My Greatest Parenting Move Yet

It is no secret that I love dogs. Actually, it’s more like I am one of the biggest dog lovers that you have ever met. To put it into perspective, when I was 4 years old, a dog took a bite out of my face. As the story goes, I spent the whole time on the way to the ER telling my parents that it wasn’t the dog’s fault. He didn’t mean to bite me, and I just put my face in his mouth. I didn’t want the dog to get in trouble.

In young adulthood, I spent a lot of time dog sitting and stalking other people’s dogs as I knew that I wasn’t home enough or had the financial means to take on the responsibility of a dog. Finally, five years ago we got our first family dog, and it was so great that last June we adopted a second dog.

Although the dogs were really for me, not my kids, I realized something incredible. Having dogs has been one of my all-time best parenting moves. The life lessons that have gone along with having dogs have been priceless*. Our dogs teach our kids things daily. Things I know they would not get if I were to just try to impart my wisdom to them with a lecture. Here is just a quick round-up of a few of those things:

• Compassion. Learn to care for something other than yourself. Dogs require us to step outside of our own internal worlds and care for others.

• There are things you won’t want to do but have to do anyway (pick up poop, exercise them, feed them). The sooner one learns this lesson, the easier life can be.

• Hard work pays off in the long run. Puppies are no joke. It takes a lot of time and hard work to properly train a pup. And if you adopt an adult dog, it takes time and patience to gain their trust and love. But if you put in the work, you will reap the benefits.

• Spending time outside and moving our bodies feels good. We all know that time in nature and movement have heaps of benefits. A dog will require you to get outside and move.

• Emotional regulation. Sometimes a dog can comfort you better than anyone. When my kids are having a rough moment, their favorite thing to do is snuggle with the dogs. Dogs have the magical ability to soothe our emotions and teach us how to pause and reset.

• Learning to overcome fears. My oldest was afraid of dogs ever since he had gotten nipped when he was two. It took time, bravery, and trust but he is now one of the biggest dog lovers I know (second to me, of course).

So there you have it. Somehow in our family, it is the dogs who are the wise ones, the ones who have been able to teach our children some of our most important family values. 

*I am well aware of the fact that dogs are actually not priceless. Even when you adopt, it is a big financial investment and requires having the privilege of time.