5 Small But Impactful Ways to Spend Time With Your Dog

It’s important to understand your dog and how they communicate their needs and wants. Even if you get your dog from a shelter, you should still get to know them and learn about their personality and behaviors so that you can provide them with the best care possible. If you want to be able to see eye-to-eye with your dog, here are 5 small but impactful ways to spend time with your dog that will help you gain better understanding of their needs and personality.

1. Train Them Every Day

The best way to spend time with your dog and help them grow is to train them. Teach them some dog training techniques to help them behave better in the household. It will help your dog be more patient and understanding with you.

Not only that, but you get to spend time with them as well. In the process, both of you will be happy and content.

2. Make Feeding Time Special

Feeding your dog is the ultimate test of trust. When it gets busy, most dog owners simply leave their pups some food in a bowl before they leave for work. But when you take the time to sit down with your dog and eat with them, it will make your dog feel loved and happy.

Feeding can be a form of training as well. Teach your dog the gestures to feed, and soon enough they will catch on to it. Feed them a snack as a reward for their patience. 

When feeding your dog, it’s important to choose meals that are healthy and nutritious. This will help your dog grow stronger as well.

3. Allot Time to Play with Them

Take some time out of your busy schedule to play with your dogs. Dogs love being active, and any chance to play will bring them joy. When you encourage playtime, it will keep your dogs physically fit.

Some great examples would be to play catch or throw a frisbee. You can even incorporate some game elements into your training and have them run through an obstacle course. If you’re going on a family vacation, why not take your dog with you? They will love the change of scenery.

Even something as simple as taking a walk with them will brighten up your dog’s day.

4. Learn to Communicate with Your Dog

The more time you spend with your dog, the more you will realize that you can communicate with them without ever linguistically understanding each other. Changes in facial expressions and body language should indicate what your dog wants.

It will let you know whether they are stressed, scared, or uncomfortable. When you can tell the warning signs, it’s easier to find out what your dog wants from you.

5. Rest and Relax Together

Sometimes, it helps just to be present for someone. In your dog’s case, it’s the same. You can earn your dog’s trust by just taking some time to sit with them and pet them. Relaxing with your pets is actually very therapeutic. It will make both you and your dog feel better.

Conclusion

Like most relationships, creating a bond with your dog may take some work. Overall, when you spend quality time with your dog, their quality of life improves, and it helps foster a good environment for growth. 

If you want to know more about your dog, head on over to The Pets People. We provide resources for understanding pet behavior to strengthen the bond between you and your pup. Browse through our site today.