Making A Connection With Your Dog

Making A Connection With Your Dog -

Making a connection with your dog is the key to opening an intuitive and fluid form of training with your dog. It is also the way to having a true friendship with your dog.

Get down to your dogs level. At times you need to get down on the ground and not be standing over your dog. When you are standing over your dog, you are towering over it in a controlling and dominate way. Getting down on the ground brings you to a more caring and interested form.

Getting down on the ground is good for both you and your dog. It is good for you in a healthy way called grounding. Before you get down, you should clear your mind, put your hands over your head, take a deep breath in your nose and grind your feet back and forth into ground. This technique is called grounding. It is a great thing to do for animals when they are not paying attention to you. It changes their attention, behavior and personality almost immediately. Dogs, horses and other animal respond to this.

Now get down and dirty. Yes, you will get a little dirt on you. This is good, Ok and normal. You will be able to wipe it off. You can sit down or lay down. Your dog is going to get excited so be ready for some licking. Now get ready for a good session of petting and massaging. Petting your dog has two effects. One is the enjoyment and connection that your dog receives. The other bonus is that you are de-furring your pup. A lot of dogs shed and this a good time to get some of that fur off while outside. If your dog needs it, grab a brush. Massaging your dogs neck and hind quarters is another great connection you can make, as it has a very caring effect. All of this is really close to the grooming that dogs do to each other.

Another great position to get in with your dog is the deep squat. Once again, this is wonderful for both you and your dog. This is one of the most natural positions for humans to rest in. It is great for the two most important forms of working out, stretching and balance.

During this grounded time, you should be speaking to your dog kindly and with praise and love. Use a fun and sweet voice and tell your dog how proud you are of how well it listens. This is a special form of connecting with out all of the demands you are normally giving out to your dog.

This is also where your child like behaviors should be coming out. Be playful and funny. You need to drop typical expectations and accept more playfulness from your dog. This is all about making that connection.

Something else you can do to make a connection is to hold your dogs treat or bone while they are chewing on it. Dogs do not always get a good grip on what they are chewing on. So if you hold a dogs bone while it is trying to chew on it, it helps the dog out while also making a connection with you. It also shows the dog that you are not going to steal or take away its’ treats. Some dogs are very reactive to this. So read your dogs signs. Never let a dog react negatively to you when giving it treats or food. If you think the dog is going to be aggressive, then do this slowly. If it is a real problem, put a muzzle on until the dog understands that you are there for and with the dog.

I have come to find, in most situations, that if you are showing a dog from the beginning that certain behaviors will not work or are not accepted, that the dog will usually fall in line. Most of the time when aggressive behaviors arise, it is a testing of its’ boundaries and what it can get away with. If you show a dog the boundaries before it can attempt to try to establish them, it usually works out for the best.

Licking is a great form of making that connection also. People do not usually like their dog licking them, but they are missing out on a special way that their dog communicates in many ways. Licking is a natural behavior that is completely harmless. It is just one of the many frowned upon things that society has deemed negative about dogs. If you are feeding treats to your dog or preparing its’ food, this is great time to let your dog lick your hands. You can wash them after. The scent and taste is a thing your dog will love. This licking will then turn into grooming which is a special form of attention one can get from a dog. If you offer your hands for your dog to lick, you will get less licking of the face. As it needs to get out some of its’ natural instincts and behaviors or else it will start looking for other forms of natural behaviors to act out on.

For the dogs out there that are overly snippy or bitey, and have not gotten over this. Being down on a dogs level is a good time to use a muzzle. This is good because the dog is going to realize quickly that being overly snippy or bitey is holding them back from truly getting to enjoy you and your down time together. A muzzle will also give you great control of your dogs neagative but natural behavior that many dogs struggle with. I say this about dogs that are overly snippy and bitey. Because a dog snipping and biting without making marks is normal and natural behaviors. I also allow my dogs to snip and bite in playful manners. I hook my fingers and they play tug with their teeth. I allow my dogs to chew or bite on my hands and arms. We find an acceptable pressure and they respect it, always. So only use a muzzle if your dog is overly / excessively snippy and bitey.

This is a time to drop your ego and expectations. I find that one of the biggest problems with training and connecting with dogs is the human ego, expectations and judgements. We all hesitate to do normal things in life from being wary of judgements and expectations. Get over it. Drop societal expectations of looking or sounding weird to others. They do not matter. You and your dogs connection does matter. People that are judging are not happy with themselves. Do not be a part of this negativity. Do you and be happy.

Have fun with your dog and make that connection. Any form of play with your dog, be it tug of war with a rope or throwing a ball or frisbee, is a perfect way of making that connection and keeping it. You will see a huge improvement in how your dog listens and behaves. This makes things much easier and more fluid. Next is gaining attention.