Getting a puppy definitely isn’t something that should be done on a whim, and there’s plenty to consider before you know whether or not it’s the right thing for you to do. However, the decisions and hard work don’t stop once you’ve got your new dog, and there will always be more challenges ahead – dog ownership is a lot of responsibility, although, of course, it has some wonderful rewards as well.
One of those rewards is the fact that you can build a really strong bond with your puppy that lasts for the rest of their lives, ensuring that they’re well-behaved, loving, and loyal – what more could you ask for? With that in mind, here are some of the ways you can build a strong bond with your puppy.
Choose The Right Puppy
You need to start off on the right foot (or paw) when it comes to bonding with your new puppy, so choosing the right puppy to begin with is vital. Of course, we don’t (necessarily) mean you have to work out precisely which puppy is going to be the one that builds the strongest bond with you – that would be impossible (even those times when you’re choosing a new dog and one comes up to you or catches your attention in some way is no guarantee that they’ll be your best friend once you get them home) – but instead we mean you need to choose the right breed of puppy; that’s much easier and can make a big difference when it comes to bonding.
You need to get the breed that’s going to match your lifestyle and the time and effort you can put in. You’ll need to think about things like size, the type of coat it has, how much exercise it needs, whether it can be left alone or needs company all the time, how the breed gets on with other pets and children (if you have other pets and children), and so on. Pick the right dog breed, and bonding will be a lot easier because it will fit in with your life much better.
Get It Trained
Once you’ve chosen your dog, you’ll need to enroll it in puppy training classes if you want to be able to bond with it as well as possible. When you go to puppy training, you’ll learn how to get your dog to trust you and do what you ask it without hesitation, and that requires a special kind of bond. The more you can show your dog through training that you’re not someone to be scared of and they can trust you completely, and the more you see them behave themselves because of something you do or say, the better your bond will be on both sides.
Training isn’t just about bonding, of course, and it does have a number of other benefits, including teaching the dog how to behave around other animals and ensuring they’re much calmer around the house, so it’s definitely something to look into.
Be Patient
Finally, if you want to build a strong bond with your puppy, you need to be patient. As lovely as it would be to suddenly become best friends overnight, it can take some time, especially if your puppy has a nervous disposition or is a rescue dog and was badly treated in the past. The key is not to give up and to be as patient and loving as possible; the bond will come.