Dog standing behind and causing falls

[Anonymous]

I’ve seen 3 times in the last week where my mom’s dog almost causes her to fall over backward because he stands right behind her and she doesn’t see him. I don’t know what to do. She’s fully alert and everything he’s just constantly trying to stand around/ behind her.

[Anonymous]

I always look before i move

[Anonymous]

You're right to take this seriously, this is how my grandmother broke her hip, but if your mom is like my grandma she's very attached to her dog and won't hear anything against him. Need to brainstorm some solutions, maybe speaking to a dog trainer?

[Anonymous]

Is this an old dog, or a younger dog? If it's a younger dog, you can probably teach the dog "heel" and to come stand/sit next to her rather than behind her, or "place" which is to go sit in a specific spot (usually a mat). But it's going to take a change in the dog's behavior and your mom's behavior as she'll need to remember to issue the command if the dog is out of eyesight.

[Anonymous]

That’s what the service dogs do when they’re trying to break a fall from a seizure, other medical issue. Sounds like he’s trying to be close to her for a reason.

[Anonymous]

I get it, as my little dog does this and I’ll probably be 70 when she goes and I could totally see myself breaking a leg tripping over her.

For me it’s the worst in the kitchen where he’s hoping to find a dropped bit of food and I’m trying to cook dinner. Is there any area where it’s the biggest concern for your mom? There may be opportunities for training to dog to stay out of her way.

[Anonymous]

If it’s an older dog, my guess is that it senses that she’s unsteady and is trying to help.

[Anonymous]

This is a very common behavior in dogs, no matter the age of the dog or their human's age or condition. Many dogs are what they call 'Velcro' - stick to their owners like they are actually attached. Certain breeds are more disposed to it - herding breeds and others that work closely with their human.

The issue isn't the dog, because this would be a very difficult behavior to break especially in an older dog. The issue is that mom is forgetting to look for the dog when she navigates the house. Are there other signs of cognitive decline?

[Anonymous]

This happens with cats too.

[Anonymous]

Op here, the dog is a Wheaton which I think is herding dog. It looks a lot like a sheep. It usually happens in the kitchen when he’s looking for food. I was thinking we could put a bell on him. Some jingling noise so it’s obvious where he is.

[Anonymous]

I was going to suggest a bell.
If it’s a particular area, like only in the kitchen while she’s prepping food, you could probably train him to stand in a particular place while she’s prepping food preps food. When I chop food my dogs always stands just to the right of me, as he knows that’s where I feed him the scraps. Basically have a place for him to sit where you feed him the cheese tax.
If he’s not begging then I agree with PP that he may be sending she’s unstable. My dog growing up trained himself to be a hearing aide dog when my grandmother lost her hearing — he would let her know if the phone was ringing or someone was at the door. So dogs do notice changes in the elderly and will try to figure out a way to help in their dog way. Do you think she needs a walker? Or maybe just something to stabilize her in the kitchen?

[Anonymous]

No she doesn’t need a walker. She’s very active outdoors etc. I’ve actually tripped on the dog a few times myself. He gets right next to you and stands there, looking for food I guess.

[Anonymous]

A bell and also teach him to go to “place” in the kitchen. And teach your mother to tell him to go to place when they are in the kitchen together and stress to your mother 1,000,000% that she needs to always be aware of where the dog is before she moves. I know someone who broke her collarbone because the dog tripped her.

[Anonymous]

Put a bell on the dog. Mine sneaks up on us and surprises me. She's always near one of us so we know to look.

[Anonymous]

This is how I ended up with my rescue dog — her first owner was an older woman and she tripped over her a couple of times (the owner had osteoporosis and was afraid she would break a bone). To be fair, my dog is a little nuts and not suited to an older person (but she’s been a great addition to our family). I sincerely hope you can find a good solution (maybe an x-pen for times when the dog might be a hazard?), but if worse comes to worse, reach out to the breed-specific rescue group — they deal with this all of the time.