Want a happy and healthy pup? Expert trainer reveals the five traits you need to be a great dog owner

As the proud pet parent to a canine companion, it's likely that you spend a lot of time thinking about how you can boost your dog's happiness and ensure they thrive, both mentally and physically.

From providing your dog with a comfortable place to sleep to rewarding good behavior with the longest lasting dog chews, there's plenty you can do to ensure your fur friend lives a great life.

But, did you know that as well as 'doing' things for your dog to increase their level of happiness, there are also ways that you can 'be' that are equally important when it comes to improving your dog's quality of life? It's true!

According to expert trainer Miles Hamilton who has worked with thousands of people and their pups, there's a pattern of five key traits that all good dog owners have. Check out his TikTok video below for a full breakdown or keep reading for a summary of his key points.

1) "The first trait is they're proactive, so they solve problems before they pop up."

2) "They're self-motivated problem-solvers. So when a problem does arise, they're typically on top of it so they want to figure out how to fix it, they're on YouTube watching tutorials, they're trying to research on their own, they're reaching out to trainers."

3) "The third trait is that they're committed. This manifests itself in various ways, in the form of time, so they invest a lot of time into training, they can invest money into the training or they can invest effort into the training."

4) "They have high expectations. They have high expectations for their dog, they have a high standard of what they want to achieve, they want advanced obedience."

5) "They're insecure. The thought of having an untrained dog is embarrassing for them, it bothers them."

While it may not seem obvious at first, working on developing these traits further helps your dog to feel safe and secure in your presence - and a dog that feels safe and secure also feels happy.

For more great tips and tricks to help boost your dog's mental and physical health and wellbeing, check out my dog doesn't like long walks so I use these four brain games to tire her out.