Article by George Manning
So you’ve just got a new dog bed. Your best friend will be very happy. But wait! What is the best way to give your dog the new bed?
First, it’s good to understand basic training and dog behavior.
Basic Training
Did you know that from a single drop of pee, your dog can know another dog’s:
- Sex
- Diet
- Health
- Emotions
When your dog pees somewhere, they are putting who they are down on the ground. What does this have to do with training? Well, to train your dog it helps to understand the world from their point of view.
So here’s the first lesson. Hold on tight!
Your dog’s name is not the words that come out when you call them. Well, that’s not completely true. It’s their name to you. To them, their name is their smell! This is because your dog’s most important and powerful sense is their sense of smell. They see the world by how it smells.
This is confusing to us. Because we can’t directly relate. We see the world through our eyes, then ears, and nose last. Dogs are in reverse. Nose, then ears, then eyes. We can never really know how this feels, but we can help them by understanding them.
How to give your dog a new bed
Your dog sees the world with their nose first. This means that when you give them a new bed, like the Binky Barker orthopedic bed, they want to know, what does this new thing smell like?
Here’s a quick 3-step guide to giving your pooch their new snuggle place:
1. Make the perfect spot for the bed. You can help your dog by making the smells around the bed familiar. No new smells for now! Put down some things that they know the smell of. Like their favorite toy, or anything from their old bed, like a blanket or pillow. This is so that they feel like this new bed is something that they know already.
2. Let them smell the bed. Try not to tell them to get onto the bed or to look at it. Just let them smell it in their own time. This makes them feel secure, and in control of the new bed. After all, it is their bed!
3. Now after they’ve had a good smell, the bed is not a brand new smell anymore. You can start to have fun with them. Do their favorite thing around the bed. Bring in their most special food treat or toy. If they like playing with you, play with them around the bed. You want to make the bed a positive, safe place for them.
That’s it! Your little (or big) friend now has a new happy place.
For more free content check back here soon, or see our last blog post on orthopedic dog health now.
