Lessons Learned from my Dogs

I am grateful to have recently had a family vacation with 3 of my 4 “kids” and my hubby. My oldest, “human kid” who is now an adult was busy working many jobs and wasn’t able to join us, which was a little strange, and honestly made me wonder how the heck I have an 18-year-old anyway!

Nevertheless, I was very grateful for a break from the chaos and time to spend reflecting and well, just being. Life is very hectic, especially running a business at home, with two young pups, so one of the things I really enjoyed was being able to just watch the dogs, just be dogs. I have always been fascinated by human behaviour, (hence the Life Coach designation) and have now discovered I feel the same about these pups too.

So, here are the lessons I have been reminded of, and a few new ones too!

1) Squirrels are actually quite interesting.

2) Blowing bubbles is awesome!

3) Naps are where it’s at!

4) I have always had a goal to become a more patient person. I am very action-oriented and want to get things done asap, which is helpful in many ways, but clashes with other things that are far more important than a “to-do” list (training puppies and parenting, just to name a few of those things). I brought forward a coaching question when I could feel my patience wearing thin in one particular moment: “what would a patient person do here?”. Stop, reflect, bring the image of that patient person to mind. Do that.

5) Everyone in your life is a teacher. Are you ready to learn? (**this needs to be a separate article because it is key for our growth. Watch for next week’s blog when I will elaborate…….subscribe in the footer of the website and articles will be delivered directly to you if you’d like).

6) Find joy in the little things. Sticks and rocks are so much fun! Although in a yard FULL of sticks, there will be one stick in particular that both dogs MUST have. Wrestling will ensue.

7) Be in the moment. With reckless abandon (which is the only way I can describe the puppies when they were tearing through the sand and the water) enjoy the “sand in between your toes”. Catch those moments of joy….pause, inhale and exhale, feel the warmth of the sand, hear the sound of the waves.

8) Even though we are tough, strong, and can have a pretty “scary-sounding bark”, we still need support. It’s ok to “hide behind someone’s legs for a moment” like our 4-month-old pup, Whiskey, who is very brave for a baby, but still hid behind my legs when we were startled by a scary-looking bunny early one morning. We all need help sometimes, and it is perfectly ok to lean on others. In fact, it is one of the ways to improve our emotional and mental wellness, connecting with your social circle regularly.

9) Time is so short. Our “big-girl” pup just turned 1, and our little guy, as mentioned is 4 months old already. My human babies are 16 and 18. And I feel like it has all happened in the blink of an eye.

Time passes friends, how are you going to make the most of it? What lessons will you learn and take forward to make today awesome?

Be well, and take time to enjoy the sticks and bubbles in your life,

-Deanna, Dakota and Whiskey