.: How To Build "The Bond" With Your Dog
By:Adam G. Katz
Category:Home / Pets and Animals
Building the bond with your dog is really quite easy. If you recognize that you have a relationship with your dog, then building the bond comes down to nothing more than increasing the strength of that relationship.
And as with any relationship, building a bond requires:
1.) Spending quality time together.
2.) Getting out in the world and experiencing life together.
3.) Establishing and promoting a level of mutual respect.
4.) Developing a way of communicating so that both individuals understand the other's needs. (Hmmm... maybe I should be writing self-help books for humans???)
Let's take a look at each of these key points to see how they can have a positive affect on your daily dog training:
1.) Spending quality time together.
Spending quality time together does not mean sharing a beer with Fido while the two of you lay in front of the television. Well, okay... maybe it does.
But more importantly, it means committing to a series of rituals and behaviors that you and your dog can look forward to.
For example, I often throw Forbes (the Pit Bull) in the back of the truck when I wake up in the morning and we go for a drive down to the local McDonald's Drive-thru. For most of the drive, Forbes is either still wiping the sleep out of his eyes, or he's doing the guard dog routine if someone walks up to the back of the truck.
But the highlight of this morning ritual begins when we get home. It's Forbes' job to hop out of the back of the truck and take the empty McDonald's brown paper bag in his mouth, walk down the drive way, around the gate, into the back yard, and then over to the trash can... where he drops the bag.
Sure, it's a stupid pet trick. But see how disappointed the dog is when *I* insist on carrying the bag to the trash can!
From the dog's point of view, it's the 30 or 40 little things throughout the day (that he can help me with) that make his life worth living. And for the dog, this is spending quality. It all boils down to being an active participant in each other's lives.
2.) Getting out in the world and experiencing life together:
It had been years since Bud and Janice's kids had grown and left the house for college and later, corporate jobs. Bud had wanted a dog for several months and Janice finally gave in.
They decided to adopt a beautiful 5 year-old Golden Retriever and proceeded to train "Mac," using many of the techniques I describe in my book, "Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!" (To learn more about this book, go to http://hop.clickbank.net/?1greatdog/agkatz).
Janice got scared when Bud came back from his first walk around the neighborhood with "Mac" and ran into the house yelling, "Janice! Janice! You won't believe what happened!!!"
"Oh my gawd," though Janice, thinking that perhaps "Mac" had bitten a child, or run away.
"What happened?" Janice questioned her husband.
"You won't believe it, Janice," said Bud, "I took 'Mac' for a walk... AND PEOPLE ACTUALLY CAME UP AND TALKED TO ME!!!"
Imagine that! Here's a guy who had lived in the same neighborhood for eight years and didn't know any of his neighbors until he got a dog and started taking it for walks. Dogs are a wonderful excuse to get you out of the house and interacting with the world around you.
It's also one of the many reasons that handicapped people like owning service dogs... because it makes it easier for other people to come up and start a conversation.
And do you think that "Mac" minded all of the attention? Absolutely not.
As a matter of fact, I think that my dog Forbes is happiest when we're out in the world, meeting new people and experiencing new things together. Two best friends, out on the town.
You should see the look on Forbes' face when two or three beautiful women walk up and start rubbing his belly.
Even better... you should see the look on my face!
3.) Establishing and promoting a level of mutual respect.
Just like with any relationship, there must be mutual trust and respect.
Trust comes with time, and proving to your dog that you will keep him safe and happy.
Respect, just like with human relationships, comes from establishing boundaries and treating any breach of those boundaries with firmness and fairness. Without enforceable boundaries, there is no respect. And when there is no respect, your relationship with your dog will be out of balance. And trust me, when your relationship with your dog is out of balance... nobody's having fun.
4.) Developing a way of communicating so that both individuals understand the other's needs.
Developing a way of communicating gets back to laying a proper foundation with your dog training. And this relates specifically to making your praise and your corrections motivational.
Once your dog understands clearly when he's doing something RIGHT... and when he's doing something WRONG... a magical thing starts to happen. You find that you are actually COMMUNICATING!!!
And being able to communicate with your dog is what allows you to go anywhere and do anything with your dog and know that he'll listen to you.
There are four primary ways that dogs communicate with us, and with each other:
1.) Body language.
2.) Vocal tonation and voice inflection.
3.) Touch.
4.) Scent.
All of my dog training techniques try to incorporate as many of these elements as possible. In sum, you can think of dog training as a word that can be easily substituted for the word, "communication."
Do you want to be able to take your dog anywhere, and KNOW that he'll listen to you... even if tempted by another dog, a cat, or even a piece of food??? Then check out: "Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer: An Insider's Guide To The Most Jealously Guarded Dog Training Secrets In History!" By Adam G. Katz, Owner of South Bay K-9 Academy. For more information, go to:
http://tinyurl.com/4efaq
About the Author
Author, “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!“ which you can read more about at:
http://tinyurl.com/4efaq
Article Source: http://www.articles32.com
.: New Pets and Animals Articles
1). A First Aid Kit For Your Dog
In a time when "always be prepared" is a mantra repeated by everyone, pet owners would do well to take up that mantra as well.
2). Choosing an Obedience Training Class for Your Puppy or Dog
If you have decided to enroll your four-legged friend in an obedience training class, there are a few tips to keep in mind to make sure that your choice is the right one. Choosing a dog trainer requires much more than simply selecting a name at random from the phone book and, when it comes to your pet, nothing but the best will do.
3). The Truth Behind Creepy Guinea Pigs
Guinea pigs are one of the cutest animals on the face of the earth, they are plump little fur-balls that love to play and squeak. However some people say that they have creepy guinea pigs!
4). Tips and Tricks Caring for Adult Size Ferrets
Through the lifecycle of ferrets, they are born quite small, and grow quite quickly until they are fully grown adult size ferrets. When they are at this size they are almost the length of two male hands, and they are quite long and slender with short limbs, which makes them quite humorous to look at.
5). Learn Everything There Is To Know About Parrots Sounds
Nowadays parrots have become very desired and popular pets for bird-fanciers. Of course, one the reasons is the bright colors of the birds plumage. But another and the most important motive is parrots ability to reproduce human speech.
6). Some Reasons To Get Yourself A Pug Mix Breed
Pug mix is a cross between a Pug and another breed. Nowadays a term designer dog is wildly used to name hybrid dogs that have been selectively bred.
7). Dog Beds - Are They Fun Or Functional?
Is a dog bed really necessary or just another toy? Find out the answer and how to select the right dog bed for your dog in this article
.: Top Pets and Animals Articles
1). Winter Dog Agility Training
Yes, its cold outside, but don't stop your dog's agility training. Depending on where you live, there might be snow on the ground from November through March, but thats no reason to give up your agility training. Bring your training indoors, right at your own home.
Get creative with your training locations. Do you have a hallway, basement, or garage? Then you have a place to train! Before it snows and your equipment is frozen to the ground, store some in your garage, shed, basement, or put a tarp over it.
2). Stop Dogs Eating Dog Poop (Coprophagia)
Dogs eating poop is a disgusting and nonsensical habit from our human point of view. Find out why your dog does it, and how to put a stop to it.
3). Dogs That Refuse to Eat - What Causes This and How Can it Be Resolved?
When a pet dog refuses to eat, the problem is either physical or psychological. When a pet dog refuses to eat, his owner pleads with him and tries to tempt him with food fed by hand. If the dog is sufficiently neglected and bored he may try this to get attention. An intelligent owner will counter this common canine play by giving his dog companionship by playing with him and taking him for a daily walk.
4). The Mixed Breeds – More than Mutts
Many of the world’s best pets, most loved companions and smartest dogs are mixed breeds, or "Muts". But think about it, all of today’s most popular breeds were at one time unrecognized. Today’s mixed breeds may very well appear in tomorrow’s dog shows.
5). Stages of Whelphing a Litter of Puppies
Your dog being pregnant can be a nerve racking time for owners who have not had the experience before. Just like with human babies the first is the most challenging and if you intend on doing this often – don't worry it gets easier with practice.
Follow some of these tips for making the birthing process as easy as you can for your dog.
Labor
Generally dogs give birth after about 63 days of pregnancy.
6). The Oranda Goldfish
Learn about this beautiful gold fish that has been fancied for centuries.
7). How To Stop A Dog From Chewing
Most normal dogs will bite and chew. While you cannot completely erase this behavior, you can regulate it and influence the dog’s behavior.