BUILDING THE BOND WITH YOUR DOG

By Melanie Benware
A well known dog trainer once said to me “You get a dog because you want a best friend, you call a dog trainer because you don’t want your best friend to be a jerk!!” Although the quote is very funny, it is also very true. People hire trainers for all sorts of reasons…simple basic obedience, chewing, barking, jumping… just to name a few. Training can fix a lot of problems but more importantly, it can build a better relationship between you and your dog.

Training is a way for you to communicate with your dog. You speak English, she speaks dog. Training is your translator. It helps the two of you understand how to live together in balance. Through training you can build a routine that helps your dog know how to succeed and please you.

One of the first things we teach in our training program is a nice loose leash walk. This is so important because walking your dog is a great bonding experience. In those quiet moments, when you are moving together as a pack, when you lose yourself in thought, when you and your dog are moving as one, those are the moments when bonding happens.

Whether you want your pup to greet guests politely, be your hiking partner, be a therapy dog, go to all the dog friendly places he can, or just be well behaved around the house, training is what builds the bond so that you and your dog can be successful in reaching those goals!