They say dogs are man’s (and woman’s) best friend right? While that tends to be the case, it can’t hurt to want to strengthen your relationship with your dog.

Whether you’ve just brought home a new furry family member and want to make sure you bond or you just want to take your current bond with your dog to the next level (we’re here for it), there are things you can do to build a better relationship with your dog.

Here’s a table of contents you can use to jump to the section you’re most interested in:

Understanding the dog and human relationship

Ways to build a better relationship with your pup

Grab your pup and get reading (although you might have to read out loud to them, Google Translate does not yet support barking).

Before we get started, you can test how strong your bond is with your pup with our quiz: Does My Dog Love Me? (opens in new tab)

Understanding the Dog and Human Relationship

So you know that dogs are the ultimate companion, but do you know why?

It seems like the bond between dogs and humans is just a fact of life that’s always existing.

While there's no way of knowing just when dogs became our pals, we do know it was a looooong time ago.

In fact, the first instance of dogs and humans being buried together was around 14,000 years ago (think of how many dog years that is!).

There’s a reason the bond has stood the test of time -- a few actually. Here are some reasons why humans bond with dogs more than other animals  ⤵️

Dogs bond via eye contact, just like humans do. In fact, research suggests dogs have adopted human-like body language cues over time.

Both dogs and humans have the ability to distinguish who is a friend and who is not.

Both humans and dogs enjoy taking part in playing together. Scientists call this “unique interspecific interaction”, but it basically means we’re willing to play endless games of fetch if it makes our pups happy.

With these scientific alignments, it’s no surprise that dogs went from being by our side during hunting to being by our side, well, every moment!

Not only is bonding with your dog super cute (does it get any better than tail wags, belly rubs, and cuddling? I don’t think so), it’s actually mutually beneficial.

Yes, having a dog in the family is a lot of fun and brings a lot of happiness -- but did you know it’s been scientifically proven to have health and wellness benefits?

Here are some of the benefits of having a pup as your best bud ⤵️

Petting or playing with a dog is proven to lower blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate, relaxing muscle tension.

Lower levels of stress hormones in the blood.

Next time you have a stressful day, end it with a game of fetch or belly rubs.

Those who have a dog in the family are far more likely to survive a heart attack, according to the American Journal of Cardiology. This likely ties back to stress reduction.

A Japanese study found that just looking at your dog can raise oxytocin and serotonin levels and make you happier.

Over the long term, this can alleviate and reduce the risk of depression.

Having a strong connection with your dog can translate to other relationships in your life, studies suggest.

Also, let’s face it, dogs make great conversation starters when you’re out and about together.

Dog parents walk almost twice as much as those without dogs. All the walks, games, and adventures seriously boost activity levels and keep us healthy.

There are also a ton of benefits for your dog, like having someone take care of their every need, but your dog likely can’t read this so we’ll stick with the human benefits.

Ways to Build a Better Relationship With Your Pup

Having a super-strong bond with your pup sounds great, doesn’t it?

So now let’s talk about how to make that happen.

It’s important to lay a strong foundation for communication between you and your pup. That way, you can understand their personality, their learning style, and the little nuances of your relationship.

The free 30 Day Perfect Pup class (also available for free in the Pupford App) is a great way to lay that foundation and create an opportunity for deeper bonding.

Teaching your pup some new tricks is super fun (for you and your dog) -- who doesn’t love to show off?!

But it also helps increase verbal and non-verbal communication which is one of the best ways to strengthen your bond.

Need some inspo for tricks to teach your dog?

Check out our Trick Training Courses (part of Pupford Academy)! Learn more here.

There’s nothing wrong with a little treat motivation to get your dog extra excited to spend time with you.

Just be sure you’re picking treats that are healthy, low calorie, natural, and delicious!

PS – We've got you covered there...Check them out here!

Playing games and exercising with your dog are extremely powerful ways to improve your relationship with your pup.

Whether that's fun games like tug-of-war, snuffle mats, or fetch, or even going for a jog.

Just spending time with your dog while they do enjoyable activities is sure to strengthen your bond!

Recap of Building a Better Relationship With Your Dog

Let's be real, our dogs are family. And just like with any family member or friend, building that bond does take time and effort!

Hopefully, this article has re-energized you to build an even better relationship with your pup.

Have any stories about bonding with your dog? We’d love to hear them in the comments below!