Proper canine behavior and dog obedience requires a mutual bond through play and interaction.
I was up at a Veterinarian Hospital in Dahlonega last week talking to the Vet Techs about our Georgia Dog Training Company. As I was there, one of their clients overheard our conversation and saw that I was a Dog Trainer. He had a very interesting and important question. “With today’s crazy world and my increasing work schedule, I am finding that I have less and less time to play with my dog. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have fun with him, but there are times where I really don’t have time to be with him when I am on a big project. What can I do?”
We all know that “life happens” and all of a sudden you aren’t spending the time you really thought you would with your dog. Dogs are social animals and need companionship to maintain the bond between you and him that is so critical in your relationship and leadership position.
When you don’t give him the appropriate time needed to maintain your relationship, your dog will start to test you to see “what he can get away with”. To give you an example, you might have taught him that he shouldn’t jump on people. He will challenge you by taking a few “test jumps” to see what will happen. If you are distracted with your “work at home” or other “life happens moments”, you won’t react to his “breaking of your rules”. You have now shown your dog that he can start to do whatever he would like. You are not correcting him, so you have told him that rules are OK to break. In fact, there might be no rules anymore!
If you leave your dog alone at home or in his crate longer than normal, you are going to increase his need to play and to drain all that adrenaline. If you don’t have the time to be outside tossing the Frisbee or at a play date with another dog, he will have to find another way to release all his “crazy”. This normally means that he will be far more active in the house, demanding your attention. Since you have so many other things that you must do at that moment, you will normally put him in his crate or outside.
With no interaction or bonding, he will ramp up his actions to, “in his mind”, continue the bond you had previously created. He will start stealing things, showing you that he has them, and then run like a crazy dog around the house as you chase and scream at him. What this is doing is building up your dog’s canine perception that he better be the boss and take charge.
Spoiler alert! I am not painting a very rosy picture. If you simply ignore or minimize the play and bonding time between you and your dog during times you have so many other things to do, you are slowly creating an unruly and disrespectful dog. Let’s make sure that this doesn’t happen.
The answer is organization. You must be organized enough to take the minimal free time you have and use it wisely. Here are some simple steps:
- Write down your schedule for the upcoming week. I know that this will be difficult, but do the best you can. After you have done this, look for thirty to forty-five minutes of free time per day you have left when you are home. Block out this time, even if it is only five minutes and you can only come up with twenty minutes that day. That is now bonding time with your dog.
- Make a promise to yourself and your dog that you will not miss that bonding time. If you need to, play fetch while answering emails on your IPad.
- After each play time, make sure that your dog is still wandering around with you. You don’t have to engage him, just be with him. Do not simply put him back in the crate and say “Hasta la vista”.
As your dog’s care giver and leader, it is your responsibility to maintain a constant bond so that he will respect and obey you. When you break that bond and trust, you are minimizing your relationship with your dog. I always hear the comment “But I am so busy with so many other important things!” and I can’t afford that extra time. My response to you is to ask yourself if “so many other important things” is more important than your dog who gives you unconditional love, is always there for you, always wants to please, and always makes you feel great when you are down. I think you know the answer.
Please call us at (770) 718-7704 it you are in need of any dog training help. We have a lot of good dog training advice at Best Dog Trainers Dahlonega Georgia. Find all our phone numbers, text addresses and email contacts at Dog Training Help Center Dahlonega Georgia.
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