Man’s best friend. The pet children around the world beg their parents for every year around Christmas. They come small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and big enough to stand up to your shoulder. Curly or straight, pure white or spotted, everyone has a preference on what they believe to be the cutest form of this animal.
That’s right, we’re talking about dogs.
Dogs are not only great companions, they provide us with valuable lessons about life and love. Be attentive to the wisdom your furry friends offer! Their humble dispositions can make it easy to disregard the insight these creatures freely extend, but they do so with authentic action rather than baseless words. It makes our dogs that much more lovable!
Loyalty is a foundation to any healthy relationship.
Once you select a furry friend, they become yours — mind, body, and soul. All you need to do is give them the opportunity. All you need to do is bring a dog home and they will be more than willing to make you their person. While it will take a period of time for you and your pooch to warm up to each other, once that stage is complete, you’ve gained a lifelong companion. Dogs are known for their loyalty and it is an attribute we could stand to imitate more in our relationships.
Love is exciting.
You know that happy dance your dog does when you arrive back home, even after only being gone for a couple minutes? No, you need not jump up and down or run around in circles every time your significant other comes to visit. But that recurring excitement that does not fade no matter the length of your relationship is to be admired.
Forgive and forget.
Dogs never hold a grudge. You continually wrong your dog — forgetting to feed him, delaying her bathroom break, skipping his walk, and getting frustrated at her. Your pet accepts your faults and forgets them as soon as they occur. Each day, each moment, is a fresh start for you with a such a forgiving dog. Can you imagine how beautiful it would be if we transfers the canine habit of immediately forgiving and forgetting to our human relationships?
Love unconditionally.
Linked to their willing and generous forgiveness is an unconditional love. Dogs think the best of everyone, believing that everyone wields positive characteristics and focuses on those, rather than the negative ones. Your dog believes in you when no one else does and stays by your side even through the struggles.
Live in the moment.
Call it forgetfulness or unintelligence if you must, but dogs are the epitome of living in the moment. They seem to have no perception of the past or the future. They don’t anticipate their next meal, much less their next week. We could learn a lot from this attitude, making the most of the time we have with our loved ones.
Err on the side vulnerability.
Vulnerability is an essential aspect of a serious and health relationship, but it is extremely difficult to achieve. Opening up to others, even the people you love the most, is scary. Dogs overcome fear with love. A dog’s love supersedes any hesitation. Even if you currently struggle with vulnerability, take it slow and work toward that goal.
Be a big kid.
Life is a crazy journey that at many times requires seriousness. But in order to make life an enjoyable ride, you need to pair more serious moments with playful ones. If anything, dogs tend to be a little overzealous, a little too energetic. But as humans, we too often veer in the other direction, making life too sober. Love should be a beautiful and fun adventure. We could stand to be a little more playful!
Be authentic.
A dog will never lie to you. If they could talk, they would honestly tell you if that dress makes you look fat or if you were rude to a waiter. While being honest with people is not the easiest route, it proves that you care. Be sure to always complement your honesty with love in order to avoid offense — sort of like when your dog barks at you and then looks at you with those adorable puppy eyes.
Snuggle first, worry later.
Snuggling solves a world of problems. Take it straight from the dogs. If you ever returned home from a bad day and had your furry friend curl up next to you, you can attest to this truth. If it works with dogs, why shouldn’t it work with humans? Next time tension begins to fester or tears seem to be your only reaction, snuggle up to your significant other. In his arms, everything will start to make a little more sense.
Take a lesson (or two) from the dogs. As man’s best friend, they are more than qualified to give us lessons about love that we can adapt to our own human romantic relationships.
