The love between you and your dog comes naturally. When you feed your dog and spend some time with him, he will automatically start loving you; pups observe everything you do with them from day one. However, the relationship between you and your pup goes beyond food and playtime. There are many things you should do to strengthen the bond between you.
Unfortunately, many dog-parents neglect this point believing that they are creating a strong bond already by treating their pup with love, but that’s not enough. To avoid this mistake, you have to know how to take this love to the next level and create an unbreakable bond. Here are the best ways to bond with your dog.
Building Trust
The first thing you should do to create a strong bond is to make your pup trust you. Not many people realize that there’s a huge difference between trust and obedience. Just because your pup obeys your order when you tell him to sit or stay, doesn’t mean that he trusts you. Building trust depends on the way you train your dog. You will have to use positive training techniques that build trust and respect between the two of you. Using fear-based techniques can harm your bond, and make it difficult for your dog to trust you.
Playing Outdoors
Many people confuse playing time with training and walking time, which affects both the owner and the dog. Walking your dog outdoors for 20 minutes every day is not enough to enhance the bond between both of you; you have to invest more time with him. Take your dog once or twice a week outside to play in the sun. You can take him to any dog park so he can play with you and other dogs. Playing outdoors improves your dog’s overall health and makes him more social with people and other pets.
Exploring the City Together
Living in a big city, such as New York, can make it a bit challenging to bond with your dog by exploring new places, which forces you to leave them at home.
However, if you want to walk around with your pup but you’re not sure which transportations allow dogs and which don’t, then you should start doing some research. In this guide to getting around with your dog in NYC, dog owners explain that even in an urban city, you don’t have to leave your furry friend home alone all the time.
You’ll also find that there are many ways to take your dog from one place to another using public transportation, so you can move around and enjoy the city together. Exploring new places together will strengthen your bond, and will encourage your dog to associate good behavior with rewarding activities.
Regular Grooming
If you’re having a hard time grooming your pup, you’re not alone. Many dogs and parents don’t like grooming time. However, if you start training your dog that grooming is a good thing by giving him treats and praising him, it could be considered as spending quality time together.
Learning Tricks
As a dog parent, you have to go beyond the basic household manners, such as sit and stay and train them to do more tricks. Dogs love to show off how smart they are and to get praised That’s why you should continue teaching them new tricks without any pressure so you both have a good time as a team.
Start Praising
The best technique to use in training your pup is praise. Most probably, you praised him hundreds of times when you first brought him, but that’s not enough. Regardless of what age your dog is, you have to keep encouraging good behavior. Dogs love to be praised and it encourages them to behave the way you have trained them.
You should praise your dog every time he does something good, and not only while you’re training him. You don’t have to praise him for hours, a simple “good dog” or “who’s a good boy” could suffice to make him feel happy and strengthen the bond you have.
Noting Their Likes and Dislikes
Just like us, dogs have likes and dislikes. Some dogs don’t like hugs and it makes them stressed, others don’t like head pats. Try to figure out what your dog likes to avoid doing the things that don’t make him comfortable.
To understand your dog, you have to read the signs. Start by petting a part of his body and see how he’ll react; if he leans in then he probably enjoys it; if he moves away, then he doesn’t like it. Observing the body language of your furry friends will allow you to understand them better. Your dog will notice, as well, that you stopped to check whether it’s okay or not to pat that part, which will make him trust you more.
Training Together
Recent studies found that one of the best ways to strengthen the bond between you and your dog is to learn new things together. For example, you can train together and enter competitions, such as dog obedience events. When both of you learn new skills, it will enhance your relationship and your dog will know how much you love him.
Preparing Meals
Dogs love to eat anything we’re eating, but sadly some food is dangerous for them. That’s why we stick to feeding them dry food. However, preparing a healthy and tasty meal every now and then for your dog will show him how much you care.
Having a strong bond with your furry buddy is essential for every dog and his owner. Unfortunately, many people think that basic stuff, such as feeding him or walking together, is enough to strengthen the bond between them. However, every dog needs more than that to build trust and an unbreakable bond between him and his owner.
Most importantly, remember to communicate with and understand your pup, so you can avoid the things that bother him and continue doing what he loves. Try avoiding anything that stresses your dog as this could weaken the relationship you have.
