Pets are the greatest blessings. It is the best and realest companionship you get to experience in life. The best part for us is you are able to choose the pet you want by their size, breed, color, and maybe even age. Some pets are in need of more handling/attention to take care of than other breeds, however there is one similarity that all pet owners can do to make the best out of these creature's life. It's not just the treats and cuddles. It's the way you communicate with your dog. That's what makes the best relationship. No, I do not mean verbally. Dogs are not able to speak and tell their owners how they feel, therefore they show it through body language.

Body language isn't usually the way owners go to figure out how pets feel. Yet, It is the best way to communicate with them. With dogs specifically, you can quickly realize that they do what works for them, not their human. For example, most of the times we love squeezing our pets to death because of their cuteness. However, that scenario can be very stressful to them. There are many signals they give us to show they are worried, scared, stressed, etc. and most of the time we don't see it.

Learning all of these amazing tips about pet handling definitely made me see pets so differently. Now I am a better communicator and have a better ability to connect with my pets, friend's pets, family pets, and those around the community. You can see pets' body language through their ears, eyes, tail, fur, brows, and the way they are standing. For example, when dogs are relaxed, their tail is usually either wagging or neutral, while they have a tranquil face and are simply standing or laying down enjoying themselves. However, when they are stressed or afraid they usually lick their lips, pant uneasily, lift their paw, have a stiff body, bark, or will tuck their tail in. This can show a HUGE difference of when they are okay and when they are stressed.

One way to completely maintain and raise your pet the best way is with enrichment. Letting your pet explore, wonder around, and simply get out of their everyday environment can help you not deal with them being so hyper and causing you stress for ripping and destroying things out of boredom. There's social, physical, and sensory enrichment that can make your pet the most well behaved and perfect for your standards.

All you need to do is train them and give plenty of attention. Toys, treats, and love is a great way to give enrichment at home. It also helps you teach them what to do and not to do. If there's certain things you don't want, if you continue to give them enrichment instead they will learn that if they do it, there wont be a treat. However if they don't they will get a treat.

Another great tip is to never come at a pet directly. Always turn sideways and offer them a hand to see if they will come to you and let you pet them. As you know, we are extremely bigger than they are. Therefore getting down on their level and turning to the side makes their defenses go down. If you see them backing away from you, tail tucking, mouth closed, or simply growling/barking at you... it is simply best to ignore them and let it be until they are ready. Throwing treats and walking off can be a great step to start off with. What we need to remember the most is that pets do what works for them, not their human.

My moral to this is to try and pay attention to a pet's body language before trying to interact with it from now on. Ignoring the signs is the real reason why we have bad experiences of pets biting us because 'they're aggressive or dangerous'. Pets are talking to us all the time, it's just us to realize what they are saying by their body language. We should never shut a pet out from communicating with us when barking or showing 'aggression' to others.

It is simply them stating they are stressed and uncomfortable with that specific situation. Shutting dogs out and making them scared to give any signs will simply lead to them to bite and attack instead. Pets can really help people in life, but it is up to us to help them love life first so they share that vibe with the rest of us. We are all they got.