Rituals of Dogs

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Elevate Your Bond with Your Dog

6-Step Framework for Raising a Confident and Well-Behaved Companion

Introduction

As a dog behavior consultant, I noticed a disturbing trend: many of my clients were struggling with similar issues with their dogs. Why were so many dogs displaying anxious or aggressive behavior? It didn’t make sense to me, especially because I didn’t see these problems in dogs that lived alone without human companionship.

One day, as I was showering, I had an epiphany. I realized that the common denominator among these troubled dogs was their humans. It wasn’t that these people didn’t love their dogs; rather, they were simply making mistakes in their day-to-day interactions with their dogs.

I began to see patterns in these mistakes, and I realized that they fell into six categories that I came to call the “rituals of dogs.” These were simple activities that, when done incorrectly, could lead to behavioral problems in dogs.

“A fulfilled dog is a happy dog, not just a tired one.”

I decided to start teaching these rituals to my clients, and the results were astounding. Humans who implemented these changes with their dogs in their daily routines reported dramatic improvements in their dogs’ behavior. Their dogs became calmer, more confident, and more content.

I knew I had stumbled upon something special, and I’ve been sharing my insights with many ever since. Now, I’m excited to share these rituals with you and help you transform your dog into a calm, confident, and content companion.

Hello, I am Sunny Luthra. I have a lot of experience with dogs, including working with them and taking care of them. I have also done many sessions to help dogs socialize and have given advice to many dog parents, trainers, and behaviorists about behavior problems.

So let’s begin learning about the Rituals of Dogs.

The Rituals

Dogs are social animals and in the wild, they live in packs with a clear hierarchy and structure. In order to have a balanced and well-behaved dog, it is important to provide them with the same structure that they would find in the wild.

Here are the six rituals to create structure in your dog’s life:

1. The Walk Ritual

This involves taking your dog on structured walks for 30-60 minutes, twice a day. During these walks, your dog should be walking beside or behind you. This is an important ritual because it allows your dog to learn to focus on you and release energy, which is essential for their physical and mental health.

2. The Discipline Ritual

This involves teaching your dog right from wrong through calm, confident, and consistent discipline. As the leader of your dog’s pack, it is important to establish rules, boundaries, and limitations to keep your dog safe and ensure that everyone knows their place within the pack.

“By incorporating these rituals into your daily routine, you can help your dog become a calm, confident, and content companion.”

3. The Socializing Ritual

This involves helping your dog develop social skills by meeting new people and animals in a calm and controlled manner. This is essential for your dog’s overall development and helps them learn how to interact with others.

4. The Feeding Ritual

This involves establishing regular meal times and following a set routine to provide predictability and comfort for your dog. This ritual is also important because it establishes rules and structure around mealtimes.

5. The Play Ritual

This involves engaging in play activities with your dog to help them release energy and have fun.

6. The Affection Ritual

This involves giving your dog affection in a way that nurtures their state of mind. It is important to be mindful of the timing of affection, as giving affection when a dog is under stress can reinforce their stressed state of mind. Over time, this can lead to a dog becoming habituated to living in a state of fear, resulting in an unhappy life.

The Walk Ritual

The Walk Ritual is a key aspect of raising a balanced and well-behaved dog. This involves taking your dog on structured walks for 30-60 minutes, twice a day.

During these walks, your dog should be walking beside or behind you. It is important to initiate the walk calmly, maintain focus and presence with your dog, and follow a consistent structure for the walk.

To ensure that your dog gets the best possible walk, follow these guidelines:

Take your dog on walks at a fixed time, twice a day. Each walk should be at least 30-60 minutes long.
Initiate the walk calmly and avoid making a big fuss.
Make sure your dog is calm and sitting beside you when you pick up the leash and open the door.
Lead the walk by going out of the house first, with your dog walking beside or behind you.
During the walk, maintain focus and presence with your dog and avoid using your mobile phone.
Take breaks for your dog every 15-20 minutes, allowing them to rest for 5 minutes.
Follow the same structure for leading your dog during all walks, whether entering a lift, leaving the society, or returning home.
Be consistent in your approach to walking your dog.

The Discipline Ritual

The Discipline Ritual involves teaching your dog right from wrong through calm, confident, and consistent discipline.

As the leader of your dog’s pack, it is important to establish clear rules, boundaries, and limitations to keep your dog safe and ensure that everyone knows their place within the pack.

It is important to remain calm and assertive, even if you must discipline your dog multiple times.

Here are some examples of rules, boundaries, and limitations you can set for your dog:

No entry into the kitchen.
No jumping on furniture without permission.
Not allowed to chew or take any object other than those provided by you.
Not allowed to steal food from the garbage or table.

To effectively teach your dog these rules, it’s important to remain calm and assertive, even if you have to discipline your dog multiple times.

Avoid getting frustrated or angry with your dog. Instead, focus on helping them understand the rules through calm and assertive communication.

The Socializing Ritual

The Socializing Ritual is essential for helping your dog develop social skills and meet new people and animals.

This involves approaching social interactions in a calm and controlled manner, using “no touch, no talk, no eye contact” to allow your dog to use their nose while meeting new individuals.

It is also important to give affection only when your dog is calm, and to be mindful of the emotional state being nurtured through affection.

The Feeding Ritual

The Feeding Ritual involves establishing regular meal times and following a set routine to provide predictability and comfort for your dog.

It is important to be aware of the importance of food as a reward, and to be mindful of the way it is given to your dog.

In order to create structure in your dog’s life, it is important to follow these guidelines for the feeding ritual:

Establish a fixed time for meals: This helps your dog know when to expect their food and helps them feel more secure.
Give meals after a long walk: This helps your dog associate their meals with physical activity and helps them feel more motivated to eat.
Stay calm while preparing and serving the food: Excitement can make your dog anxious and cause them to lose interest in eating.
Make your dog wait calmly for their food: This helps them learn self-control and helps them feel more connected to their natural instincts as pack animals.
Be present while your dog eats: This helps them feel more secure and allows you to monitor their eating habits.
If your dog shows no interest in eating, pick up the bowl after 5 minutes: This helps them learn that food is not always available and encourages them to eat when it is provided.

The Play Ritual

The Play Ritual involves engaging in play activities with your dog to help them release energy and have fun. However, it is important not to play with your dog too frequently or for too long, as this can lead to unstable energy and behavioral problems.

Here are the key points for the “Play with obedience” ritual:

Decide a fixed time for play with your dog
Be consistent in scheduling playtime
Bring your dog to a certain level of excitement during play, then practice obedience commands such as “calm down” or “sit”
Practice this ritual daily to improve your dog’s obedience and control of impulses

The Affection Ritual

The Affection Ritual involves giving your dog affection in a way that nurtures their state of mind. It is important to be mindful of the timing of affection, as giving affection when a dog is under stress can reinforce their stressed state of mind. Over time, this can lead to a dog becoming habituated to living in a state of fear, resulting in an unhappy life.

The way you give affection to your dog can impact their behavior. If you want a calm dog, it’s important to only give affection when they are calm. On the other hand, if you want an excited dog, you can give affection when they are in an excited state. Keep in mind that the type of behavior you reinforce with affection will be the behavior that your dog is more likely to repeat in the future.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the six rituals outlined in this guide can help you raise a calm, confident, and content companion. By providing structured walks, discipline and clear boundaries, proper socialization, consistent feeding, and play with obedience, you can create a healthy and harmonious relationship with your dog. By remaining calm, assertive, and consistent, you can become a strong and effective leader for your dog, helping them to thrive and reach their full potential. Overall, these rituals are essential for the physical and mental well-being of your dog, and by implementing them into your daily routine, you can create a happy and balanced life for both you and your dog.

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