Six Gifts for Dogs that Won’t Cost You a Penny

Here are some gifts that you can’t buy, but which will strengthen your relationship with your dog. photo via dogster.com

Over on dogster.com, dog trainer Casey Lomonaco offers a different take on Christmas gifts for your dog. Instead of focusing on things you can buy in stores, she offers six ideas for gifts that are much more meaningful:

1. The gift of respect

Just because a dog may tolerate a child climbing all over her does not mean she has to. Along with the gift of respect comes the gift of protection: Dogs make us feel safe, but are we doing our jobs of protecting them and making them feel safe? Love should always be characterized by respect, and if we love our dogs, we owe it to them to treat them well — to learn how to read canine body language and intervene on their behalf, so that they never feel the need to defend themselves with teeth or growls.

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