The reality of living with a dog is this; you will have dog hair on your mohair. You will have the need for potpourri or fragrant candles and you will occasionally feel the need to ask, “ what’s that smell?” .
It’s funny when I ponder the word “ own” to describe my place in my dog’s life. I can’t imagine, as a mother, telling someone that I own children. When asked if I own a dog, I frequently find myself replying, “ Yes, I have a dog.” But even the word “ have” implies that your dog is an object or a thing, a possession of sorts. For example, “ I have a goiter” or “ I have a Stanley drill” is one thing, but “ I have a dog” makes it sound like he’s lodged in your side like a third arm or something. And truly, what else can one say except “ I have a dog” ? I could say that I “ live with” a dog or that I “ coexist” with a dog but people might need more of an explanation and I’ve come to realize that most people have no desire or to learn why my dog is more than “ just a dog” to me...she is one of my children. I don’t anthropomorphize her but I do love her no less than if she were a human child.
But, as with all children, no matter how much you love them or how experienced a parent you are, your little ones are bound to act up at the most inopportune times and places. Part of being a good dog parent is not to sweat it if your pooch isn’t Miss or Mr. Manners at the dog park. The only people who will go home gossiping about your little one, in all likelihood, have nothing better to do with their time. Too many dog parents get unnecessarily strung out over the behavior of their furry children. Just let go of it. Kids are kids, even if they are dogs. And we have enough other things to stress about in life, don’t we?
In fact, stress is to humans what one brand of dry-only dog food — day in and day out for fifteen years — is to dogs. Seek out new alternatives to enhance your dog’s life, like food with no corn, wheat, bi-products or chemical preservatives. These additives in food play a great role in the behavior of dogs, in that they cause skin and gastrointestinal allergies and create hyper behavior. A healthy diet leads to a happy, well balanced dog inside and out...and a happier YOU.
Any parent who has more than one child will tell you that he or she is much more relaxed now, having learned from the first child that it’s not necessary to spray Clorox® on the shopping-cart handle or hide in the baby aisle the entire time Junior is having a tantrum. Children teach us patience — perhaps that’s the miracle that comes out of tantrums, shedding, and destroyed furniture.
When it comes to excuses for my dog’s behavior, I try to use humor to diffuse any stress she may cause me or others. If you can make someone laugh about it, then you’ve got it in the bag. Very casually I’ll tell people she is my second child, who, due to some bad genes somewhere in my family, was born with excessive hair growth and bad teeth. I’ll go on to explain that her tail is something we had surgically implanted for balance to help with vertigo. Then I’ll finish with an appropriate apology for the slobber on their shoes or other cherished accessory.
As a behaviorist, I am supposed to clarify that “ dogs are not people too.” But they do seem to know how to push our buttons to get attention. They also seem to know just what kind of facial expression to throw at us when hoping for the rest of our ice cream or French fries. And, like the significant other you forget needs some mothering too, dogs have no idea that something as natural as shedding can really ruin your day.
There are so many similarities between dogs and children. My child eats out of a bowl and so does my dog. My child has been known to beg for food and so has my dog. My child whines at me to take him to the park; throws up in the car; breaks toys, glasses, and collectibles — and so does his sister, MY DOG.