Strengthen the Human-Canine Bond

Interactive play and exercise can foster a deeper human-canine bond by increasing the quality time spent with your animal.

Games and exercises that can be played include:

• Hide and seek

• Fetch

• Tug of war

• Frisbee

• Agility exercises

Training offers the opportunity to exercise your dog's brain and strengthen their cognitive abilities. 

Some fun tricks that can be taught are:

• ​Roll over

• Spin, wave

• Bow

• Play 'dead'

• Walk backwards 

Cuddling stimulates the release of oxytocin in both your dog and yourself. 

Oxytocin has been dubbed the "bonding hormone", and is associated in the scientific community with trust, relationship building, and positive emotional states.

When cuddling, ensure you are not overstimulating your dog with too many snuggles or pets.

• Learn to read their body language, so you can create a positive, safe environment for them to relax with you.​

Brushing your dog is good for coat maintenance by removing debris and dirt from the skin and the coat.

Giving massages to your dog has the potential to help with their circulation and muscle pain, and it encourages a relaxed disposition. 

The quality time and physical touch provided in these two activities helps strengthen the bond between you and your dog.

Here are some links to Youtube videos we have found on how to massage your dog:

• ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wXdEmBDUQE  

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZZ70DpMVBc 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tghk42R0QHU

This activity helps to build trusts between dog and owner, as new situations offer the opportunity for your dog to have increased confidence in your reliability and safety.  

It also may help desensitize your dog from stimulation that causes behavioural issues, that may be putting a strain on the human-canine bond, such as aggression. 

Exploring different situations also helps you learn and understand the boundaries your dog may have, so stressful or uncomfortable environments for your dog can be avoided in the future.

Learning your dog's body language offers the opportunity to understand their level of comfort in certain situations and their current emotional states. By appreciating your dog's emotional state and understanding hesitations they may have, you can deepen your connection.

Here are some links to resources we have found that may help you better understand dog body language:

• ​https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159124000546

• https://www.amazon.ca/How-Speak-Dog-Stanley-Coren/dp/074320297X

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siy0eog48ys&t=1s