Bonding With Your Dog

Teaching your dog is one of the greatest ways to bond with them. As they learn more from you and you from them, it fosters a connection that cannot be rivaled. Other than the training aspect, there other great ways you can foster that connection. We all know that dogs love to play and prey on their toys. That’s why they have a tendency of dissection of their stuffed animals.

Something I’ve begun doing with Arlo, my own dog, to help build that stronger bond, is to use that prey and play drive in our training and just as well as getting down on his level with his favorite rope toys, stuffed animals, and spending quality time with him after play sessions.

While we play, I get down on my hands and knees and play tug, and a game that I named “Earn Your Keep.” The basis of the game is to start with the toy in my hand and give the “Yes” command. A that point I jostle the toy around until he gets ahold of it. I ensue the general game of tug but with a twist. We learn each others moves to “win” the toy. He pulls and I go with him. He opens his mouth to get a better grasp and either he gets the grasp or I pull it out or almost pull it out.

At first I would let him win more often so he can build his confidence but as we continue to grow as a team together, that bond gets stronger, and he gets smarter with his technique, I make the game a bit more challenging, adding in tugs from different directions.