Jimi teaches us the importance of giving your dog affection along with the right (and wrong) ways to show your best friend how much you care.

 

Affection should be one of the most important parts of your relationship with your dog. Most of us consider our dogs as part of the family. Take a moment to think of how you show affection towards your loved ones. The way you show your dog affection should be no different.

Tips

  1. Before giving your dog affection, make sure they are sitting calmly and relaxed. The dog must not be anxious, overly excited, barking, etc. If you pet your dog when they are not calm, you are only reinforcing their bad behaviors!
  2. Speak to your dog in a calm manner. Your dog will feed off of your energy and your voice. If you are not calm or in the right place of mind, your dog will notice!
  3. No doggie “nuggies” or rough actions. Usually these type of actions between humans is an example of asserting dominance in social situations, so why do it to your dog?
  4. Pet with long, soft strokes along the back and chest areas. Areas where its difficult for the dog to groom themself are good and will build your dogs trust in you. This includes touch the dog’s paws, behind, tail, etc.
  5. Massaging your dog is great as long as it’s calm and sensual.

We are here to help you!

We’d love for you to share your dog affection experiences with us in the comments below. We do our best to answer every question posted!