When we think of getting a puppy or bringing a new dog into our lives, we often immediately begin to think about how much we’ll need to teach them. But after years of living with them, we learn that, really, there are so many lessons we learn from dogs.
Sure, they may need us to help them become more happily socialized in different environments or to learn the boundaries of living in a house with a human family and so much more, but as they learn those simple things, their role as our little fur coated gurus becomes more apparent.
(And speaking of what they need to learn early on, you can read here about how to help your new puppy adjust to their new home.)
Let’s take a look at some of the lessons we learn from dogs (and we’d love to hear from you on this one!).
Always take the walk
This seems like dog propaganda, right? (Just being silly there.) But there’s so much about walking that is good for humans. You can lose those extra pounds with daily walking. It improves mental health. If you walk with others (which your dog would encourage), then you’re also getting much needed socializing. And did you know that a short ten minute walk after a meal can decrease your glucose response by 35%? Cool.
Always be open to adventure
Your dog never says no to a car ride or a walk in a new park, right? So why do you? And one of the best things about saying yes to adventures? You can take your trusty companion with you to remind you that there’s only joy to be found if we’re open to new experiences.
Love unconditionally
You can be having such a bad day that maybe you’re snappy with your dog. Guess what? They will never hold it against you. Which is just more reason to make sure on bad days we aren’t snappy with our dogs… Dogs love us pretty much no matter what. That’s a great gift and also a great responsibility.
Leave the past where it belongs
In the past. This one is definitely related to how to love. Because when we leave the past in the past, we’re giving ourselves and others grace and allowing them (and ourselves) to be different and to grow. And this leads to …
Be mindful
A dog, very brilliantly, only lives in the now. They are zen masters. There’s no thinking about what might happen later or will they ever get to that park again or when will a favorite new toy appear. They simply are where they are with whatever they have and whatever is happening.
Show gratitude
Don’t just be grateful. (But yeah…obviously… be super grateful every day for all the little things.) Show that you’re grateful. Say thank you. Gift without expecting return. Smile. Compliment. Wag your tail. (For real… wag that tail.)
Slow down
When we take our time, we can take in all the beauty and all the sounds and sights (and scents). When we move so fast through the world, everything is a blur.
There’s so much more that we learn from dogs on the daily, and like we said, we’d love to hear your stories of dog wisdom.
And here are some great dog stories about how much dogs change our lives.