Building a Strong Bond With Your Dog

What does it look like when you and your dog have a strong bond?

Your dog looks to you for protection.

Your dog wonders what you're going to do next.

Your dog prefers you to many other "distractions."

You understand what motivates your dog.

Having a strong bond does not mean your dog can do everything you want her to. Some dogs, for instance, will never be 100% trustworthy off leash.

But if you really understand what motivates your dog, you'll know not to expect what she can't deliver.

Building a strong bond with your dog is about so much more than practicing a specific technique or method. It's about the way you interact throughout the day.

Here are 10 principles to keep in mind if you want to improve your relationship with your dog:

1) You should be the most exciting part of your dog's life. Easier with some dogs than others, this is what we should all be working toward.

2) Your dog needs physical exercise appropriate to his size and condition every day.

3) Mental stimulation is as important to your dog as physical exercise.

4) Try to spend time with your dog every day focused solely on her. Sorry, taking her for a walk while you're talking on your cell phone doesn't count.

5) Observe your dog to discover what's unique about him. Don't assume, based on his breed or other dogs you've known, that you know what he truly enjoys.

6) Give yourself and your dog time to build a relationship. Dogs with traumatic pasts may take longer to form a bond with you. And some dogs are more independent than others.

7) Nail clipping and grooming can build your bond just as much as playing fetch.

8) Food is too important to a dog not to use feeding time as a chance to build your bond.

9) Barking is not the only way your dog communicates. Start paying attention to body language. Your dog does.

10) Don't go crazy paying attention to a bunch of guidelines. Once you set the intention of improving your bond, you'll see that it starts happening.

Feeding time is the highlight of the day for most dogs. If you have a food-motivated dog, you're in luck. You have some great ways of building your bond.

Here are a few methods I've used:

Hand Feeding

Hand feeding really builds trust with your dog and is a great way of teaching him to look to you for good things.

Measure out your dog's daily food ration and feed it to him throughout the day. Be careful, however, that you don't mistakenly teach him to jump all over you to get food. You want to be sure your dog is at least calm if not sitting before you give him a morsel.

By the way, hand feeding is one of the techniques some service dog training programs promote. Pups in training get pieces of their kibble ration throughout the day as rewards for following directions.

Food Toys

I love food toys!

They're fun. They provide mental stimulation. And they prevent your dog from eating too fast (which can lead to the potentially life-threatening condition called bloat).

When my dog Honey was a puppy, we started by putting her kibble into a small soda bottle. We'd stand it on its opening to make things easy. When Honey knocked it over, she'd eat the kibble that fell out.

As she grew older we made it harder by buying her a Premier Tug-A-Jug which required her to manipulate a string in the opening to get kibble to come out. We're also fond of the Kong Wobbler which is a weighted toy that tips over to spill food out of a small opening.

After breakfast, Honey is quite tired and always takes a short nap.

If you feed soft food, stuffable toys, like the Kong products, work great. You can even make them up and freeze them in advance to make your dog work a little harder for her food.

Snacks When You Leave

We don't give Honey many snacks throughout the day. But she always gets one when we leave her alone at home.

Low calorie snacks like carrots or apple pieces make Honey quite happy to see the backs of us when we go off to work in the morning.

Do you have any unusual ways of feeding your dog to increase her fun or improve your bond? If so, please share in the comments. I'd love to see what others have tried.