Isn't it annoying when your pooch follows you everywhere around the house. Is it a problem with your dog or you? Actually, this is a problem behavior we as owners often unintentionally create. We constantly show our dogs attention way too much and they like it. It feels good to them. For young dogs it can be a feeling of security. For excited ones, it becomes a reinforcer for more attention. Dogs learn to yearn for it. The result is a pup who really has no choice but to follow you around trying to make eye contact or constantly pushing up under our arm with its' muzzle. When dogs are outside with their owner they tend to drift farther and arent right next to us because they get distracted by a more interesting stimulus. Sights, sounds and smells draw their attention from us. But back inside they revert back to following us around because they are less stimulated with sight, sound and smell because they are the same and usual. Most importantly, the constant "fawning over" our dogs that we do (including conversation) draws them right back to their person- YOU. Yes, we as owners are hopefully their leaders, but effective leadership incorporates attention at times. This means we request their attention when we want or need them to do something, but we must also pay no attention in order to help our dogs learn to feel secure and confident with themselves, in our world.