Close up of a dog's nose and teeth

Love and Boundaries: Dog Lessons + Podcast

Posted on by da-AL
Close up of a dog's nose and teeth
This picture by Sofia Oratowski of her golden retriever always makes me smile.

Listen, subscribe, and share Happiness Between Tails by da-AL on most any platform; from Spotify and Apple Podcasts, to Google Podcasts and Pocket Casts, along with RadioPublic and Castbox and Stitcher and more, plus an RSS feed. The full list of 50+ places is at LinkTree.

Think my doggies are my surrogate kids? Think again. Great as humans are, dogs let me experience me a different level of  joy, love, care, and wisdom.

How I wish I’d  begun to become a student of dogs way earlier. Growing up, I learned to be too nice, too accommodating, and accepting of bad treatment. If only I’d had dogs as a child!

Since caring for them, I’ve learned how what’s good for them is good for myself, too. Daily, training them teaches me about happiness and healthy relationships. One overarching lesson is that we teach others how to treat us.

My dogs patiently show me about boundaries…

  1. What boundaries I need and want. It’s okay to need and want them.
  2. What makes a harmony family.
  3. What dogs are capable of and what’s reasonable to expect from them, in terms of trusting them to learn, remember, and do.
  4. That boundaries are best communicated clearly and nonjudgmentally. If they go unheeded, I can try other ways.
  5. Patience and consistency are essential.

Keeping them physically and emotionally healthy benefits both of us…

  1. Walking my dogs daily means I walk too. It’s a time to bond. For dog and human alike, walking and playing heals mind, body, and soul.
  2. Together, we meet our neighbors.
  3. It’s easy to think I’m too busy for play and walks. They’ve taught me I shouldn’t overextend myself.
  4. They’re always happy to see me! When I’m not thrilled to come home to loved ones and myself, I need to work harder to nurture social and personal havens.
  5. Angels exist, and they’re not just dogs. For all the times I worried that I wouldn’t have the resources to keep pets, people have stepped forward. Striving for independence is great, yet my dogs remind me that everyone and everything in the world are interdependent.
  6. Cesar Milan, a.k.a., The Dog Whisperer, often talks about the importance of choosing pets who match our energy levels. Appreciating compatibility affords me insights into myself and others.
  7. Trust requires time. Every day is another chance at building and rebuilding trust.

Few things can match how, when I leave my home for only a short while, my dogs’ eyes shine with pure joy when I return. We don’t have to be dogs to show appreciation.

Have your pets made you a better human?

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Published by da-AL

Happiness Between Tails speaks to and from the heart. It connects lovers — of pets, authors, books — and of my still-unreleased novels, “Flamenco + the Sitting Cat” and “Tango + the Sitting Cat.” The stories are my love letters to all who fear they're too odd, too damaged, too old, too whatever to find happiness. ContactdaAL@gmail.com • BuyMeACoffee.com/SupportHBT

55 thoughts on “Love and Boundaries: Dog Lessons + Podcast”

  1. Your dogs are adorable! I think it’s great for children to grow up with pets in general, a dog will be their best friend for life x

    Liked by 2 people

  2. My beautiful husky passed away last year. He made me a better person for sure. Treasure your precious doggies. They love you like no other. 😊

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Without a doubt our chocolate lab has made us better humans. There is something wonderful about dogs that, if you let them, bring out softness, patience and love that then pours out upon others of the two legged kind.

    Liked by 3 people

        1. sorry – but hopefully you didn’t get bit! I got bit when I was about 5 yrs old, but loved animals so much that still never became scared of dogs – maybe I should have haha

          Liked by 1 person

          1. A very mild attack but by a big dog – was already scared of him and that bite sent me into terror for the next 10 years. I’ve never recovered quickly from anything that frightens me. Still, I love dogs now and most animals.

            Liked by 1 person

              1. I didn’t actually. My parents finally agreed to let my sibs get a dog, a wonderful reddish sheltie mix, but eventually he was really mine more than theirs. He slept with me, I walked him and fed him, and he showed me how loving and loyal a dog could be. My parents had him until he was nearly 18 years old and both my sons got to meet him. He loved everyone who was family and protected all of us from “strangers.” No biting, but a fierce growl.

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