Why Building a Relationship with Your Dog Matters

Before we started using communication buttons with Ripley, I never consciously considered the relationship between myself and my dogs. Embarking on this button experiment with a bit of skepticism, I was quickly slapped in the face with just how much dogs understood and perceived about our everyday interactions.

We used to joke that we could call Stanley and Cooper whatever curse word we wanted as long as we said it nicely…we no longer think that way.

Ripley being able to communicate his day-to-day observations, thoughts, wants, and needs has wholly upended how we view our dogs and the things we do to have a relationship with them. We’re now much more thoughtful about the things we say, how we respond to them, and we intentionally take part in activities that we can do together to deepen our bond.

In this blog post, we'll dive into some of the reasons why forging an extraordinary connection with your dog is essential to a happy dog and home.

Improving Communication

By investing time and attention into your relationship with your dog, you’ll develop an uncanny ability to understand each woof, wag, and subtle communication. Even though we have buttons to communicate, we pay close attention to RIpley’s natural signals. He has specific barks and specific ways he moves his eyes. We often use his body language to help us better understand what he means when he uses buttons. In fact - he even uses our body language! He often will nod at us to indicate when he means yes! This understanding helps to create a safe and encouraging environment for everyone.

Foundation in Trust

Video of Ripley & Mom Relationship Training

Imagine a bond with your dog, where loyalty is as strong as a tug-of-war match. When you can earn your dog’s trust, it’s like gaining a best friend for life. Dogs who are well-bonded will often look to you for guidance, support, protection, and endless belly rubs.

Confidence Building

When you have a relationship built on trust, it’s much easier to explore new experiences and skills with confidence and excitement. Our oldest dog Stanley is an abused rescue who we adopted when he was around age 4. While we are close, he has forever been an anxious and nervous dog. It’s very difficult for him to experience new things as he’s quickly overwhelmed. While we can provide some comfort to him, most things are largely too much for him to experience.

On the other hand, Ripley we’ve raised since 8 weeks old. I’ve worked with him daily to build a strong connection between us. When he experiences something new and frightening, he typically looks to me for reassurance and further explores that thing until he is comfortable. Stanley cowers. A foundation built on trust and safety helps foster both motivation and confidence to try new things.

Health Benefits for Everyone

Dog’s are incredibly smart creatures with intellectual and emotional capacities that are likely beyond our understanding. Investing in your relationship means providing your dog with stimulating experiences, engaging playtime, and motivating training sessions to keep their minds sharp and hearts happy. This care, attention, and love is a boost to both their physical and mental health. And it’s not just a win for your pup - science has shown numerous health benefits related to spending time with our dogs.

Teaching and Learning

Mom, Dad, & Ripley after he earned his CGCA

A strong relationship opens doors to endless training possibilities. It helps training to feel less like work and more like a fun game. As you guide your dog through new behaviors, you’ll further foster a partnership built on trust and cooperation (and maybe some treats too!).

Increased Motivation

Dogs are curious and sometimes destructive creatures. Training ‘obedience’ and household rules is a lot easier with a dog that is responsive and motivated by your cues. If you yell your dog’s name and scold them often, they learn to associate their name with feeling uncomfortable. In the future, they’ll be less responsive to your calls. But if, instead, they know their name and your communications as something loving and rewarding, they’ll be more motivated to engage in the ways you want them to.

Perspective Shifts

For me, all of this seemed like a “duhhh” moment - of course a strong relationship with your dog is helpful. But it was more than that. It was a profound awareness shift. Now, in every interaction with Ripley and our pups, I operate with this ‘relationship first’ mantra. I now think about their autonomy and ask for their consent in different ways instead of just doing what I think is best at that moment. It’s been a different way to approach things and fun to build our bond in new ways. Have you tried or considered this? Comment below.