Being a pet owner is about so much more than taking cute pictures with your dog or showing off how cute they are to friends. Owning a dog provides ample opportunity to develop a meaningful bond that can last a lifetime, and it’s also something that all dogs should be entitled to. Forming such a bond requires a little bit of work on the part of the owner, but investing this energy can yield some very worthwhile results for both you and your dog. In this article, we take a look at how you can build better bonds with your dig and provide a few good reasons why you should pay more attention to these bonds.
Paying attention pays off
Although taking your dog for a walk is a great way to initially build the bonds in a pet and owner relationship, pet owners can’t solely rely on this to help foster the relationship in the long term. Walking needs to be combined with things like playing (such as playing fetch with your dog every now and then) and taking them around as you do things (as letting your dog hang around you if you’re doing errands will afford you quality time when it is most convenient to you) to ensure bonds are steadily strengthened, and is also useful for keeping you both trim and pet insurance premiums down. One of the other things you can do to improve the bond with your pet is to pay them extra special attention with a pet massage. Just like humans, pets love massages, and there’s a good chance it’ll be obvious how much your pet is enjoying you giving them a lovely little rub! It’s not like you even have to go out of your way to give them a little massage – a little rub while you’re watching TV and they’re on your lap is all it takes.
More ways to strengthen bonds with your pet
Making your pet feel extra special is another good way to let them know you care, and perhaps the best way to do this in the case of digs is give them a little food treat every now and then. They’ll definitely appreciate it, and you can even make sure that it isn’t an unhealthy little piece of food – you can make use of things like meat, egg, or broth to ensure that your dog doesn’t get too big (despite still enjoying the treat). Although treats can be good every now and then, they should be for the most part used in conjunction with teaching – good attention means good behaviour, and reinforcing this with treats is a good way to steer your dog onto the right path.
Good bonds strengthen mental health
Developing bonds and encouraging companionship between you and your pet is about much more than simply improving their quality of life and encouraging them to be well-behaved. Developing meaningful connections with a pet can actually improve the mental health of the owner to a significant extent, which is particularly valuable for people who either suffer from mental health issues or for those that are simply lonelier than they’d like to be. Pets are similarly ideal for people who are chronically ill, as a loving pet is guaranteed to stay by their side if they’re treated well, which can help with coping with such illnesses immeasurably easier.
