Love unconditionally.

 




My dog is a mongrel, but the most obvious breed apparent in him is Staffie. For this reason lots of people are frightened of him. Once, when he was a puppy, a parent dragged her child into the road saying “stay away from that dangerous dog!” when he was on the lying down and on a lead. My dog did his signature head-on-the-side smile and the child said “but he is so sweet.” I then explained to the parent that my dog is brilliant with children as I have three of my own. The parent and child then gave him a fuss, and he rolled onto his back to gratefully accept the belly rubs. The parent then said to me that it was the breed she was frightened of, but she was glad she had given him a chance. Just by being his normal tail-waggy loving self he won her over.

Nobody is liked by everybody all of the time, but if we show
people loving kindness even when they are judging us unfairly, we can win them
over (or at least not compromise who we are by responding in kind).















Chasing your tail
gets you nowhere.




Sometimes life feels like we are just chasing our tails,
doing the same thing over and over. My dog taught me that you’ll never catch
your tail, however much you chase it, and if by some miracle you do, it will
probably hurt.

If you find yourself chasing your tail, gong around and
around in circles getting nowhere, change your approach. Otherwise you’ll just
end up very dizzy, with a slightly soggy painful tail at the end of it.




Loyalty pays off




Nowadays loyalty doesn’t seem like it gets rewarded. You can
get the best deals by switching utilities and credit cards constantly, and many
companies offer rewards to new customers 
while neglecting their long term clients.

My dog has taught me that loyalty does in fact pay off. He is unswervingly loyal to our family and as a result we put up with his noxious farts. Seriously, his bottom burps are so bad when we first got him we thought we had a gas leak. But we put up with it, because he is loyal to us. If you show loyalty towards others they put up with your terrible habits, whether that means awful gastric gasses or a tendency toward zoning out mid conversation because you’ve just had a eureka moment on your WIP.




A walk solves most
things




My dog is always up for a walk, which is one of the reasons I
got him. I have a tendency toward depression, and getting out and about really
helps. The thing is, even though I know a walk will make me feel better,when I am
very low I can’t bring myself to do it, but when my dog is whining at me with
his head on one side I can’t say no. Then I feel better.

We all have times when we have gotten ourselves into a rut, and the daily routine has become the daily grind, especially when we are writing. When was the last time you went outside? I mean properly outside, not just popped to the shops or got the milk in. If you are scowling at your computer screen trying to make that sentence make sense, or trying to convince a reluctant character to do what you are asking them to, perhaps you need to power down for a while. Turn the laptop or computer off, leave your phone at home and get yourself into an open space – the greenest one possible. Even though you might be shattered when you get home, your mind will be refreshed and you’ll feel like you can handle anything. Just make sure you take some poo bags (if you have a dog, that is. You might look a bit odd picking up poo if you don’t have a dog with you.)




Always chase the pigeon




My dog must know he is never going to catch the pigeon that
lives in our garden. I think the pigeon knows too – that’s why it is always so
tantalisingly just out of reach.

The thing is, chasing that pigeon is the something my dog
really really enjoys, and he has a whale of a time trying to catch it. I think
he would actually be really sad if he finally caught it, because then the game
of chase-the-pigeon would be over.

Whatever your pigeon is, writing a bestseller, making your
first million, starting your own banjo based punk band, don’t give up on it.
Accept that you may never actually taste the feathers, but you can have great
fun having a go. Throw yourself into it, run after the pigeon until it stops
being fun, then give it a rest and carry on another day. You haven’t failed at anything;
you chased it out of your garden. Wait for it to come back, and chase it again
tomorrow.







What things have your pets taught you? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section :~)