Episode #167 Dogs & Love

Acknowledging the occasional frustrations that accompany pet ownership, I extend a warm, supportive hand to all dog lovers out there. You're not alone when those moments of exasperation arise; it's a natural part of the journey. We're here to help guide you through with tips and advice on training and behavior management, available right at your fingertips through our website and email. Join us as we navigate the path to a harmonious life with your furry family member, always remembering the joy and fulfillment that comes with a loving canine partnership.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Puppy Training Podcast, episode 167, dogs and Love. This podcast is designed to help you on your journey of becoming best friends through love and learning, as you train your own dog from home, and I'm here to help you every step of the way. This is the Puppy Training Podcast and I'm your host, amy Jensen. Happy Valentine's Day, everybody. Love is the topic of the day.

Speaker 1: 0:30

I've lived with a dog for as long as I can remember. Every dog I've had has taught me lessons in love. They are naturally good at it, have you noticed? They love unconditionally, which is an amazing thing in and of itself. I learned so much from them. I learned many life lessons simply by having a dog.

Speaker 1: 0:49

Today I want to dive into why we love dogs, how we can show love to our dogs and share a few activities people love doing with their dogs. But before we jump in, maybe you're saying right now man, I wish I felt that much love for my dog, but I'm not, at least not today. They did A, b and C and I'm so frustrated, you guys. That's 100% okay and real. I'll touch on that in a minute.

Speaker 1: 1:13

Let's start with why people love dogs. People love dogs for several reasons, I believe, first, companionship. Dogs are known for their loyalty and companionship. They provide emotional support and they can be great friends, especially for those living alone or in need of constant companionship. For example, dogs might be super eager to greet you when you come home after a long day at work, and that can definitely uplift our spirits and provide us with comfort. We've seen this firsthand in my family recently, as my dad passed away. A few months ago, my mom got a dog. Her name's Maggie, and you'll hear about Maggie every so often now as she comes over and plays with Baxter a lot, so we have some fun experiences with her. But my mom says this I received my sweet Maggie when she was six months old and had just recently lost my spouse of 44 years. Even though still being a puppy, she will come and lick my tears and senses my moods. She will come and snuggle by me when I'm feeling down. She's a joy to go on walks and will look at me with those beautiful brown eyes and I know she loves me. She's also so joyful and happy and this makes me feel joy. Maggie is the happiest little Labradoodle. She's this mini chocolate Labradoodle. She weighs about 20 pounds and this girl prances everywhere she goes, you literally can't look at her and not feel joy. So Maggie is super loved in our family and we're super thankful that she's joined my mom's household and keeping her company and giving her sweet companionship, as we're all missing my dad.

Speaker 1: 2:33

Now next, unconditional love that I mentioned previously. So dogs offer unconditional love, regardless of circumstances. You guys, dogs don't judge, they don't hold grudges, they don't criticize right, they don't talk back. Sometimes Baxter has a few cute little grumbles that he likes to make known. I don't think he's talking back, though. He's simply just trying to communicate, but it's pretty sweet. Their affection is pure and genuine. They have simple basic emotions, but they feel them strongly. So these things create a strong bond between us and our dogs. For instance, a dog will still wag its tail and show excitement to see its person. Even after it's been scolded for misbehaving or if somebody gets angry at them. They still come back showing love.

Speaker 1: 3:18

Number three is health benefits. Numerous studies have shown that having a dog can have positive effects on physical and mental health. Dogs encourage physical activity through daily walks or playtime, like Sweet Maggie's getting my mom outside of her house and on walks. It's good for our health. This can improve our cardiovascular health and it also reduces stress. So not only are these walks good for us as humans, they also relieve stress in our dogs. It's a win-win situation for both of us, and that is our goal after all. We want to be happy, we also want our dogs to be happy. It's important that we both have that good relationship and feeling.

Speaker 1: 3:52

I know some of you are thinking but my walks are not joyful, they are a bit of stress right now. That's okay. We can help you with your leash walks. But even just the small tip of putting your dog on a longer line and letting it be a go-sniff walk, that's all it is. It's just an adventure walk where your dog gets to sniff. That alone will take a lot of that stress out for you and you'll be able to enjoy a walk as well. We can help you again with that. Dogs can also decrease feelings of loneliness and anxiety, which contributes to overall well-being. For example, people often take their dogs out as therapy dogs. They go and visit hospitals, nursing homes, elementary schools, libraries, just to provide comfort and promote healing among patients, to help kids read, to bring about joy into lives of people.

Speaker 1: 4:35

Next, showing love to our dogs is essential for creating that strong bond and ensuring their well-being. Here are three ways that we can demonstrate affection towards our dogs. First, physical affection. Does your dog like physical affection? Baxter's favorite is belly rubs. Dogs thrive on physical touch and affection. Now, I say dogs thrive on this some more than others. Some don't really love to be touched, but they will have things that they do enjoy and do love, and it's important that we figure that out for our dogs. But in Baxter's case, petting, cuddling, gentle, scratching behind the ears these are all simple but effective ways that I can show love towards him.

Speaker 1: 5:12

We want to be careful when showing physical affection towards our dogs that it's something that they enjoy, right? So I might think that, oh, I love giving hugs or receiving hugs from people. Maybe my dog will also love that I hug them. They might not. So it's really important that we show love physically to our dogs in ways that they enjoy, like a belly rub or a back scratch or something like that. But if your dog doesn't love being hugged, let's avoid that. A lot of dog bites happen actually because their humans are trying to hug them and that feels very threatening to a dog. So some dogs don't mind it. Some dogs do.

Speaker 1: 5:46

Make sure that the way that you're trying to show physical affection to your dog is in a way that they appreciate. Here's another little example for you. Sometimes we pat our dogs on the head, thinking, oh good dog, good girl, right Good boy. And as we do that, the dog is turning to shrink away and telling us I don't really love it when you pat me on the head. So we might think that that's a good thing. The dog might think that's not a good thing. So pat into their body language, get to know your own dog and what they love and what they don't love, and then you'll have ways that you can show them affection.

Speaker 1: 6:15

Number two quality time Spending. Quality time with our dogs is important for building a strong emotional connection. Everybody likes to have somebody to spend time with. Right, dogs are very social animals. So engaging in activities that dogs enjoy, like going for walks and maybe it's that ghost nif walk that we talked about, so it is a little less stressful playing games, maybe just simply lounging around together, taking a nap together, right? These all demonstrate our love and commitment to our dog's happiness. Dogs really do cherish the time that they get to spend with us. They thrive on companionship and being with us. That's why I'm so passionate about teaching you how to incorporate a dog into your home and help them be part of the family. They just dedicate so much attention to us as humans. They really enjoy being with us and that can really strengthen our bond.

Speaker 1: 7:04

Number three is positive reinforcement. Using positive reinforcement techniques to train and interact with our dogs is a way that we can build trust and show love to them. So rewarding desirable behaviors, things that we notice they do naturally, that we like, and we pay them for that. That's a good way to reinforce I love that behavior in the dog. We'll most likely choose those behaviors in the future again. So through food, praise, maybe affection like some dogs just rubbing their belly is enough to say, hey, good job, let's keep this behavior up. And it helps our dogs understand what behaviors we like and strengthens our bond because we understand we're having this understanding between each other where we're getting to know what works for us and what doesn't work. We're setting boundaries. That's very healthy to have your pet know what the boundaries are in your home, what the rules are. Once they know the rules and they know the boundaries and that you're going to enforce those. They're pretty good at being harmonious and living with you. So consistency, patience, kindness are all keys when using positive reinforcement methods. We do want to ensure that our dogs feel loved and appreciated while learning and growing All right.

Speaker 1: 8:12

How about activities that people love doing with their dogs? Here are a few that I find people commonly enjoy doing so. First, outdoor adventures Get outside with your dog if you have the opportunity. Many people enjoy taking their dogs on outdoor adventures like hiking, camping, going to the beach. Dogs make great companions for outdoor activities because they love exploring. If you take a dog, even to your backyard, you notice their little noses start going. They love to sniff and explore. So spending time in nature can be really healthy for both of you. Whether it's a leisurely stroll through the woods or maybe a little bit tougher hike up a mountain, it can really create a good bond between you and your dog.

Speaker 1: 8:51

Training sessions Doing simple training sessions can be something that's super enjoyable. It's really fun to teach a dog something new and watch them understand Because we don't speak the same language there's that little bit of barrier there and to get somebody, like a creature, like a dog, to understand what you're asking them to do and have them do. It can be so rewarding and rewarding to them because we are rewarding them with things that they like for doing these things. I know that sounded kind of confusing, but teaching dogs basic things tricks, sit down, stay, come, catch they are able to learn a lot of vocabulary and the more you teach them, the more options you have of things to do together. So training, I love training. Obviously I love training. Right, it's just so fun to work with another creature and understand one another when you don't speak the same language.

Speaker 1: 9:41

Number three is playtime and games. Everything I try to teach my dog I usually do through a game. If I can make it a game, I'm making it a game. I want it to be fun for me. I want it to be fun for my dog.

Speaker 1: 9:52

Dogs love to play and have a good time. They're just. They like to engage in playful activities. They like to be goofy, especially if you have a doodle like me, baxter, he is a goofball and he's so fun. So whether it's a game of fetch, tug of war, which we do very gently, hide and seek, maybe some interactive play, it all strengthens the bond again that we have with our dogs. It also gives them great physical and mental exercise. Both are super important. You can't really have one without the other. You need both. Your dog needs both, and so playing games with our dogs can be a great stress reliever for us and for them. It's a way to create laughter and those goofy moments that we can just really enjoy having a dog.

Speaker 1: 10:34

Now note you guys this is important, please listen that love is a feeling, and we feel love by thinking good thoughts about someone or something. That's the only way we can feel love is by the thoughts that we're thinking. So to fill love towards your dog, you must think good thoughts about your dog. Now, I know this is not always the case. There might be moments or days of frustration, especially when you're raising a young dog, but that's where we come in at Baxter and Bella. We want you to have the best relationship possible with your dog and enjoy living life with them. If you have any training questions for us, please reach out. Let us help you build the trust and confidence in raising your dog to be someone you enjoy spending time with.

Speaker 1: 11:12

Dogs are social animals. They love their people. They're really good at that and so recognize if you're not in a space of feeling love for your dog today because they did A, b or C and it's frustrating. That's okay. We want to help you through those frustrating moments. We want you to get to a place where you do love having a dog and living life with them. That is our main goal. So reach out, contact us via email or our website and we will be in touch. All right, we would love to help you. Have a great rest of your week. Happy training. If you have a question about anything you heard on this podcast or any other puppy training question, visit my site Baxter and Bellacom, to contact me.