A London pet owner has revealed the extreme steps his dog is willing to take in order to stop him from leaving the house without her.
Dogs definitely miss their human companions while they are gone. In a 2011 study published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science, researchers examined the impact time left home alone has on canine welfare.
A group of dogs with no prior history of separation anxiety spent three separate periods of 30 minutes, two hours and four hours at home on their own. Researchers then studied how they reacted to their owners’ return.
What they found was that the dogs exhibited more of what was termed “greeting behaviors” like tail wagging, lip licking and body shaking, and also initiated more physical contact with their owners, the longer they were separated.
These results suggested the animals were able to perceive time and were more greatly affected the longer they went without seeing their human.
Tim’s dog certainly appears attached to her human companion and it would appear that the pair share a very special bond.
In one video posted to Tim’s TikTok account, @_t1m24, he reflects on the journey they have been on together since he brought her home as a puppy.
“Seeing my dog grow from a puppy the first day I got her, has been one of the most heartwarming things,” he wrote alongside the clip posted online.
It’s a wonderful thing to bond with a pet like a dog, but it can also have its occasional drawbacks as Tim has been finding out.
In a video posted to his TikTok, he revealed how his dog’s desire to be with him at all times has made leaving the house difficult.
The clip shows Tim attempting to navigate his way out of the apartment only to find his dog standing in the doorway giving him all-too-familiar “puppy dog eyes” to try and guilt him into staying.
The caption on the footage reads: “POV Your dog blocks the exit every time you need to go out.” In the video, Tim can be heard pleading with his dog, telling her “I’m going.”
This only leads her to up the efforts to make him stay, approaching her human friend with the saddest of looks, evidently hoping to convince him to remain there with her.
Tim is not swayed though. “I need to go!” he explains while the dog continues to paw furiously at his pants. The standoff continues for several seconds with the dog switching between blocking the doorway and approaching Tim to paw at his pants and let out an occasional whine.
While it’s unclear quite how the situation was resolved, it’s hoped that Tim did something nice to placate his pet pup or, better yet, just decided to take his dog best friend along with him. He didn’t seem to mind all that much, writing: “My dog’s attachment issues are kinda cute.”
Whatever the case, there’s little doubt that dog owners everywhere can sympathize with this situation and while it might be a source of frustration for Tim, he should be thankful for the sweet bond he has built with his dog and could do worse than look at these tips for addressing separation anxiety in dogs.
Newsweek reached out to Tim for comment.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Tim wanted to go out. His dog had other ideas.
TikTok/@_t1m24
