If you are reading this article it’s a safe bet that you love your dog. You’re reading a dog publication in your free time! That shows a pretty high level of interest and dedication. Clearly your dog matters to you. But are you showing your furry friend affection and reverence in the best possible way? As a dog trainer I often see people barking up the wrong tree, so to speak, when they think they’re showing their dogs just how much they care.
You don’t need to use treats or hugs to show your dog love. Let’s face it, treats are generally swallowed in seconds flat and forgotten in no time. Plus so many people equate love with feeding that there are quite a few pudgy pooches waddling about. As for hugs, some dogs do love physical affection from us and others learn to tolerate it, but full frontal, face-to-face contact, pressing chests together, and grabbing into a hug are human-centric displays of endearment that many dogs don’t appreciate or understand.
Here are a few suggestions for showing your love that your dog will definitely “get.”
Give Your Dog the Gift of Sniff
Dogs have absolutely amazing noses. Smelling is the primary sense they use to learn about and navigate their environment. Dogs smell the world the way we see it. Yet we humans are always thwarting their efforts to sniff and gather information. Whether it’s telling them to get their nose out of “there” (insert the offensive place of your choice here: a trash can, grocery bag, the bum of another dog) or rushing them along on a walk when they stop to check their “pee mail,” we tend to be pretty impatient and even downright dismissive about our dogs’ need to take in the world around them with their noses. If you want to make your dog happy, allow him time to stop and smell the roses, or whatever scent has captured his attention.
Play Games!
I’m not talking about just throwing the ball here. A good game of fetch is a fabulous way to exercise your dog, but it’s not as interactive or engaging as playing a good game of chase. Chase with rules for safety can actually enhance your voice control and your dog’s impulse control. For example, have your dog chase you, or practice emergency sits throughout your chase game and reward profusely for her being “caught.” This way you won’t inadvertently teach her to run away from you or play keep away. You can also throw the ball and run after it yourself, making it a race to see who gets their first.
Play hide and seek or tug o’war. Or just be silly and roll around on the ground. Play bowing down to your dog! Not every game has to have an end goal. Play just for the sake of enjoying each other’s company. Carefree silly time is truly a love-fest.
Never Just Say “No”
“No” is not helpful. Telling your dog “No” when you don’t like what she’s doing simply leaves a void that will be filled by some other behavior. And, because dogs are dogs, the new behavior may well be just as undesirable to you as the original one. If you want your dog to do your bidding you must provide a framework by teaching her your expectations. It is much more efficient and clear to teach your dog how you’d like her to behave than to merely quash her every move with “No” only to let her guess over and over again what the heck it is you’d like her to do.
Set Your Dog Free!
One of the best and simplest ways to improve your communication with your dog and enhance reliability of obedience commands is to teach a simple release word and consistently use it.
For most dogs, the way most humans teach body position cues is as a simple action. “Down” is the action of lying down. Most of us also mean we’d like our dogs to stay down, but we’ve never bothered to teach them to stay down until either released or given another signal. So our dogs randomly get up and then we are upset – some of the time. Other times we are not paying attention and there are no consequences for getting up.
How are our dogs to know when it’s cool to get up and move freely about again? Our inconsistency leaves them in a constant guessing game where the rules are often changing. That has got to be pretty stressful and actually sets them up for failure.
One of the kindest thing you can do for your dog is provide clear and consistent cues via training, starting with the rule that each position or action you’ve requested is to be continued until he is released or given a new cue. Then it is your job to follow through and make good on your promise. Do this for a month and see just how much easier life with dog gets.
Apply these various suggestions and, I promise, you’ll love your four-legged friend even more!
Kelly Gorman Dunbar is Director of the Center for Applied Animal Behavior, where she recruits and trains the instructors for the Dunbar family business, SIRIUS® Puppy & Dog Training. She is the creator of the SIRIUS Sniffers scent-detection program, and is in the process of bringing the French sport of cavage (truffle hunting) to the US. Kelly is also Founder and President of Open Paw and consults on various matters.
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