¿Sabe mi perro que le quiero? 5 maneras de demostrarle a su perro que le quiere, según un adiestrador de perros experimentado

As a caring and devoted dog parent, you know for a fact that you love your canine companion. You buy him the trendiest toys on the market, feed him treats that make him drool buckets of saliva and caress his fur when he’s curled up by a crackling fire, but what about him? Does he actually know that you love him? 

If this thought has ever crossed your mind, rest assured you are not alone. You are actually in excellent company. As a dog trainer and behavior consultant, I get this question quite often from concerned doggy parents, but the good news is that dogs are remarkably good at reading our intention, tone, and routines.

Key takeaways: 

• Dogs are perfectly capable of understanding affection but they perceive it through different criteria compared to us humans.

• There are several simple, evidence-backed ways that we can show love to our canine companions without spoiling or confusing them.

• Many “clingy” behaviors we observe in dogs aren’t love, but actually stress signals.

• Strong dog/owner emotional bonds are built through small, daily habits.

If dogs could only talk! If we asked them whether they are aware of how much we love them, perhaps they would gently inform us that, while our love for them is enthusiastic, maybe bordering on obsessive at times, it’s also quite confusing. 

The main problem? As different species, we express our feelings in various ways. As humans, we express our love through internal emotional states and secondary expressions such as gifts, verbal reassurance, hugs, kisses, and intentional acts. When it comes to dogs, instead, they experience love through emotional and physiological states.

Oxytocin Levels in Dogs: What It Means and Why It Matters

This has been backed up by research. Studies have indeed found that when dogs show dog trust signals to humans, their brains release oxytocin, a hormone associated with bonding, safety, and social connection. Oxytocin doesn’t just create feelings of “love” and closeness; this powerful hormone also plays a major role in calming the nervous system. 

When oxytocin is therefore released during positive interactions, it helps shift the body out of a state of alert or vigilance and into one of relaxation and safety. A dog’s heart rate slows, stress hormones decrease, and the body becomes more receptive to connection.

For dogs, this matters more than emotion or words ever could. Dogs measure love through features that make their nervous system exhale a sigh of relief. They tend to feel good when they are provided with elements of predictability, safety and patterns that make them feel secure.

Top 5 Ways to Make Your Dog Feel Loved: Dog Love Challenge

Most dog parents genuinely love their dogs, but daily life gets busy, and “showing love” can turn into rushed walks and distracted cuddles. The fix usually isn’t doing more; it’s doing a few right things consistently, in a way your dog can actually feel.

That’s why the PawChamp Dog Love Challenge exists. It breaks the “what should I do today?” part into easy daily steps, so the bond-building doesn’t depend on motivation or guesswork.

These five ideas are the foundation of the dog love challenge:

1. Quality Time 

Think of this in terms of sniffy walks, the so-called “Sniffaris,” unhurried exploring, and sitting together, enjoying the moment without any screens interfering. Dogs thrive when they are provided with quality time under the form of play and various forms of enrichment that help exercise their body and mind. 

2. Positive Reinforcement Dog Training

In a nutshell, focus on reinforcing desired behaviors using treats, praise, and play. This form of training tells your dog that you’re safe, predictable, and worth listening to and it’s scientifically proven to strengthen the dog–owner emotional bond.

3. Clear, Kind Body Language

Slow blinking, sideways approaches, and soft movements are calming signals that tell your dog, “I’m safe.” Dogs don’t love big bear hugs or lots of smooching, but they adore calm affection delivered on their terms. Also, consider that dogs react positively to our calm tone of voice. 

4. Routine and Predictability

Dogs love predictable routines in their lives. Yes, I am talking about regular feeding times, walk times, and rest times. These daily routines help them feel safe and secure, and security is the ultimate foundation of love in dog language.

5. Agency, the Opportunity to Give Choices

In behavior science, agency refers to the ability to make choices. When we provide dogs with the ability to make their own choices, dogs can think in terms of “I have some say in how my life goes,” rather than “life happens to me.”

The ability to opt in or opt out is therefore powerful as our dog’s communication is honored this way. When you provide dogs with agency, it tells them that they are not trapped and humans are there to listen. This is how building trust with your dog works. 

A dog that can walk away from a stressful situation, choose where to rest, or decline an interaction that feels unsettling is a dog that feels emotionally secure.

Yes, dogs love you too!

Wondering what the everyday “yes, human, I love you too” signals look like in dogs? Here are some subtle, but powerful signs suggesting that your dog knows you love them:

• Soft eye contact (not staring directly, but more like warm, slow blinks)

• Relaxed, loose and wiggly body language

• Choosing to be near you through their free will

• Gentle leaning on you

• Calm check-ins on walks (this is where they’ll glance back at you to make sure you’re there)

As a dog trainer and behavior consultant, I feel it’s important to point out that there are some common dog behaviors that look affectionate, but are actually signs of stress, insecurity, or unmet needs. The following are some of them:

• Constant clinginess. Shadowing behaviors in the so-called “Velcro dogs” may appear like a sign of loyalty or deeply bonded dogs who just love to follow their pet parents around the house. However, in some cases, I have to remind pet parents that this may be a sign of dogs suffering from some form of separation-related distress. In a nutshell, these dogs aren’t seeking proximity because it feels good, but because they feel unsafe when they are separated from their humans.

• Frantic jumping. I have witnessed many dogs who love to jump on people, but at a closer evaluation, their over-the-top greetings are more of a sign of overstimulation or poor emotional regulation, rather than affection.

• Excessive licking. Many of my clients interpret licking of people’s hands and face as “kisses,” but often repetitive or intense licking behaviors in dogs stem from appeasement behaviors, stress, or anxiety rather than love. These overly appeasing behaviors are just their way of reducing social tension and de-escalating what may be perceived as conflictual situations. 

• Nudging for attention. As much as this may seem like affectionate behavior, excessive nudging and pawing is often triggered by feelings of boredom, frustration, or reinforced attention-seeking. 

• Refusal to explore. Dogs who stay glued to your leg when on walks may appear as loyal dogs who love being around you, but studies have shown that dogs who feel safe usually explore their environment. Indeed, just as it happens with human infants, dogs perceive their humans as a secure base that allows them to feel safe enough to wander, sniff, and explore rather than seek constant proximity.

If you’re serious about bonding with your dog, the most effective approach is a daily bonding routine with a dog-friendly structure. When we feed them on time, guide them kindly, and provide calm structure, their nervous systems learn, “This person keeps me safe.” And that’s the kind of love dogs cherish and understand best! 

A one- to three-minute positive reinforcement dog training session (one cue, a few reps, done) teaches your dog you’re consistent and safe, which supports the dog–owner emotional bond. Add dog mental stimulation activities that match real dog needs: sniffy walks, simple scent searches at home, or a long-lasting chew. 

Mix in calm “nothing time” too, just sitting together without asking for anything. Research shows that dogs read our body language and tone of voice more than our words. Studies using fMRI (like the work of neuroscientist Gregory Berns) reveal that dogs process familiar human scents in reward-center regions of the brain, suggesting that our presence itself feels good to them.

To improve on the issue “how to connect with your dog”, build in choice: let them pick the sniff spot, opt out of greetings, or choose where to settle. Those are dog trust signals in action.

If you’re asking, “Does my dog know I love him?,” the good news is that by asking this question you’re already halfway there. Most dogs show clear signs when they feel safe and cherished, and you’re likely already doing more right than you realize.

While dogs understand affection differently from humans, some of the core ingredients are surprisingly similar. I am talking here about safety, consistency, and gentle social cues. 

If you want this kind of structure delivered to your phone, step by step, the PawChamp Dog Love Challenge turns these dog love activities into a simple daily plan.

References 

Horn, Lisa & Huber, Ludwig & Range, Friederike. (2013). The Importance of the Secure Base Effect for Domestic Dogs - Evidence from a Manipulative Problem-Solving Task. PloS one

Cimarelli, Giulia & Schindlbauer, Julia & Pegger, Teresa & Wesian, Verena & Virányi, Zsófia. (2021). Secure base effect in former shelter dogs and other family dogs: Strangers do not provide security in a problem-solving task. PloS one

Díaz Videla, Marcos & López, Pablo A.. (2017). Oxytocin in the human-dog bond: Review of the literature and analysis of future investigation fields. Interdisciplinaria.

Gregory S. Berns, Andrew M. Brooks, Mark Spivak, Scent of the familiar: An fMRI study of canine brain responses to familiar and unfamiliar human and dog odors Behavioural Processes, Volume 110, 2015.