The Dogs in My Life
Some of you may know, I adore my dogs. My family exclusively
has standard poodles which, if you don’t know, are the original size of poodle
that range in size from about 45 to 70 lbs. They are super smart (the second
smartest breed of dog, following only the border collie) and super athletic (bred
to hunt and retrieve waterfowl). Anyways, all of that is beyond the point! My
parents and brother are travelling all the time for my brother’s soccer tournaments
and games, so I come back home for those weekends to dogsit. I used to have 3
standard poodles, but our eldest, Bacio (the light brown one), passed away about a year and a half
ago at the age of 15. The two that are left are retired breeding dogs that we
adopted together—they are mother and daughter. The mom, Cortona (the dark brown one), is about 7
years old. Her personality is very regal, sweet, and curious. Siena (the cream one), her
daughter, is about 4 or 5. She is way more energetic, desperate for attention,
and yet extremely shy. We adopted them as retired breeding dogs, but we do not
think they were treated very well by the man in the house. It took months for
them to approach my brother and my dad which was so sad to see. After almost
two years of constant love and attention, they spend a lot of time in my
brother’s room with him willingly, and they will go up to my dad and lick his
hands without being called.The Health Benefits of Having a Dog
Now, back to the point of this post: The health benefits of
having a dog in your life. For this section, I think we should go through the
wellness wheel.
Emotional
Dogs are proven to lower your blood pressure and
reduce stress. Right when one begins petting and loving on a dog, happy
chemicals are released in the brain. This is why dogs are so effective as
service animals. People with dogs tend to be much more emotionally stable and
grounded. I know that whenever I experienced stress in high school—whether that
be social or educational or just hormonal stress—my dog, Bacio, would come and
give me a lot of attention. Dogs are proven to sense what we are feeling, so,
when we are stressed, they usually react to that. He would always ask me to
play ball with him, take him on a walk, or just sit with me. Any of these
actions would instantly calm me down. Additionally, when I am studying non-stop,
they remind me to take them for walks and take cuddle breaks. This is great for
reducing my stress when studying.
Intellectual
Intellectual—When you have a dog, you are constantly
learning new things. Every day with a dog is a new adventure that you conquer
together. Recently we adopted my current dogs, Cortona and Siena. They came
into our lives with extreme social anxiety. This was a struggle for my family
who thought we knew everything there is to know about dog ownership because we
raised Bacio for 15 years. The truth is: each dog is different. I learned a lot
about myself and the world through Bacio, and I have learned a ton more from Cortona
and Siena. It is a great way to because proficient in another craft: dog care.
It is important to always be learning something new; perhaps life with a dog is
your next great adventure?
Physical
Physical—Studies show that dog owners are generally more
active than those without dogs. My dogs take me out everyday. I make a point to
take them on as many new adventures as possible which has been great for their anxiety!
Some days we go swimming at the lake, to the dog park, on a hike, or on a walk
around town. All of these activities are great for me as well as for them. I
notice that when I am responsible for their care, I take better care of myself
as well.
Social
Social—Having a dog can be a really social activity! You have
to make relationships with groomers and vets and dog walkers/sitters. Not to
mention you can meet some very interesting people at the dog park. For example,
one of my closest high school friends met her husband at the dog park after
their dogs hit it off! Not saying that’s a common occurrence…but it happened! Finally,
I love going on dog walking dates with my friends that also have dogs. It is a
great way to just talk and catch up with someone, and your dog gets a new friend
out of it too :). At the very least, you have a built in best friend who adores
you no matter what you look like, what your hobbies are, what you eat, what
you do—it doesn’t matter! As long as you show them love, they are your biggest fan,
and that is really special.
Environmental
Environmental—I strongly believe that a house without a dog
is hardly a home. One of the best things in the world to come home to is a dog
who is just filled with excitement that you have returned. You are the apple of
their eye, and they want to spend every waking moment with you. That kind of
love is great to fill your house with!
Financial
Financial—I am not going to lie to you and say that dogs are
not expensive, but you can definitely make an educated decision based on your
monthly budget as to what kind of dog to get. Maybe getting a smaller dog that
requires less food is the way to go. Maybe getting a short haired dog that is
easy to groom at home is the way to go. There exist lots of ways to make having
a dog financially feasible. I know a few people that say they waste less money
on things they do not need because they know they have to care for their dog,
so maybe that is a financial benefit depending on your spending habits.
Spiritual
Spiritual—Depending on your religious beliefs, this area of
the wellness wheel may or may not interest you, but, for me, having a dog is
one of the best parallels of God’s love that we can find on Earth. They unconditionally
love us. They never judge us or condemn us. They are constantly there for us if
we will let them be. They want to go with us everywhere we go. They want to be
closer with us every day. God gave us dogs as a companion, so I am definitely
going to take advantage :).
All of these things specifically are results I have noticed
personally while spending time with my dogs. Obviously in some cases, having a
dog can be a detriment to your health. Maybe
they just stress you out, you do not have enough time to properly train
and exercise them, you do not have enough money to pay for surprise vet bills, or
you just do not like dogs. If you have been thinking about it and researching
for a while, oscillating toward maybe adopting a dog, I encourage you to take
the plunge. Maybe start by babysitting a friends dog, and then have a few meet
and greets at your local shelter with a few dogs. People who have a dog often
live longer, live happier, and live healthier!
Ways to Integrate a Dog into Your Everyday Life
There exist many ways to integrate
your dog into your everyday life too! Below I will share some of those tips on
how to be a really active dog owner, or really fun dog-sitter.
·
Take your dog on an adventure every day. Like I
said earlier, I like to go swimming, snowshoeing, hiking, to the dog park, or just walking around
town every day. Dogs need a lot of exercise and mental stimulation, so really
give them that time outside, exploring the world.
·
I think it is so important when you get a dog to
really integrate them into your everyday life. That means, when you go out to
dinner, try and go to a place with a patio that allows dogs. Maybe you are a
runner who needs a canine training partner! We like to take our dogs to my
brother’s soccer games to chill with us as we watch. If I am going shopping
across town or something, if it is not too hot outside, I like to find a dog park
or fun place to walk in the area. That way I can take them and wear them out, so
they just sleep in the car while I run my errands. They like it much better
than being left at home in their kennel. (If it is too hot to leave them in the
car when you shop, please just leave them at home; better safe than sorry)
·
Try and go on family trips that they can go on
too. Lots of Airbnb’s allow dogs. Camping and backpacking is a great dog trip. When
we go on vacation and stay with family, we always bring our dogs too. Finally,
my sister went and snowshoed out to a yurt with her friends this last winter,
and her friend took his dog. It was a great time. They love adventure, so
really make an effort to make those memories with them during the time you have
together.
·
Find lots of chew toys and puzzle toys for them!
They need the mental stimulation so that they do not get bored and wreak havoc :).
There are lots of fun toy subscription boxes, the clearance section at Petco is
very fun, and there are lots of DIY dog toys to be tried online.
·
Take lots of pictures of them! We only get them
for a short while! Keep those memories because they are precious!
If You are Thinking of Adopting a Dog
Having a dog is not always practical, but, if you are confident
that you can give a dog a good quality of life for the ENTIRETY of its life, definitely
consider adopting a dog from the shelter or finding a reputable breeder who
could match you with a puppy or retired adult dog. I would never suggest buying
a dog from a pet store unless they are coming from a local shelter. Many
puppies in pet stores are from puppy mills which are pretty much just puppy breeding
factories where the health of the mother is completely disregarded, resulting
in many terminally ill puppies. You can read more about them here if you are
interested. I always suggest going to the shelter and being matched with a dog
in need; there are so many dogs in shelters looking for a good home! If you are
looking for a specific breed or type in particular and cannot find it in your
local shelter, or if you just couldn’t find your perfect match in the shelter,
here are instructions for finding a humane, reputable breeder that will give
you a great, healthy dog with a good temperament.
Comment below and tell me about the dogs in your life :)
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