Have you recently gotten a new dog?
If so and it’s your first dog, you might not necessarily know what to expect, or know what they expect from you. Dogs are man’s best friend, and there is a reason for this. They are unfailingly loyal, they will go to the ends of the earth for their humans, and you need to be willing to do the same. In this article, we’re going to be looking at some of the things that your dog needs from you as their owner, so keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.
Affection
The first thing that they are going to need is affection. Your dog will love affection, getting stroked, belly rubs and cuddles will all be top of their favorite list. Affection is one of those things that we all want at times, and your dog is absolutely no different. In fact, this is going to be especially true if you have been gone all day, or even what felt like all day to your dog. Give them lots of attention when you come home, make sure that they know how much they are loved and that you don’t forget about them while you are gone.
Dogs are very intuitive animals, so they will know when you are feeling certain things. They will come to you and show you affection when they sense that you are sad, and if that isn’t enough to make you do the same, we don’t know what will be.
Exercise
Another thing that your dog wants from you is the chance to exercise. Walks are essential when you own a dog because they need to be able to walk and run outside. If you have a big garden and not mountains of time, then you can always let them outside to let off some steam. If this is the case and they are happy to run around outside, then you don’t need to walk them every single day. But, you do need to make sure that they are getting the right amount of exercise so that they don’t get poorly.
Try to remember that for your dog, the world starts and ends with you, which is why you need to be there as much as you can and let them out as much as you can. They need to be free to run and explore, keeping healthy and enjoying themselves at the same time.
Dedication
Your dog is also going to need dedication from you. They need to know that you are going to be there day in, day out to take care of them, and in return they will try to take care of you too. This means that you need to avoid going out for days at a time as eventually your dog will panic that you are not coming back. Also, make sure that you have someone to look after the dog if you are going to be going away for a few days at a time at some point.
You don’t want to leave your dog alone, so if nobody in the family can look after them, ask one of your friends. If there isn’t someone available, then you need to look into putting them into kennels for the duration.
Support
The final thing that your dog needs is your support. You might not think so, but dogs feel emotions as well. They have tantrums like children, they disobey and push boundaries the same way humans do and so much more. It’s important that you are willing to offer your support in the times where they are struggling or trying to get to grips with new rules for example. In the same way that you would offer a child support, offer your fur baby the same thing. They are different species, but there are some things that can be overlapping when it comes to raising the two. If you do find yourself struggling to train your dogs though, consider dog training from a professional.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that your dog needs from you as their owner. There are a lot of different things that your dog needs, as it has complex needs in the same way that a human does. You need to understand that if you are bringing a dog into the home, they are now a member of the family and deserve to be treated as nothing less. We wish you the very best of luck, and hope that you enjoy having your new friend!
