4 Tips For Bonding With Your New Pet:
Trust And Confidence Are Key To Success
A guest post by Jessica Brody from OurBestFriends.pet
Owning a pet for the first time is an exciting adventure. You spend a lot of time choosing the perfect breed and searching for the animal that feels like the right fit for your home and your family. As your new animal settles in, it’s important that you put time and effort into bonding with your pet to build a strong relationship.
1. Bonding is essential in having a positive long-term relationship
Pets 4 Homes explains that bonding with your pet is critical for building a lasting and happy relationship between you and the animal. A strong bond signifies trust, reliance, love, and affection. While every pair's bond can be different, solidifying that connection is essential for having a well-functioning home.
It’s important to bond with your pooch as soon as possible to help them face the world around them, and this can take some work with older canines. Praise your dog when they do something well and try to be patient as they get used to their new surroundings.
2. Focus on building trust as soon as possible
It is important to realize that bonding is not something that happens when you first bring the animal home and then ends. You need to work at maintaining it over the course of your relationship so that the connection remains strong. Spend quality time with your new pet beginning the day you bring them home by playing with them, showing affection, and being consistent in caring for their needs, and be reliable in continuing those things over time.
If your new companion is a rescue animal, you may have to work a bit harder to build that bond. You may not know much about their background, so it might be challenging to gain their trust. Hand feeding the animal and speaking to them softly frequently for the first week or so is one way that can help them trust and bond quite quickly.
3. Be consistent and teach your children how to respect the animals
Consistency and training are essential in building a bond with your new family member. When your pet knows what to expect, they feel comfortable and their trust builds. Get all family members on the same page regarding expectations and let animals know you are in charge. Obedience class can be essential in training dogs and helping owners be consistent, and that can help your bond build.
Vetstreet shares that pets and children should be well-supervised when they are together, and this means being actively engaged in their interactions. Watch the body language of both the animal and your child and intervene before problems arise. Children need to be taught how to be gentle and respectful so that the animal can learn to trust them and bond with them.
4. Quality time together builds your relationship
You probably have plenty of ideas regarding what you want to do with your new animal. You may envision afternoons in a cozy chair reading books with a cat on your lap or long walks around the neighborhood with your dog. Canines are great for spurring you to get more physical activity and many love to be with you in the car too. Of course, each of these activities will help grow the lasting bond you have with your companion.
It’s important to note that you will likely not be the sole caretaker for your pet. On occasion you may need to enlist help. When the time comes, make sure the person you choose has plenty of time to bond with your pet so that your pet will feel comfortable and safe with their part-time caregiver.
The companionship an animal provides its owner is heartwarming and comforting, but you need to work at building a strong bond from the very first interactions. Show your pet they can trust you and be reliable and consistent with them. The more quality time you spend together, the stronger your bond will be, and you'll soon find your companion to be a valuable member of your family.
[Image via Pixabay]
