What Does A Dog Know About Living A First Class Life?

By Debbie Ingle — Written on Aug 15, 2011

Dogs: they have it all figured out; and because we are the more intelligent of the two, I suppose we think we have nothing to learn from them.

My 9-month-old puppy so obviously and effortlessly puts himself first. I don’t fault him for this and, in fact, I applaud him. Let’s go through a few lessons we should learn from our four-legged friends:

FOOD
He eats when he's hungry as opposed to eating at a pre-determined mealtime. The funny thing is, who decided we were to eat three meals a day? Who decided a breakfast would look like yogurt and granola, and what if I wanted a chicken breast and broccoli for breakfast?

Back to my puppy. A few days ago, he ate hardly anything. I was concerned and really spent my energy wondering why he wasn’t eating. Was something wrong? My husband thinks I'm a little crazy for noticing, and now I think I'm crazy, too. The truth is, I’ve learned that I can approach food just as my dog does: eat WHEN I am hungry.

LOVE
These puppies are born to love. We coo and love unconditionally as young babies while freely showing our affection. Our puppies snuggle and lick our faces to show their love. And the really great part? They never stop doing this act of love. A dog expresses its affection in public; and when it kisses me it’s with as much enthusiasm as its very first kiss. Ahhhhh.

PLAY
Dogs love to play, right? I realize we were born playful; we even had allotted time to play in school (recess). And as life began to unfold for us (and truly at a most precious and creative time in our lives), we were rewarded for buckling down. I’ve learned that playing makes me more fun to be around. Playing is a gift we receive each and every day we are healthy. Each day, make sure to schedule in your recess time.

FEAR
Out of nowhere and with no real practice, I saw my puppy attempt to leap a barrier. This barrier was a medium-sized door that was supposed to be opened by the doggie day care woman. Also, this barrier was what was standing between my puppy and myself. Our dog didn’t ponder if he could do it, and he didn’t wonder what I would think of him if he failed. He just made the attempt! He jumped the door and barely made it over; what mattered most is that he did make it over. May we all leap over what is in our way with no thought or fear: just leap!

FEELING FAT TODAY
The truth is, I have never met a dog that thought less of itself because it was feeling a bit bloated. Those husky, overfed labs at the dog park are just as adorable as their lean counterparts. Let us all feel as pretty as Lady did in Lady and The Tramp.

WHY
Why do we tell ourselves we aren’t deserving of living a luxurious life?

WHY
Why did we put our dreams on hold?

WHAT
What are we so damn afraid of?

WHO
Who are we trying to impress?