17 Ways to Improve Your Bond With Your Whoodle
Undoubtedly, one of the best things a dog owner can do is improve their bond with their dog. No matter if it's to increase your dog's obedience, to make sure that your dog can trust you when they need to, or to gain a closer relationship with your pet – there's no end to the reasons you may want to work on strengthening that bond.
And ultimately, the bond between owner and dog is incredibly important. Dogs love their owners – or should if they're trained properly with positive reinforcement methods. It is almost always the case, so why not try to strengthen that love and trust through the proper training methods and techniques you can use?
The Whoodle breed is a cross between a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier and a Poodle. This dog breed has gained many of the traits of the two breeds. The Wheaten Terrier and the poodle are playful, energetic, friendly, intelligent, and loving animals. Because of this, your Whoodle will probably already have a strong bond with you as its owner.
There are still plenty of ways to increase your bond with your Whoodle. Besides, there's a chance that you've just bought a Whoodle puppy, and you're looking for a way to start strong and make sure that you build a bond that'll last for many years.
No matter the case, there are many ways to increase your bond with your Whoodle. Ultimately, it's just important to get creative and not limit yourself to any specific method. So long as you're using positive reinforcement rather than negative training methods, there's no doubt that you'll see a change in their behavior as they develop a stronger bond with you as their owner.
Because the Whoodle is an active dog, many of these bond-strengthening activities involve exercise and fun. There are also plenty of activities on this list that you can do indoors or all year round. Whether it's joining a dog sport or something else entirely, here are 17 ways to improve your bond with your Whoodle.
1. Study the Body Language of Your Whoodle
The first and one of the easiest ways to increase your bond with your Whoodle is to study their body language. Studying its body language will reveal plenty of different things about your dog and allow you to understand better when they're stressed, hurting, tired, or excited.
There are plenty of guides on how to read body language regarding dogs. So, with a little practice, there's no doubt you'll be able to start picking up on hints your Whoodle may be giving you. Without question, studying a dog's body language is a great way to increase your bond with them.
Think about it this way – if your Whoodle can't communicate with you and you can't understand what they need, how will they ever be able to trust you fully? A medium-sized dog like this will have many instances where they benefit greatly from being able to communicate with you.
An example of this is if you notice strange body language that your dog is giving off when you swap up their dog food, it could be the case that this food isn't healthy or doesn't sit right with your Whoodle.
Because of this, no doubt studying your dog's body language will increase your bond and allow a more intimate relationship with your Whoodle in the long run.
2. Figure Out What Your Dog Likes
Figuring out what your dog likes are another thing that can ultimately make or break the bond you have with your dog. Though this may seem fundamentally obvious to some, it's always a good thing to remember. Your Whoodle, just like you, has its own set of unique preferences, likes, dislikes, and things they hate.
It is extremely apparent when you're considering things like lightning or storms. If your Whoodle is afraid of thunderstorms, there is no chance trying a bonding activity outside during the rain is going to be beneficial. Instead, a great bonding activity may be figuring out how to alleviate some of their fear during these storms.
Doing this will make your dog much more likely to understand that you know what's best for them than if you continually misjudge what your Whoodle likes. Ultimately, this is a fundamental way to increase the bond with your dog.
Similar to how we like it if somebody knew the perfect gift to buy us, dogs are the same. Your Whoodle needs a human who can understand them and what they need.
3. Figure Out What Your Whoodle Dislikes
Similarly to figuring out what your dog likes – whether you own an Australian Shepherd, a German Shepherd, or a Whoodle – you need to understand what they dislike. It follows intuitively from the fact that you need to know what they like.
If your dog doesn't like being around too many dogs, for example, it's a good idea to expose them to socialization slowly and use positive reinforcement.
Or maybe your Whoodle doesn't like their curly coat being trimmed or cut. If this is the case, helping them become more comfortable with grooming can be a great idea.
4. Train Your Whoodle
Training your Whoodle can be a great way to establish a bond, strengthen an already-existing bond, and build up your overall relationship with your dog. Keep in mind that training comes in all shapes or sizes.
You can easily keep it loose and imaginative, so figuring out something to train your dog to do is easy. You can train your Whoodle how to play hide and seek, a great option if you want them to learn a game they'll be able to play and use to have fun with you.
Or, if you want to strengthen your dog's ability to listen to commands, you can train them how to sit, heel, or other basic orders. This way, you can bond with your dog while building trust and confidence in the relationship overall.
Ultimately, training your Whoodle is a great option no matter what you're trying to do – and this remains true if your goal is to bond.
5. Take Time Out of Your Day To Focus On Them
If you want to strengthen your bond with your dog, just giving them treats is not the ideal way to do it. Although treats have their place when it comes to caring for your dog, such as increasing positive reinforcement, it's important to remember that treats aren't the only way to strengthen your bond with your dog.
It's crucial to understand that spending quality time focusing on your dog is important. If you understand this, you can focus on taking at least some time out of each day to focus on your dog and giving them attention and love.
There are plenty of times that your Whoodle can become "sidelined," albeit unintentionally. To resolve this, know that you should spend some time focusing on them every day.
6. Take Care of Your Dog Properly
Taking care of your dog properly is an absolute must as well. If your Whoodle feels rejected or not treated well, bonding with them will be hard.
Because of this, there's no doubt that giving them the proper care is a great idea.
7. Quiet Time Is a Must
To bond properly with your dog, finding quiet time is an absolute must. Although every dog – especially a more active and playful breed like the Whoodle – benefits from plenty of activity, downtime is also essential.
Because of this, don't just focus on activities.
If you're trying to strengthen your bond, you should also relax with your dog.
8. Join Competitions With Your Whoodle
Joining competitions with your Whoodle is a great idea to strengthen your bond with your dog. When it comes to dog competitions, having a strong bond is key.
Because of this, it's easy to see why this would positively affect the overall bond you share with your Whoodle.
9. Set Firm Ground Rules
Setting firm ground rules is another crucial idea when raising a dog properly and ensuring that they understand how the bond is formulated.
Remember that bonding with your dog is very important, and doing so properly is essential. Because of this, it's important to not just bond with your dog but to ensure that the ground rules you set are correct.
Don't let your dog believe they can get away with acting up or misbehaving.
10. Go on New Adventures
Whether it's just going for a hike on a new trail or an entire vacation, going on new adventures with your Whoodle can help cement the bond you share.
It allows your dog to understand the connection between you fundamentally and is a great way to spend time doing a shared activity.
11. Hand Feed Your Whoodle
Hand-feeding your Whoodle can also be a good idea. There are many benefits beyond relationship and trust-building when it comes to hand-feeding your dog.
Because of this, it's a great idea to – at least occasionally – hand-feed your Whoodle, so they have a proper sense of resources and a stronger relationship with you as their owner.
12. Always Brush and Groom Them Properly
Another great idea to spend quality time with your Whoodle is to brush and groom them properly. Dog hair can be a pain for any dog, especially those with a curly coat like the Whoodle.
Why not take time out of your day to brush, groom, and care for your dog?
13. Make Sure Your Whoodle Puppy Gets Social Exposure
If you have a Whoodle puppy, making sure they get the proper social exposure can do more than make your dog comfortable around other dogs and humans.
It can also strengthen their bond with you, as they see you as their "home" and "pack leader."
14. Do Group Activities With Your Dog
Doing group activities with your Whoodle can be another great idea for increasing the bond between you and your pet. Any pet parent will know that there are many common group activities that you can participate in with your dog.
Some examples of this would be a playdate or a doggy play group. Taking your dog to participate in these activities can help them strengthen their bond with you while also establishing a connection with you as their primary caregiver.
Undoubtedly, group activities are one of the easiest fundamental options for this task.
Beyond this, it allows you to socialize with your friends and other pet parents who also share in wanting their dog to get some socialization and bonding.
15. Don’t Let Them Get Out of Control
It is an absolute must when it comes to caring properly for your Whoodle (or any dog for that matter) and ensuring their bond with you is strengthened rather than undermined. Whether it's just letting them snap at you for treats or something more, you mustn't let your Whoodle get out of control.
It is one of the easiest ways to make sure your bond with your dog is diminished. Allowing your Whoodle to get out of control can be bad in many aspects beyond diminishing your bond. Anything from dog health to your health can suffer when you're faced with an out-of-control dog.
Because of this, it's important to keep your dog in check. It isn't a reason to use bad reinforcement or harsh punishments with your dog. You should still use the correct reinforcement methods, even when you're struggling with a dog that's out of control. Doing this will allow you to strengthen your bond with your Whoodle even while you're helping teach them the correct way to act.
16. Keep Trying Every Day
This point is especially true if your Whoodle is adopted or doesn't seem to open up to you as much as you'd want. Your dog might not be as completely bonded with you as you'd desire for many reasons. Although these reasons are extremely broad, there's almost always a way to get your dog to trust and bond with you.
If your Whoodle seems to be struggling to bond with you (or struggling to bond with you as much as you'd like), then keep trying. It may seem like a boring answer or a fix that isn't an "easy fix." And both of those are true – this isn't some golden nugget of secret dog-training material that will make your dog instantly fall in love with you.
Trying to strengthen your bond with your dog every day through a variety of positive reinforcement methods will give you the best chance at success. You can always consult a dog expert like a veterinarian or a dog trainer depending on where your dog seems to be struggling. There may be some very obvious issues that can be easily solved through these experts' guidance.
The key point remains – keep trying. If your dog doesn't seem to love one of the bonding experiences you concoct, there's nothing wrong with powering up tomorrow and trying again with a different activity.
This fact remains true, no matter what type of dog you own – whether it's a mixed breed, a Yorkshire Terrier, a Great Dane, or a Whoodle. As a pet parent, dedication to your dog is the number one thing you can give them and one of the best ways to help your dog learn to love you.
17. Enjoy Your Success
Finally, remember to enjoy the success of improving your bond with your Whoodle. Puppies and adult dogs alike will appreciate your effort in strengthening your bond with them.
Plus, there's no doubt that you'll have a great time doing it. After all, who doesn't want to spend more time with their Whoodle? So sit back, relax, and enjoy the bond that you've created with your puppy.
Dog lovers will love having a better bond with their dogs. And as a dog lover, there's nothing quite like the joy of knowing that your dog loves you and trusts you.
That's one of the reasons we own dogs, isn't it?
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Dog lovers will love having a better bond with their dogs. And as a dog lover, there's nothing quite like the joy of knowing that your dog loves you and trusts you.
That's one of the reasons we own dogs, isn't it?
