Tag Archives: dog life

Picture of a fawn French Bulldog with a person's hand on its shoulder to illustrate easier without dogs.

Life’s easier without dogs

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There’s no doubt about it. Life would be easier without dogs. The thought occurred when I went into the office to do something, deliberately not letting the dogs in. I excluded them the other day, too. The dogs always eat their meals in crates. I just left them there while I got the vacuuming done. Because it’s easier without dogs.

As dog owners, we all know the beasties aren’t convenient. Not tidy, either. Their timing often stinks, and, on occasion, they do, too. Especially when they’ve rolled in something we-don’t-want-to-know-what-it-was. 

Easier without dogs

Life would be easier if we didn’t have to time our absences from home. If we could grab a “go bag” and enjoy a spur-of-the-moment overnight trip. If we didn’t have to scour reservation sites for “pet friendly” lodgings. And we could disregard those “pet fees.”

Picture of a fawn French Bulldog with a person's hand on its shoulder to illustrate easier without dogs.

We wouldn’t have to care if it’s too hot in the car. Or if we have enough poop bags. And taking an entire day to shop, prep, mix, bake, portion, and freeze meals for a month would mean we’re the ones who eat well. 

Instead of the homey, gentle sounds of snoring in the office there would only be the hum of electronics. We could answer the phone and talk without fending off a persistent paw asking for attention. The office wouldn’t be an obstacle course of dog beds, toys, and chews. The entire house might be easy to maneuver. Because now it’s not.

So many changes

Without dogs, the doorbell ringing wouldn’t spark an emergency response. The door could open wide, without even thinking about narrowest gap possible. On days with lousy weather, we could go out when we needed to run errands, instead of an old-dog every-three-hours timetable. 

We could even pick up our feet and walk around like people, instead of shuffling to not step on paws. Or even back up without glancing behind to see if it was safe. It’s not now. There’s a little-old-man dog who’s always standing behind.

It would be really nice to spontaneously agree to meet a friend for drinks or dinner. When you have dogs, spontaneity is something that just doesn’t happen. You can still make the date, you just have to do some prep work. I can’t meet you in 15 minutes – it’s going to take 45.

Totally worth it

That easy life without dogs would be less expensive, more flexible, and something we want no part of. An “easy” life isn’t our aspiration. Our dogs bring so much to life, daily. There’s nothing better than, at the end of the day, sitting with that warm fuzzy body snuggled up to you. The silence would be horrible – no toenails letting us know who’s on the move. The snorting, sneezing, scratching that means there’s life in the house. The joy they share when they figure out a training puzzle. The chomping, slurping, munching sounds that mean they love the food we made.

We know that non-pet people won’t get it. They also don’t get the unconditional love we have. The comfort of soft fur on a really crappy day. Easy isn’t necessarily better. 

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Resolve to Live Like A Dog

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New Year’s resolutions are on the agenda today. Ours is simple – to live more like a dog! We all love dogs, but rarely do we see them as role models. But they have lots of good lessons for us:

Relax whenever you can

Picture of a puppy sleeping to illustrate Live Like A Dog

Dogs really know how to relax. They don’t worry about how they look, where they are, or who may be watching. When they’re tired, they sit, or lie down. In many cases, the spot they choose may be right in the middle, on top of you, or where you were intending to go – but they don’t care. That’s the spot they’ve chosen and they claim it. More often than not, they’re either in the way or on you. And how many times have we decided not to get up, because we don’t want to disturb the dog? Especially when they look so darn cute.

Enjoy your food

Four Golden Retriever puppies eating to illustrate Live Like A Dog

We confess. Sometimes we give our dogs treats just because they look so cute chewing. They always eat with gusto, as if what’s on the menu is the best food ever made by the top chefs in the world. They don’t care that it’s the same stuff they ate yesterday. And the same stuff they’ll eat tomorrow. They love it!

Don’t worry about the mess

A small dog with dirt all over its face to illustrate Live Like a Dog

When you’re having a good time, it doesn’t matter if there are clean-up consequences later. Don’t let that mud puddle stop you from playing. And if you want to explore under that bush – go ahead and check it out. Try being spontaneous and going where your curiosity takes you. 

Use all your senses

White and black dog sniffing a snail to illustrate Live Like A Dog

Dogs are always curious about the world around them. They can sniff the same spot every walk, every day, and still find it endlessly fascinating. When was the last time you took a good look around when you were out and about? Were there clouds in the sky? How beautiful was yesterday’s sunset?

 Live in the moment

That’s the most important lesson of all from dogs. They don’t sweat the small stuff. They don’t worry at all – unless you’re late with their dinner. Dogs live in the moment. They’re ready to have fun at a moment’s notice. They don’t plan and strategize – they take advantage of all the fun life has to offer. Whether it’s a walk, a tummy rub, a training game, or just a snuggle on the couch – chances are your dog’s all in, every time. It may not work for people all the time, we have responsibilities. But just sometimes, wouldn’t it be nice to live like a dog?

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Be like dogs – live the best life

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Dogs don’t worry about the future. They don’t lose sleep over what may happen. And they accept what’s happening now as the best day ever. Dogs are models on how to live the best life. Be like dogs!

Why worry?

Some challenges in the last few months make us admire dogs’ resilience and adaptability. 

Booker has developed an issue with incontinence. Neither we nor the veterinarian has been able to figure out what’s going on with him (so far). We know it’s not a training issue, he seems to have no idea that he’s dripping his way around. Since we don’t know what’s causing it, we’re reluctant to use medication to control it. Instead, Booker now wears “pants” (a belly band) in the house. And he doesn’t mind. At all.

Be like dogs enjoy every day like this Boston Terrier play-bowing

Actually, he seems more comfortable wearing his pants. When he comes inside the house he waits by the door until we replace his pants. It could be because of the treat he gets. Or it could be because dogs love routine. When we first discussed using the belly band, we were worried that he’d be uncomfortable, or unhappy, wearing them. He doesn’t care.

Simon doesn’t care, either

A few weeks ago we talked about getting a muzzle for Simon to stop his persistent determination to eat every morsel of rabbit poop in the yard. We have to admit that the first couple of days weren’t happy. Now? Simon sits and waits for his “mask” to go on, knowing he gets to go outside. He no longer paws at it, and doesn’t try to avoid putting it on. Again, it could be because of the treats he gets. Or the routine. But he doesn’t mind. 

Booker and Simon demonstrate how to let go of the things you can’t change. They’re probably not crazy about their new garments. But they don’t resent them, either. These boys are living their best life.

What is the “best life” for a dog?

Dogs don’t have a lot of requirements for happiness. “Best life” depends on the individual dog and owner. Our dogs were accustomed to “going places” and “doing things” at least a couple days a week. With all dog sport classes cancelled over the past year, that changed. We miss going to class, socializing with our friends, and spending time focusing only on playing with our dogs. The dogs seem just as happy with our little basement training sessions. 

There’s a dog we follow on social media, a pied French Bulldog named Bubba. The person writing Bubba’s posts completely understands. He talks about Bubba’s adventures of the day, from Bubba’s point of view. And almost every single day is “the best day ever!” Which for dogs, it is. It’s always the best day.

The dogs don’t know what could be happening. They only know what is, and enjoy what’s going on now. They adapt to the situation. Dogs aren’t concerned about what could or should be. They enjoy now. Be like dogs.