7 Signs Your Dog Really Trusts You
by dogtoyadvisor | Last updated on November 18, 2020
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People always assume dogs absolutely love and trust their humans.
And, while they do love them, even when it’s not reciprocated, trust is a different thing altogether.
Yes, your dog can love you without trusting you.
And, when a dog doesn’t trust his human completely, that wonderful dog/human bond is lost and his life is never truly complete.
Why is It So Important For Your Dog to Trust You?
Isn’t love enough? Why must dogs trust us?
Well, we guess it rather depends on the relationship you want to have with your dog and how invested you are in your dog’s well being.
Dogs need more than food and love to thrive, they need guidance, they need someone to follow blindly.
We’re not going to call it a “pack leader” because, honestly, dogs have evolved much beyond that.
But that need for someone to trust completely and to feel safe with still exists.
Much like children need to know their parents are there to protect them and guide them, no matter what.
Also, it makes your life much easier because, if your dog trusts you, he’ll want to obey and please, making it that much easier to train him.
Learning to Trust Us Saved Our Dog’s Life
When our first dog, Dobby, was rescued, all he’d known was human abuse.
And, no matter how much care and attention he received from his rescuers, he was completely unable to trust them.
He wasn’t aggressive or anything, he just closed himself off and was afraid of everything and anything around him.
It was heartbreaking.
When we adopted him, we were prepared for him to take months, maybe even years to properly trust us.
And even now, 7 years later, even with him trusting us completely, Dobby’s self confidence is still a work in progress.
We Worked SOOOOO Hard!
We were always making sure he knew that he was finally safe with us and that we’d protect him from just about anything.
Sometimes we’d even make a show of it, like keeping other dogs that scared him at bay so that he would see we were there for him.
But at other times we’d give him the confidence to walk by one of those dreaded, life-threatening plastic bags without nothing happening.
Bit by bit, we made sure he knew we got it covered and eventually he learned to trust us.
Nowadays, it’s like we’re his Superman and that’s fine with us!
7 Signs Your Dog Trusts You With His Life
If you’re currently working on building a trusting relationship with your dog, the first thing you must know is, each dog can take different times getting there, for several reasons.
And that’s perfectly okay.
What’s not okay is giving up on him and making sure that the next person who adopts him will have twice the trouble to get him to trust because you’ve proven him he can’t trust anyone completely.
Not that we’ve gotten that off out chests, if you’re wondering how much your dog trusts you, here are 7 sure ways to tell you’re on the right track.
1# Your Dog Looks You Straight in the Eyes
Unlike humans, dogs take eye contact as a challenge for dominance.
Particularly if it’s another dog that’s doing it.
However, when your dog truly trusts you, he’ll want to look straight into your eyes for as long as he possibly can.
If your dog enjoys looking into your eyes, while relaxed, he loves and trusts you and is enjoying all the oxitocyn that’s being release into his system.
#2 Your Dog Wants to Spend All His Time With You
Having a dog who wants to spend all the time he can with you means he loves and trusts you.
It means he feels safe around you and that you’re the center of your Universe.
While it may sometimes be annoying, having your dog follow you around everywhere you go like a shadow (no bathroom privacy!!), remember, he does it out of love and trust.
How can anyone be annoyed by that?
#3 Your Dog Is Completely Relaxed and Confident Around You
This goes without saying, but it’s a great sign of trust.
This was the first sign we saw from Dobby, once he started to trust us.
Instead of being tense and always looking around, he began relaxing and taking naps near us.
A relaxed body posture, with a high tail that isn’t tucked between his legs are sure signs your dog trusts you.
#4 Your Dog Responds Well to Training
Successfully training a dog is much more about your bond that it is about the dog’s ability to learn.
A dog that loves and trusts you wants to please you and to obey you, therefor will do his absolute best at learning whatever it is you’re teaching him.
Training is also one of the best opportunities you have to earn your dog’s trust.
If you are yelling or punishing him in any way to get him to learn, guess what? Your dog will fear you, not trust you.
You want your dog to obey you our of respect and trust, never fear.
#5 Your Dog Remains Calm When You Leave
Separation anxiety is common for dogs and it’s something we’ve also had to deal with.
While most dogs don’t necessarily have separation anxiety, which is an extreme condition, most dogs will complain and become nervous when they realize you’re about to leave.
Dogs just believe you’ve left them and are never coming back.
So, it’s a real testament to how much your dog trusts you if he remains perfectly calm when you leave.
It means he knows you’d never leave him and that you’ll always return, so he’s not worried.
He may not like it that you’re leaving, but he isn’t worried about it.
#6 Your Dog Comes to You For Reassurance and Guidance
This is particularly important for shy dogs like Dobby.
Whenever something happens that frightens him, he’ll always come to us to feel safe.
If we’re outside, even in places where he’s off leash, he’ll always seek us out to know where we are at all times.
If he meets a dog and he doesn’t feel quite sure what to do, he’ll come to us for guidance.
Sometimes it can be as simple as him leaving his group of canine friends to come over, sniff us and return.
That, for us, is the essence of a dog/human bond, that absolute trust, that special connection.
#7 Your Dog Always Wants to Sleep Near You
Dogs feel the most exposed when they’re sleeping so doing it next to you means not only that he knows you won’t hurt him, but also that if something happens, he’s counting on you to protect him.
Wolves and wild dogs make sure to always sleep together with pack members they trust and your dog is doing the exact same thing with you.
So, even if you’re not a fan of sleeping with a dog, try to keep his bed next to yours or, at least, allow for some time during the day for him to nap next to you, ideally touching you to feel safe and happy.
And don’t take it for granted, it’s a big deal that your dog trusts you enough to want to do it and you should feel happy for that.
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I adopted a rescue baby just over 4 years ago and poor baby had so many issues. 3 years finally got a settled confident baby. With the 7 points of trust we probably would score 6.5, training is my problem. Sometimes I have repeat commands several times for Cuddlz to respond, walking on a lead is frustrating,she was 15 months old when I rescued her, for 14 months she was tied to a dead tree in an open paddock with 4 brothers and Mother,so her life had been life chained to a dead tree. About 10 months ago she started getting scared by noises after dropping a stack of saucepans and baking trays fell out of cupboard unfortunately its getting worse, even to me opening the fridge now. Cuddlz knows she’s safe. Anyway I try not to make fast movements and loud noises….
Hi Lindi.
Getting a traumatized pet to trust us is a journey and it’s easy to have set backs.
My advice would be, have patience and just be confident that she’ll eventually learn to be more confident and feel safe. Work with her on a daily basis to establish that bond we talk about on our post, show she can trust you and that you’ve got her back.
Good luck, let us know how it went.
Sandy