The time, energy, and patience required to slowly and steadily build a strong and affectionate relationship with your pet is paid back in dividends with trust, respect, love, and admiration from your animal.
Contrary to popular belief, you do not need the fictitious (but incredibly enviable) skills of Dr. Doolittle to be able to communicate with your beloved budgie, dog, cat, or rabbit effectively and successfully. Instead, you just need to apply some basic skills and techniques every single day.
With that in mind, continue reading to discover how to communicate and cultivate a relationship with your beloved pet more successfully.
Stay Calm& Take Your Time
Patience is indeed a virtue, especially when intent on building a mutually affectionate and trusting relationship with your pet.
In a loud or stressful situation, you will be unable to train or properly communicate with your animal as their natural instincts will have propelled them into survival mode. Instead, lay on the floor near to your pet in a quiet room with no other distractions and allow their natural curiosity to overtake them enough for them to come to you.
Your animal needs to learn that you are a sturdy and steady presence in their life that will never do them any harm.
Never Shout Directly At Your Animal
There should rarely be a situation whereby it is ever appropriate to directly shout at your pet, save for an occurrence that they could injure themselves if you do not deliberately alarm them. In the terrifying situation of your pet having injured themselves, you must always ensure you are registered with a renowned and respected veterinary practice, such as Pet Nest Animal Hospital, so no precious minutes are wasted before your animal can receive treatment.
Shouting directly at your animal can result in the breaking of the bond of trust that you have worked hard to create, and it is therefore considered much more effective to re-direct their attention to something they are ‘allowed’ to do.
It’s All About Your Tone Of Voice
As much as you would like to think that your rabbit knows exactly what you mean when you ask them if they would prefer kale or spinach for their brunch, the truth is that, although animals (to varying degrees depending on the species of your animal) are fully able to understand a plethora of words, it is the sound association they pick up on rather than the words themselves.
It is because of this association with the sounds their human is making and the accompanying action that always occurs directly afterward that the tone of your voice is far more important than the actual word you use.
For example, if you tell your dog that they are the worst dog you have ever had the misfortune to meet, but do so in a happy, excitable tone, then they will assume they are being rewarded, and their tail will start wagging furiously.