What is a dog parent? They are someone who considers their dog to be part of the family and treats them as a valued family member. While I realize that, obviously, a human can’t give birth to a dog and can’t be the biological parent, I think dog parents feel it in their hearts, just the same.
A dog parent loves their dogs!
I love my dogs. They’re smart, funny, interesting, almost perfect……I could go on. Most parents probably feel this way about their kids. But you probably don’t feel it toward my dogs. You love your dogs, of course.
Why do we each love our own dogs? I think it’s because we get to know their quirks, habits, behaviors. We remember all the funny and/or cute things that they’ve done. One of the perks of being a dog parent is that when we don’t feel well or have a bad day, they give us love and comfort.
What do dogs do for us?
Dogs get to know us too. They are always there for us. Dogs notice when we’re sad or don’t feel good. They stop and try to help. They recognize our appearance, smell, behaviors. My dogs are really good at recognizing things about me that I don’t even recognize about myself. When I’m busy, my dogs remind me to take time to play. When I don’t feel good, my dogs comfort me.
Here’s where the dog parent part comes in.
Parents take care of their kids, whether human or canine. If I see that one of my dogs is hurting, I take the actions I can to make it better. I make sure they’re eating healthy food. Getting enough exercise. When a vet trip is necessary, we make it, even if it might make finances tight. It’s our responsibility as dog parents.
Manners and behavior are also our responsibility. As the parent in the relationship, we need to help our dogs function well in their environment. Ideally, they can follow voice commands, get along with or at least tolerate other dogs and people and generally be agreeable to be around. It’s not our current situation, but it’s a great goal.
Being a better dog parent
While I’m NOT a professional dog trainer or a veterinarian, and I don’t have any other distinctions, I want to do the best I can. I’m always trying to learn a better way of doing things. I read, research online, and ask questions, whatever I can think of. It’s an ongoing process.
How about you? Are you a dog parent? What do you do to improve yourself so that you can help your dogs? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And if you have more than one dog, read my post, Multi-dog household challenges for more insight.
Some great posts about being a better dog parent can be found on this website, dedicated to the subject. I’ve also written a few blogs that you might find interesting below.
Dog Health; how does your dog feel?
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