How to Mend A Relationship with Your Dog? (Fixing A Broken Relationship)

How to Mend A Relationship with Your Dog

Relationships are built on love, trust, and support, and while it may be hard to build a strong foundation for your relationships, it is much harder to mend a relationship that has been broken.

It applies not only to human relationships but also to your relationship with your furry friend.

 

There are various ways to repair a broken relationship with your dog, like spending some time together and communicating things clearly, and how you can avoid breaking their trust in you.

 

Find out in today’s article how you can effectively mend a broken relationship with your furry friend and how you can avoid breaking their hearts again.

 

Implementing harsh methods of discipline like shouting at your dog when they make a mistake or even hitting them is not constructive and will only leave your furry friend afraid of you and break their trust in you.

 

If your relationship with your dog is rocky, you can try to rebuild its trust in you by following a series of steps:

 

1. Spend Some Alone Time with Your Dog

dog being petted

You can spend some time alone with your dog to slowly build their trust again.

You don’t even have to do anything – you may sit quietly without having to force any interactions with them.

Every time your dog approaches you and sits near you or beside you, you can give it the treat to reward and enforce this good behavior.

 

Suppose your dog shows any signs of stress, aggression, or anxiety while in the room with you.

When this happens, comfort your dog. If needed, give it some space.

Once it calms down, you can resume your bonding together.

 

Spend some time with your dog at least 15 minutes per day.

 

2. Play with your dog

Another thing you can do is play a game with your dog.

You can engage in a game of fetch with your dog or using its favorite toys.

If, while playing, your dog tries to bite you or starts growling at you, then put a halt to game time, leave the room, and give your dog a time out.

This will teach your dog that displaying aggressive behavior is undesirable.

It will also give you some time to cool off so that you do not snap at it, which can ruin your relationship even further.

 

 

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3. Feed your dog by hand

As much as you can, try to feed your dog by hand. Crouch down and hold out his food on the palm of your hand while avoiding any eye contact with him.

If it seems that he is fearful or anxious, then place the food down in front of him first, and slowly work up to eat the food directly from your hand.

It will help build up his trust once again while also strengthening your bond with each other.

 

4. Communicate things clearly

Just like with a person, having misunderstandings and miscommunications may create confusion and destroy a good relationship.

So as much as you can, be consistent in your medium of communication and your training signals.

 

Dogs learn faster when you use visual cues, so use this when teaching them as much as possible.

Avoid switching from one medium to another as this may confuse your dog, and as we know, nothing good ever stems from misunderstandings and miscommunication.

 

5. Never underestimate physical contact

Touching your dog constantly and giving them words of affirmation will help lower their stress and anxiety levels and enhance or even repair the broken bond between them.

 

Things to Remember to Avoid Breaking Your Dog’s Trust

runaway dog

 

1. Never punish your dog by yelling at him or hitting him.

It will cause your furry friend to be frightened, and this will leave a mark on your relationship with him.

 

2. Seek help from an expert if nothing you do seem to bring back the good relationship that you and your dog once had. It is also to ensure that you can efficiently resolve any issues between you and your dog.

 

3. Never promise your dog one thing but end up not following up on it or even breaking it.

For instance, if you promised your dog a treat, make sure that you have one handy.

 

4. Never make your dog feel that he is not an essential part of your life.

Remember that to your dog. You are not merely a part of his life – you are his world.

When you have extra time, take him for a walk or play a game of fetch with it.

 

You can also get your dog some trimming or full grooming at the salon or buy him inexpensive but safe and tasty treats.

 

Key Takeaway

Gaining your dog’s trust back may even be more challenging than trying to win it the first time.

The primary reason is that it is easier to look for something than repair something broken.

Just like broken glass, some relationships can be repaired, but that does not mean that things will resume the way they were before.

 

However, in the case of your furry friend, you are all they have, and they look at you like you are the world.

It is just fair to treat them with the same love and care they give you.

And as much as possible, avoid resorting to harsh methods of discipline whenever they commit a mistake or break something because they are feeling happy and playful.

 

You can try other methods like giving them a time out or showing them that you are sad or disappointed because of what they did.

But never, under any circumstance, shout at them or hurt them physically.

 

Be responsible for your pet.

Remember that when your pet sees that you are a good owner, then they will be more inclined to accept you and be comfortable with you.

So, make sure that you do just that!

 

 

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Russel

A pet owner who loves to share useful facts and information about a variety of animals.