The best dog bonding agent

We have a training client whose dog is really rude. He prefers to pay attention to anything other than his mom.

It’s not okay. He’s a young guy, a terrier mix. We’ll call him Luke. Luke pays better attention to strangers, to us, to other dogs. Almost anything to avoid engaging with his person.

No way to know

His mom thinks he’s harboring some fear and trauma from living across from a major demolition site all last summer. He’s fearful of going outside.

Luke also doesn’t seek out his people when he’s home alone with them. His reported preference was sitting in the bathroom, by himself, rather than cuddling on the couch with them.

At this point, Luke isn’t as much a beloved family pet as a roommate with issues. 

We’ll never know why Luke doesn’t rely on his people, or why his apparent bond with them is weak. At this point, all we can do is fix it.

They’re trying

The people got Luke as a companion. So far, he’s not fulfilling his part of the bargain. He has to learn how to be a best friend.

One of the best ways to turn around your relationship with a dog is by hand-feeding them. We don’t know when that became synonymous with “spoiling” them started, but throw that idea away. It may or may not be true of men, but the way to a dog’s heart is through his stomach. Use it.

We know first-hand how well it works. We’ve mentioned many times how aggressive Fran’s Tango was when she got him. She even wrote a book about it: Tango: Transforming My Hellhound.

Piece by piece

Fran could do anything with Tango from the get-go. He tried to kill Hope. That’s especially problematic when you realize we're sisters and share a house. It wasn’t a tenable situation.

For six weeks, Hope hand-fed Tango every meal. At first, she sat at the crate door, Tango inside. He had to be contained or he would attempt to bite her. 

Every morsel of food, both wet and dry, came from Hope’s hands. And he had to do stuff to get it, even if it was only a “Sit!”

It worked. Not only Hope, but anyone, can now pet Tango, hold Tango, cuddle Tango. He actively seeks human company. He’ll be 16 years old next week and the sweetest little old man you’d ever want to meet.

Get down there

If you want to improve your bond with your dog, their food is the glue for that relationship. If your dog is finicky, use high-value bribes. Every third tidbit make a piece of cheese, or hot dog, or Chicken Heart Treat. 

You may never know what shaped your dog’s personality into its current form. But you can mold the future and help them become your best friend.