Lessons my Dog Taught Me About Life

This post was sponsored by Milk-Bone® as part of a Two-Post Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Animals have a way of looking at the world that can change our own perspective. When we got a dog last year, we thought we were teaching our kids a lesson in responsibility. We’ve realized that the lessons they have learned by caring for a dog have been so much bigger. Our dog has taught important lessons about life that I want my kids to carry with them into adulthood.

Snuggles are everything. Our dog lives for snuggles. When we first brought him home, I planned on having him sleep in his kennel, or at the bare least in his bed in our family room. It turns out, he cannot sleep without snuggling right up with my son in his bed. It makes things complicated when we need to find a petsitter but my son loves the snuggles and I love the reminder to hug the people we love more often.

Find simple joy in everyday moments. It’s no secret, our dog has a ball obsession. This dog would literally play fetch until he passed out. He finds so much joy in something so simple. He finds 99% of his happiness all wrapped up in one little tennis ball. No words can adequately describe how complete his obsession is so we played around with the Milk-Bone® Gifmaker.

The Gifmaker was super simple to use and it gives you a fun little Gif that you can share on Facebook or Twitter. You can see the one I made in action here.

Slow down. Slowing down is not something I’m good at. The few times I try, I have trouble getting my brain to slow down. My dog feels no guilt about taking a mid-day nap or lazily watching my twin toddlers play. He’s not in a rush. He’s not worried. He’s slow when he wants to be slow. If I took a moment just to breath deeply every time I caught him napping during the day I’d probably be a much calmer person.

Check out Milkbone for tips on keeping your dog healthy so he can continue being an important part of your family.