How Do I Get My Dog To Love Me?: by Jake Buvala
How Do I Get My Dog To Love Me?: by Jake Buvala
How Do I Get My Dog To Love Me?: by Jake Buvala
3LostDogs.com
H O W D O I G E T M Y D O G T O
L O V E M E ?
Jake
3LOSTDOGS.COM
MEET BEAR
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I’ve known Bear from a distance for a long time, but this trip was the
first time I got to meet him in person. I loved him already, but to him,
I was a stranger suddenly living in his house and stealing a lot of his
mom’s attention.
"Bear is superficially very happy to see new people and accept love.
But looking at him a little longer, you can tell that it’s a sort of
desperate, fear-infused happiness. He wants people to love him
because if they love him, they probably wont hurt him."
14 Ways to Get Your New Dog to Trust, Love, and Respect You
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But, I mean, there are also practical things you can do.
Basically:
“Hi Mr. Cat/Dog, can I pet you? No? Cool. I’ll be over here, you can
come to me when you’re ready.”
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Does your dog want to be petted?
Sometimes, even a dog who loves you very much won’t want to be petted. Like
humans, some dogs enjoy their personal space from time to time. And -also
like humans- many dogs don’t really enjoy being touched by people they’re not
familiar with. My dog Merlin is kind of like that; he’ll tolerate strangers petting
him, but it’s not his most favoritest thing in the world.
Listening when a dog says “no, don’t touch me please” will go a long way
toward building their trust in you. It'll probably help you bond faster.
How do you know if a dog is uncomfortable with petting? Watch for these
signs:
Pet the dog for a few seconds, and then stop petting. What does the dog do?
Does she walk away, lean away, or seem to ignore you? She’s saying “thanks
but no thanks.” But if she leans toward you, nudges your hand, gets up in your
face or tries to climb on you? She’s saying “more petting!”
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While getting acquainted with Bear in person, I didn’t fawn over him
nearly as much as I felt like. He probably would’ve let me; he was
excited to meet me, too.
But beneath the surface of his bubbly enthusiasm, I could see him
asking the question. It was in the look in his eyes as he studied me,
and in the way he flinched whenever I moved too quickly:
For the first few days, I made it as low-pressure for him as possible.
As the weeks went by, we did all his favorite things. Frisbee and tug
of war, tricks for treats, and long walks, just the two of us while Erin
was at work. I gradually assumed an authority role, doing things like
reminding him to be nice to the cat when he got too rough.
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Bear learned that I was safe, fun,
and the source of good things. He
also learned to understand my
heavy American accent. We were
best buddies by the time I went
home.
@ThreeLostDogs
3LOSTDOGS.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi! I’m Jake Buvala, a dog trainer and writer. I created 3LostDogs.com in 2009.
I live in Arizona with my dogs Merlin the border collie, River the Belgian Malinois,
and Hazel the lab/pit bull mix. (And sometimes I live in Melbourne with my dog
Bear)
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