If you’re thinking of becoming a dog owner, perhaps the most important thing you can do is learn to understand your dog. If you understand what your dog wants and needs, you can build a better, stronger and happier relationship, as is only right for man’s best friend!
Today we’re taking a look at a few of the different things that go into understanding your dog and caring for it responsibly.
Health Matters
Some of the most common health issues that will affect your dog from day to day are gastro-intestinal in nature. In other words, you’ll always be looking for a better dog vomiting and diarrhea treatment.
Dogs are often curious creatures and will explore the world around them, smelling and even tasting things they find interesting – if you understand this about your dog, then you can keep a closer eye on them on walks, train them to drop things they’re trying to eat on command, or take further measures if need be (some owners even need to use a form of muzzle!).
If your dog does eat something that disagrees with them and suffers an upset stomach, then it’s likely to recover within 48 hours. The best thing you can do is make sure it has access to lots of clean, fresh water to stay hydrated and small, regular meals of easily digestible food. Even if your dog is unable to keep down food, you shouldn’t starve it – this can have serious knock effects for its health!
The most important thing you can do is look for additional symptoms: if your dog is also showing signs of pain, fatigue, or there’s blood in their stools then something more serious could be wrong, and you should make an emergency visit to the vet without delay!
Behaviour and Training
Some people feel like training a dog – to sit, stay, come when called and respect boundaries with strangers and in your home – is a form of cruelty, that it restricts their freedom. If you understand your dog, you’ll know that most dogs feel safer and more comfortable with training: they look for structure in order to feel secure. When you train a dog, you teach it what it can do to feel safe, comfortable and like it’s fulfilled your expectations.
It’s well worth making the effort to establish routines with your dog if you get it as a puppy. It’s all the more important to do this if you adopt an adult dog, but also more challenging – and it might be worth looking for specialist help.
Time
The most important thing you can do to understand your dog is spend time with them! You’ll learn which games they love most, what makes them anxious and what soothes them. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll learn what ‘normal’ looks like, so you can start to spot the early signs that something might be wrong – and do something about it.
