Having a puppy in the house is an everyday adventure. It’s daily lessons in humility and kindness, joy and laughter. The most important lesson of having a puppy is that it is me, not the puppy, that needs to be trained!
I have learned many lessons from my puppy, and I’m learning more every day.
Xander, 6 weeks
Life lessons I learned from my puppy
01. Patience
Puppies require a lot of patience, and it’s good practice for life. To be patient I must stop thinking about what I want, when I want it, and how I will get it.
02. Play
Play one of life’s greatest joys! It’s too easy to get caught up in responsibilities, fears, stress- even good stuff like progress and goals. My puppy reminds me to take time out to play every day!
03. Communicate clearly, and with love
Puppies aren’t born knowing how humans want them to behave. They don’t know what we want unless we tell them, and they are eager enough to please when we do.
If my puppy makes a mistake, it’s my mistake, not his. I need to clearly communicate what I want, and be loving when mistakes are made. After all, we’re learning together! And that goes for human-to-human relationships, too.
04. Mistakes are okay!
Yep, mistakes are okay. They are expected. Maybe, just maybe, they are even good. Mistakes are part of the learning process. Mistakes sometimes even lead to new and wonderous discoveries! It’s true, just ask penicillin!
05. Be curious
Puppies get into everything, and I do mean everything! It may seem like a hassle to this human, this human who knows exactly what she’s doing and has a plan and working on that plan every day.
Many wonderful ideas and innovations happen when I stray from my path and discover what else there is. Be curious! Try new things! Beauty and experience are all around you- enjoy it!
06. Feel scared
Sometimes life is scary, and it’s okay to feel scared. It’s okay to say I’m scared. I don’t have to be tough all the time, and I don’t have to let my fear keep me from trying something new. It’s enough to feel scared and proceed anyway- especially if there’s a reward involved!
Xander, 9 weeks
07. Make messes!
Oh, us silly humans often avoid making a mess of things- at least this human does- but making a mess can provide all kinds of fun and messes can be cleaned up.
08. It’s just stuff
It seems every day something gets destroyed around the house, but you know what?, it’s just stuff. And it reminds me that I don’t really need as much stuff and I sometimes think I do. And, really, it’s all just stuff.
09. Give love
Puppies always have a kiss, a hug, or a snuggle and I want to be like that, too! Okay, maybe I’m not going to snuggle a stranger on the street, but the idea is to give love and give it freely, to myself as much as others.
Xander, 6 months