Signs Your Puppy Is Bonding With You – Explained
We, dog parents, are always concerned about our relationship with our dogs. But most of the time, the “bond” between the pet and the dog owner is misunderstood as love.
When evaluating the bond between the two parties, these signs will help you understand how loyal a dog is to its owner.
What are the signs your puppy is bonding with you? This may vary to several degrees according to how you first met your pet. If your dog is a rescued dog that you recently adopted, the bonding process may take a long time than that of a newly bought puppy.
You can identify this bonding when the pup or the dog starts giving you more attention, following you everywhere, obeying you happily, making a considerable effort to stay near you and find you in hide-and-seek games, etc.
As I already explained, these signs may vary from dog to dog. It mainly depends on their personality traits and how and when you bought your doggo home. If you bought the dog home at puppy age, he would quickly bond with you within a small amount of time.
But, rescued dogs may have difficulty bonding with their new owners. It may happen because of the past trauma these rescue dogs go through.
Today we will concentrate more on identifying signs of a bonding PUPPY than a rescued dog. Now let’s go and have a quick look at some of the most common signs your puppy is bonding with you.
What Are The Signs Your Puppy Is Bonding With You?
As I already stated, many dog owners misunderstand the bond between a dog and a human as love. But understanding the difference between love and the bond is essential. Let me clarify this a bit more.
You must have already noticed your dog jumping in happiness as soon as you got home from work. Dogs do this out of love.
But the thing that keeps your pet from running out the door at the first chance is the bond he shares with you. It is the element that makes it easy for you to train the dog however you want.
Your effort, attention, and behavior play a central role in building a solid bond between you and the pet. While the dog bonds with you when you’re very attentive to his needs and show him affection throughout the day, the progress will be much slower when you are not.
Here are the most common signs your puppy is bonding with you.
- He will continuously check your whereabouts when you let him off the leash
Suppose you took your puppy to the dog park and let go of the leash. Unsurprisingly, he will take off as soon as you do that. But don’t worry.
If the dog is bonded with you, he will always check your whereabouts and confirm that you are still looking over him and is safe and out of danger.
- He will make a considerable effort to be near you all the time
My doggo, Sparkles, will trail me wherever I go. He will sit outside the washroom when I’m inside and come near the gate to see me off whenever I’m going out.
Even when I’m at home, he will be right beside me 24/7. It is another sign that your pet has a strong bond with you.
- Asking for you to pet him all the time
Puppies are known for their playful nature and restlessness. But when they start bonding more strongly with their owners, they prefer to interact with you than play alone.
- Easy to train to obey you
When a puppy starts bonding with you, he will always show a heightened eagerness to please you.
Therefore, when you teach him something during training sessions, the pup will pay more attention and try to understand what you are saying as soon as he can.
- The puppy will start communicating with you more
Just like us, humans, dogs have needs, too, such as needing to go out to potty, hunger, needing your attention, etc.
And when the imprinting process has started, you will notice that the pet is much more open about his needs than earlier. You, too, will begin understanding the pet and what he’s trying to say to you much more quickly.
How Do You Tell If Your Puppy Is Bonded With You?
The signs your puppy is bonding with you do not get limited just to the points we have mentioned above. There can be many more indications, such as,
- They rest your head on you
- They don’t try to run out the door at the first chance
- Giving you puppy eyes when you scold him
- Always being focused on you
- Behaving as your private bodyguard and try to protect you whenever he senses danger
You might not notice these signs as they happen slowly and gradually. But if you pay closer attention, you will clearly see all these small changes in your pet.
All it takes is your time, attention, and showing your love without a limit to the pet.
How Long Does It Take For A Puppy To Bond With You?
You cannot expect this bonding process to occur as soon as you bring your pet home. When a small pup comes to a new home, getting detached from the warmth of his own mother, it will take a few days to weeks for him to adjust to the new environment.
Usually, it is always recommended to adopt a new puppy when they are aged 7 to 12 weeks because that is the most manageable period for a puppy to imprint on his new owner.
This bonding process will happen right after the new canine pup is adjusted to living in the new home with new people.
This imprinting process will happen for about 3 to 6 weeks but may vary according to the situation, the owner’s nature, and the pup’s personality.
Moreover, if there are too many members in your family living in the same household, you must make it clear to your puppy which his alpha is.
Regular walks, feeding, and bathing should always be done by the owner to make this clear to the pup. Not only will it quicken the imprinting process, but it will also not confuse the small pup when he’s trying to identify who his alpha is.
These are the facts you should know when trying to understand the signs your puppy is bonding with you.
But, always remember that the details mentioned above are only general information on signs your puppy is bonding with you and may vary from dog to dog.
Thank you for reading this post. Stay tuned with Jack Russell Owner for more interesting posts about your favorite dog breed.
