recommend you isolate your dog even for about 2 hours per day to socialize it well.

4. Positive reinforcement

Your Jack Russell may always like to be with you, not because of any other thing; it will be only to smell you and to spend time with you.

They are well known that following you is the best way to have your love, attention, or a lovely rubbing treatment. So, if you provide it with positive reinforcement, it will follow you everywhere. 

Is it a problem when my Jack Russell follows me everywhere? 

Jack Russell will follow you everywhere for many reasons. But, sometimes, it will create problems for both you and your dog. Then you will suffer by thinking, why does my Jack Russell follow me everywhere? 

Jack Russell will benefit from following you as it can reduce his boredom, loneliness, have your attention, etc. But, remember that it is not a good idea to continue this habit.

It will create big problems even for its life. As an example, they will get in an accident when it follows you when you are shopping, especially if you didn’t notice its presence. 

And, Jack Russell is a hunting dog. So, its instinct drags it to come out with hunting qualities sometimes. As an example, they will chase after other animals like; rats, or they will struggle with other dogs.

Accordingly, if your Jack Russell follows you when you are outside and notices any of these signs that arouse its hunting qualities, it will create big problems. You will have to look after your dog instead of fulfilling your task there. 

And also, Jack Russell’s responses towards strangers have to be considered here because if your dog follows you everywhere, it will meet many strangers, and if Jack Russell negatively responds to them, you also will be in trouble. So, it is better to stop this habit as soon as possible. 

Tips to reduce the habit of following you everywhere by your Jack Russell 

Many Jack Russell owners’ complain that; why my Jack Russell follows me everywhere because; it creates many problems for them.

So, they are finding methods to reduce that habit of their dogs. Here, I will help you. You can do your task by following these methods.

1. Provide exercises for the Jack Russell

Jack Russell is a hyper-energetic terrier. So, it needs to spend more energy per day. If you provide enough exercises for the dog, it also will affect him to reduce following you everywhere.

There, it will be tired with the exercises and release its boredom. So, when it is tired, it needs to rest instead of following you everywhere, and on the other hand, with releasing its boredom, it does not want to find other means to release the boredom.

2. Let your dog be alone for sometime

This does not mean to neglect your pet or isolate him. It only says to leave the dog too busy with something else instead of letting it follow your every step.

As an example, you can provide it with some chewable toys which will be able to drag its attention to something else.

Then, it will adapt to entertain itself without spending time on following you always. 

3. Stop giving too much treats

This talks about a positive reinforcement that forces the dog to follow you around. That means; if you give treats to Jack Russell when it follows you, it will motivate the dog to follow more.

So, it is better to stop providing such treats for him when it follows you. It will reduce the following habits of your dog.

4. Utilizing crate training

This will help your Jack Russell to have a break from always staying with you. And it will practice being without you. Here, you may provide the dog with a crate.

It does not hurt your dog. You can give the crate to the dog at any time you leave the house or go to bed. The dog will prevent destructive behaviors and release boredom thanks to the crate. 

Conclusion – Why does my Jack Russell follow me everywhere?

We have discussed; why does my Jack Russell follow me everywhere with more details. I think this article will work out for all the Jack Russell owners as I have covered some important areas through this as; do Jack Russells follow you everywhere, what are the reasons for the Jack Russell to follow you, is it a problem when my Jack Russell follow me everywhere and finally I have provided some tips to stop your Jack Russell from following you everywhere.

Jack Russell is a cute, small terrier which many people love to raise as their pet. But, most of the Jack Russell owners have a common problem due to following their Jack Russell everywhere they go. There are many reasons behind this, like; positive reinforcement, separation anxiety, etc.

Anyway, this will create problems for both the owner and the dog. So, you should take steps to stop this habit as soon as possible. There, you can; provide enough exercises for Jack Russell, leaving it alone for some time per day, avoid providing it with treats always. So, by following those steps, you can stop your Jack Russell from following you and have a well-behaved pet. 

Thank you for reading this post. Stay tuned with Jack Russell Owner for more interesting posts about your favorite dog breed.

Cheers from Shaggy and Lenny!

Author

  • Dominic Parker

    Dominic P. is a dog behavioral researcher who graduated from the University of Surrey and holds BVMsi (Hons) in Veterinary Medicine and Science. He has been around dogs since childhood and has unconditional love for dogs. It makes him become a researcher instead of practicing as a veterinarian. Dominic enjoys his work and likes to share his findings with dog parents to give them a better understanding of dogs’ behaviors.

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