Why your dog stares at you when he poops plus 7 other odd pet behaviors explained?

Answer 1

This is normal dog behaviour.
Many humans believe that when a dog is staring at you while he or she does its business, they are asking you for some privacy or because he or she is embarrassed. This actually is not the case at all.

While animals are defecating, they are in a vulnerable state. They have to posture themselves in a way that doesn't give them enough time to react to dangers around them, to either defend themselves or flee. Your dog's natural instincts are telling him or her that s/he is defenceless while s/he is doing their business.

Humans in the domesticated dog's family are considered part of their "pack". In the wild, packs of dogs rely on each other for protection. Wild canines, whether fogs, foxes, wolves and so on, have been observed doing the exact same thing to other canines in their packs, staring at them while defecating, just as domesticated dogs do.
The reason why pet dogs stare at other members of their pack, whether it be humans or other dogs, when they are defecating is because they are observing your body language for a signal that something is wrong or a threat is approaching. Another reason they do this is to alert you to the fact that he or she is temporarily defenceless, so you can rush in to aid him or her should the need arise.

Similarly, some humans report that their dogs often follow them to the bathroom and watch while they, the human, do their own business. Again, this is for the same reason. Your dog's natural instincts is telling them to watch over their human pack members while they too are in a vulnerable state, during toilet time. Like "hey, I got your back, go ahead and do your thing".

So the reason a dog stares at his or her human pack members while defecating is because it is a natural survival mechanism in all canines (and most other mammals), for defensive purposes.