Dog owner lessons you learned the hard way/you wish someone had told you

You know, this really resonates with me... not because I have lost any of my girls. It's just that I have spent 2 months... almost three... without them, having had them in my life pretty much every. single. day. except for the handful of times I've gone away for uni or holidays.

I really took them for granted and I missed them terribly. And I'll even confess that with Abby being Abby, Grace being older and sporting an old injury and me really wanted to dabble in agility/obedience etc, and basically just wishing to have a really 'easy' dog without any 'issues', I've spent a lot of time dreaming of my next dog.

And then I look at Grace and she is pretty much as perfect a dog as I could ever ask for. And she is twelve and quite frankly that has been playing on my mind of late. Thankfully she is as playful and idiotic as ever and in good health. She just is sleeping more. I know it's a fact of life and it's so stupid to be so surprised - omg, she's twelve! How did that happen? But quite frankly, I'm pissed that she is this old, when really the time has flown and I feel like we need another 12 at least.

And Abby is just a special girl. Is she a pain in the butt? Yes. Could I do with a holiday from her sometimes? Absolutely. Would I want to repeat the process with Nextdog? Preferably not. But she holds a special place in my heart and she taught me more about dogs and dog ownership than one dog ever should have to lol. And she taught me about myself - good and bad.

Goodness, I spend most of my life worrying about her and sometimes it's so draining. I swear sometimes I forget to enjoy her company. And really, it's because I just love her so bloody much. I'd just be lost without her. So, thanks for the reminder.

Sorry for the whiney post.

Yes you probably really WILL look back and miss puppyhood, even if he was a total holy terror of a puppy. GRIT YOUR TEETH AND ENJOY IT AND SQUEEZE HIM WHILE HE'S STILL LITTLE ENOUGH.

Seriously... Relax. She will be okay.

Don't miss out on things you will enjoy because of all the 'what ifs'

Play.

So greatful for the person/people I have now that reminds me of this on the regular.

Before I brought my dogs home, I really thought socialization would make them tolerant of most other dogs - not true.

I also wished I knew how quickly a close attachment/bond could turn to inappropriate protectiveness, and more about how dogs resource guard people.

I wish I knew more about socialization. I thought it entailed bringing your dog lots of places and meeting different people. I never realized how it meant closely monitoring your dog's experience and shaping it into a good one and guiding an appropriate reaction, nor did I realize their are lots of things you won't run into in the first 6-8 months that you'll run into later on and you need to seek those out (wheelchairs, people in costumes, etc.)

THIS! I didn't realize that socializing could be pushed/overdone and really backfire