What Loving Your Dog ACTUALLY Looks Like
When you think about what it means to love your dog, what first comes to mind? Most people might say something like giving your dog lots of affection and attention, cuddles and kisses, or spoiling them with treats and toys. Although about 69 million homes in the U.S. have a pet dog, most of them love their dog incorrectly.
As trainers, one of the most common mistakes we see people make is treating their dogs like babies. Yes, our dogs are absolutely a part of the family. After all, they are nicknamed “man’s best friend” for a reason. However, coddling your dog is doing more harm than good. We must remember that dog psychology is not the same as human psychology. We often treat our dogs the way that we want to be treated - spoiled with gifts, given lots of physical affection, and bombarded with hugs and smooches. Some of these things are okay, but they shouldn’t be the only thing we do with our dogs.
Another mistake people must realize is that how they love their dog only feels good to the owner and not the dog. If you like to give your dog hugs and kisses, look at their body language. Dogs will often tolerate this behavior from us but usually show signs of discomfort, such as turning their head away, whale eye, and licking their lips. Humans crave physical affection, but dogs don’t benefit from it. If you want to strengthen your bond with your dog, choose activities such as walking with them, doing active training sessions, and structured play.
To love our dogs properly, we have to lead and guide them. Dogs thrive on structure and direction. Before Trainer Mirabel got into the dog industry, she struggled with her own reactive and fearful dog. Not knowing any better, she treated her dog how she felt comforted whenever he became anxious or nervous. Mirabel coddled and comforted him during his moments of fear and made adjustments to avoid the triggers instead of helping him work through them. Once she incorporated structure and guidance for her dog, she noticed a huge difference. He was no longer a reactive or fearful dog!
Loving your dog is not about buying toys and cuddling on the couch. You can do those things, but dog ownership should be much more. Our dogs have an abundance of potential that so many people allow to go to waste. Remember that dogs, initially, were bred for all kinds of work, helping on farms, hunting, retrieving, hauling heavy loads, and so much more. Even for pet dogs, it’s important to challenge them and keep them stimulated.
Truly loving your dog looks like providing them with enrichment activities using puzzle toys and snuffle mats, teaching them new commands and skills regularly, maintaining current skills by practicing them often, giving structure every day such as place time and respecting thresholds, challenging them by taking them to new places and working through distractions, having them work through their fears instead of coddling them, and keeping them accountable by addressing unwanted behaviors. Truly loving your dog is more about direction and less about affection. How are you loving your dog today, and what can you do to love them better?
