I found this article (see below) in my archive that may resonate with you dog lovers. I'm definitely one of those!! Whenever I saw mums cooing at their babies, take constant photos and post them online or talk about their 'precious' ALL the time, I promised myself I would never turn into one of those mums. OMG, I'm turning into one!!! Instead of babies, my ovaries burst for puppies!!! I have to make a conscious effort not to talk about Bowie all the time or show my friends a slideshow of his photos. Here are signs that you're turning into one of those mums: Let's start with the obvious one. Your phone is full of your dog's photos including your screen saver, social media profiles, whatsapp profile and the last 5 photos you took are your dog. In every conversation, your dog always crops up. You talk to your dog a lot (God forbid, in one of those 'cooing' voices). You start addressing yourself as 'mummy' and labelling others around you as 'daddy', 'grandma', 'grandpa', 'mummy's friends' etc. You're 'oohing' and 'aahing' over your pooch and other dogs. Suddenly you develop a 'superpower' - the ability to spot and detect the presence of dogs from miles away. My friend told me she once mistook a leather handbag lying on the ground for a dog. Your Google search history is full of dog-related subjects. One time, mine is all about dog poop! When you're shopping online, instead of browsing for shoes or clothes, you're buying dog toys or treats. You're turning into one of those competitive mums and you're so proud when someone compliments your dog. You miss your dog when you're away. You teach your dog to kiss or hug you. FYI: Bowie licks us on the cheeks when we say 'Give us a kiss!' It never fails to bring a smile to our face every time he does it If it's socially acceptable, you'd gaze at your dog's eyes all day. Little fact: Science proves that looking into your dog's eyes triggers release of 'love hormone' Oxytocin. So next time you gaze at your dog's eyes and feel an overwhelming emotion, you're not crazy! Okay, if you display 2 or more symptoms described above, you're officially in the 'club'!! I'd say, 'Embrace it!!!' Any other mum's or dad's things you do?
Harley costs a lot more than my daughter ever did in a month with food, toys, agility, massage and anything else she needs My work hours are all arranged around her , even if that means split shifts or starting work later to ensure she's not alone for more than 4 hours (OH also has to work around this)
Leaving the television on when you go out, so that they don't feel lonely , and always saying " just going shopping , wont be long " x
Everyone else in your life must accept your dog as if it's a child and let them join in all activities
Every single one of the points above. Plus: Feeling anxious at the thought of leaving him while we go on holiday, because it might just possibly upset one or two details of his precious routine. Willing to endure cramps, back-ache, unscratched itches and the fire going out rather than move the foot that he is resting his head on and snoring.
You send far too much time reading the Labrador Forum when you have a 101 other things you should be doing...
When I leave for work I say "Bye bye Coco, Daddy be home soon..." - he gets it. Coco is on my computer wallpaper at work & I move my windows around often, just to see his face I think Coco snoring at the end of my bed is terribly cute, but OH gets a dig in the ribs if he does it.
Refusing invitations because "I'm sorry, I really don't want to leave the dogs alone and their babysitter isn't available that day. "
LOVE the response so far!!! Great I'm not the only one!! Sometimes, non-dog people don't understand it... hahahaha
I write my greetings cars from OH, me, Ella and then Nathan. Ella has to come before Nathan as she's the older sibling (it doesn't matter that she's a dog and he's a human, she's the big sister). This year my Grandparents posted Ella her own Christmas card
Quinn has two stockings! When we go away for the weekend, the majority of the stuff is packed for Quinn! I also plan social events around Quinn being able to attend or not. I would say 90% of the conversations I have with my OH revolve around Quinn in some way
The couple who introduced Ruth and me commented that most of my Facebook posts for the last five year have been about Holly.
My little lab is my baby simple if I'm honest if some one hurt her id hurt them the worst thing is when a person says to you its only a dog she is my life