Lessons I’m Learning from the Dog

Tater, our new dog, has been learning all kinds of new things — how to walk on a leash, how to sit, stay, come and fetch, even how to let us know when she needs to go out. But surprisingly, I am learning a lot from Tater too! Here are some highlights:

Tater has taught me to live in the moment. Dogs don’t pine over the past, they live for right now! They don’t stew over what went wrong yesterday, they are just excited about what today will bring them.

Tater has reminded me of the importance of exercise and how it is related to mood. There’s a saying that a tired dog is a good dog, and I know this is true! When Tater gets a long morning walk and play time at the dog park, she is a well-behaved dog for the rest of the day. On those odd days when my schedule won’t accomodate as long a walk and play time, Tater ends up in a bad mood, where she barks constantly, chews anything, and is just plain annoying to be around. I thank the dog for the reminder that exercise is as good for my head as it is for my body.

Tater has taught me to not take things personally. When we are at the off-leash dog park, there are usually many different dogs of varying size, age and temperament. Since Tater is still under a year and definately has that puppy energy, her invitations to play are not always appreciated by the older dogs. Tater will approach a dog, give a couple of signals that say “Come play with me!” and if the other dog doesn’t respond, Tater just moves on until she does find a willing playmate. Tater doesn’t spend any time wondering “what’s wrong with me, why won’t that dog play?”, she knows it’s not personal.

And lastly, Tater has reminded me of the importance of not taking life too seriously and remembering to have fun! Life can be serious, it can be work, it can be difficult. But it can also be a pile of fun! Watching how the dog has fun, how she enjoys every second, how it is all about feeling good, has been very uplifting for me too! And I am enjoying having fun with Tater, she has added a whole new dimension to my life.

So who knew there were so many life lessons one could learn from a puppy? They say when the student is ready the teacher will arrive….I never imagined my teacher would be in the form of a 25 lb, black/tan and white, bouncing baby dog! But I guess I was ready, because Tater has definately arrived! LOL

This entry was posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 9:23 pm and is filed under The Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Lessons I’m Learning from the Dog”

1. Antonia says:

   February 20, 2009 at 4:25 am

   Excellent post Stacey! So true.