'Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them, filling an emptiness we don't even know we have.' - Thom Jones
When we chose to bring home a puppy I didn't expect to have a friend and teacher thrown in there too. Laugh, always. Okay, so our boy can't laugh, but if he could, he would. He lopes like a deer after his ball, he gets so excited and runs so fast that he can't stop before he hits your legs, he trips over himself and gets in a tangle because he can't wait to get back to us. He has fun. Lots of it. And he certainly lets us know. He makes us laugh every single day, and we love him for it. Laughing releases those sometimes much needed endorphins, making us feel good and taking away a bit of stress. We should have that so-excited-I-can't-stop fun, and laugh. After all, it's good for your health. Love, always. My dog loves me, no matter what. He may not always behave, but he always loves. It doesn't matter how my mood is, how I talk to him, or whether I have been away for 5 minutes or 5 hours - he loves me just the same. I'm always excitedly greeted by him, tail wagging and often receive a big wet lick on the face. Sometimes all my husband needs to lift away a bit of his stressful day at work is being greeted by his boy as soon as he puts one foot through the door. It's not always easy for us to love those around us, but our boy is a daily reminder that we should treat everyone with love and respect, be it a friend or a stranger (Mark 12:31).
Be strong, always. The beginning of our boy's forever with us was nothing short of a nightmare. We spent the first week sleeping on the sofa with him, and the following week getting up every 30 minutes during the night to settle him back to sleep before we could close his crate door. We have dealt with shark attack biting and aggression, serious dominance issues, 'zoomies', and a whole host of other obstacles other 'normal' puppy owners deal with, but I will be the first to say that I wasn't emotionally prepared. I wasn't expecting my mental state to be tested to the extreme. I certainly wasn't expecting to feel that one tiny, cute little wrinkly puppy had got the better of me. Just when I was ready to give up, I gave in. Rather than giving up and getting rid of our little monster, I gave in to loving him. It took some time, but life started to get easier. We settled into routine, and once he realised that he wasn't the one ruling the roost, he has given us nothing but love. He has taught me that life can be very difficult, but that it will get better if you just hold on. Trust, always At the start, our boy was bonkers when it came to crate training. He hated his own space, and no amount of treats would have got him near it. In fact, he hated personal space altogether. He wanted to live up to the 'velcro vizsla' name, and was quite literally stuck to me in his first week at home. Over time, he realised that we weren't going to leave him, and trusting that we will come back to him, he is now happy to spend time alone without complaint. Some of us aren't able to trust, and some of us choose not to, but trusting in those we love is so important in building your emotional bonds, and making the relationships stronger.
Be honest, always. When the boy wants something, he will let us know (a paw to the face is a dead give away). Likewise, when he is unhappy about something, he will let us know just as quickly (his huffy face is pretty cute, but I won't tell him that!). Why do we, as humans, hide our feelings and sugar coat things? Of course we don't want to hurt the feelings of those around us, but we should make more of an effort to be upfront. When we are being considerate to those around us, life would be much better if we were honest. Accept praise, always. I'm sure I'm not the only person who finds it difficult to accept compliments, or to listen when someone tells you that you have done a good job. But at the end of the day, we have to realise that God made us who we are to be used for His purposes, and shying away from a compliment to His handiwork is offensive. When was the last time our boy turned away from us when we tell him he is brilliant? NEVER! You can almost see his big chubby cheeks smiling when he is praised, and he accepts it unashamedly. He knows he has done well, and he deserves it to be acknowledged. Why should we be any different? It's good personal growth to realise when you have done a good job, and it's perfectly acceptable to be pleased with a compliment when you have put in some extra effort. Try new things, always. It may be out of greed, and sometimes even stupidity, but our boy will give anything a go. Sometimes he goes back for more, and other times he runs in the other direction. But he never refuses to try something new (unless there is water involved!) Even though some of his trials are a bit on the crazier side, he is a good reminder to try new things and be open to change. It's not always a bad thing. Don't judge, ever. Our boy doesn't discriminate. It doesn't matter whether you are male or female, an adult or a child, a Great Dane or a Chihuahua. Our boy wants to say hello. Even when we try not to, we can often find ourselves judging people on so many material things...how they look, what they are wearing, what they are doing. Shamefully, the list goes on. We could really take a leaf out of his book by not judging, ever. Why only make friends with Chihuahuas when we could be friends with the Great Danes too?
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