How to Love Your Dog Its Not What You Think!

Think that your dog likes hugs and kisses? Well if he is like most dogs, then he does not enjoy this type of human affection. Children want to show love to dogs by giving hugs and kisses, because this how they show affection to people they love. Hugs are not a natural form of canine interaction to show affection. To show your dog that you love him, learn to give him the things that he really does like and teach your kids to do the same.

Most dog bites are to children, by the family dog or another dog known to the child. Hugs and kisses are a major cause of facial bites to children. Doggone Safe offers suggestions for safe ways to love your dog that the dog will appreciate.

Children (and adults too) often want to show love to dogs the way we show love to each other, through hugs and kisses. Dogs do not naturally understand this, or even enjoy it. Hugs and face-to-face contact can be very threatening to dogs. The dog may tolerate this for a while, but at some point may bite or snap to protect himself once he has exhausted all his means of more subtle warning. Some dogs do enjoy a hug from a special person, if it is on their terms and done with some extra scratching on the chest. Few, if any dogs enjoy hugs the way young children do this, which is to clasp around the neck and hang on. Parents, teach your children to avoid face-to-face contact with any dog (even their own dog) and to show love to the dog in ways other than hugging and kissing.

Doggone Safe offers the following suggestions for Valentine’s Day about how to love your dog in a way that the dog will appreciate.

Touch Your Dog

• Invite your dog to come to you for attention. If your dog turns away or moves away, respect his wishes and leave him alone. Many dogs like to be near you, but not necessarily to be touched.
• Scratch your dog on the side of the neck or on his chest.
• Avoid hugs and kisses. People enjoy this, but most dogs don’t like hugs and kisses. They might tolerate it, but few actually enjoy it.
• Invite your dog to sit with you while your read or watch TV. Let him lean on you or put his head on your lap on his terms.
• Some dogs enjoy a scratch behind the ears. Most dogs don’t enjoy hands coming down on the top of their heads.
• Pet your dog and then stop. If he tries to get you continue then you will know he likes it.

Play With Your Dog

• Play games like fetch and hide and seek that do not involve chasing or rough play.
• Take your dog for lots of walks.

Understand Your Dog

• Learn to read dog body language so that you can understand what your dog is trying to tell you.
• A happy dog pants and wags his tail loosely. He may wag all over.
• An anxious dog might show a half moon of white in his eye or he may lick his lips or yawn. He may turn his head away or walk away. He wants to be left alone.
• A dog that suddenly goes stiff and still is very dangerous and might be ready to bite.
• A dog with his mouth closed and ears forward and/or with his tail held high is busy thinking about something and does not want to be bothered.

Reward Your Dog

• Look for things your dog does right and give him a treat or praise, petting or play. Never hit or yell at your dog.
• Give your dog a stuffed Kong or Chewber or other long lasting chew treat to enjoy while he lies on a mat or in a crate.

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Read a previous blog post for more about why dogs dont like hugs and kisses

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Dog Care Who Does Your Dog Think He Is

A tongue-in-cheek discussion of having and understanding a dog

Some dog owners insist that their dogs think theyre people. There really could be something to this. When we think that dogs are chasing cars, maybe theyre actually chasing ambulances because they think theyre lawyers. Weve always discouraged dogs from car chasing. Lately, this has become more important than ever with the possibility of your dog catching a Smart car. Obviously, the worst case scenario would be your dog catching a Smart car driven by a lawyer.

Hopefully, you dont live next door to a toy poodle who thinks hes Pavarotti. If people want a pet with a voice that high, why not just get a bird? As a rule of thumb a dogs too small if he has to stand on a phone book to drink from a toilet. Small dogs in posh neighborhoods are so stuck up theyll only drink from a toilet if theres no bidet. If you happen to meet such a dog on the street, be polite. Resist the temptation to ask if hes afraid of real dogs. On the other hand, the advantage of toy poodles is that they can be caught with Velcro.

Maybe the dogs “finding himself” because hes still a puppy. By the way, if youll be house-training him with newspaper, dont forget to clip the coupons first. Some puppies become paper trained very quickly. The real challenge is grasping the difference between newspaper and wallpaper.

Pet dentistry is getting very popular. It may be hard to take it seriously if youre still trying to get your kids to brush after meals, but your vet will expect you to brush your dogs teeth. Couldnt somebody just invent a fluoride Frisbee?

Regardless of who your dog thinks he is, youll probably want to train him. If youre teaching him to catch, you may want to start with pieces of liver. Some people can put a biscuit on their dogs nose, and the dog wont take it till the owner gives a spoken signal. Initially, this works better if the dogs sleeping. Dogs can also be taught conditioned response. At the sound of a bell, they salivate. At the sound of a bath running, they actually spit. Most dogs have the ability to eat on command, which is not great if thats all there is to show from the $200 spent at obedience school. But its worth some effort, because a smart dog will bring you a paper every day. A really smart dog will get it from next door.

Dogs will definitely learn, though. When a dog wants to go for a walk, he gets his leash. When he wants to eat, he lights the barbecue. Dogs like people food, but it shouldnt become a habit. If youre a good cook, your dog will beg. If youre a bad cook hell beg, specifically to go for a walk. You know you burned a burger badly when you drop it on patio stones and the dog puts it back on your plate with his paws.

There may come a time when you decide on some family planning for your canine Casanova. Unless your dogs a part of a controlled breeding environment, youll probably want to get him neutered. Dogs seem to be able to understand a great deal of what we say, so if youre in front of him, dont refer to him as being “fixed.” After all from his point of view, he was never “broken.” If you want to be sensitive to his condition, you could refer to his surgical alteration as his “vasectomy.”

People who love their dogs demonstrate it by buying toys, clothes and specialty food for them. But know when to draw the line. Love your dog, but dont throw him birthday parties. Hell just think youre a jerk for only remembering every seventh one.

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