All Dogs All The Time

By Jane Cook

In today’s world, social media keeps us updated on the comings and goings of others, and the things they feel are important to them. I admit I’m on Facebook daily looking at posts of friends and family to keep in touch with what is going on in their world. One thing I’ve noticed is a pattern of behavior I call, “ALL dogs ALL the time”. Don’t get me wrong – I love dogs. I love dogs so much that I have six of them. I love dogs so much that over 20 years ago when my husband and I married, our wedding date was the first available weekend with no dog activities scheduled which included field trials, hunt tests, confor- mation and obedience. Thankfully on June 17th of that year, the coast was clear and we said our vows.

So what do I mean by this? I see people who seem to post about one thing, and one thing only. You guessed it – their dogs. I can appreciate the level of effort folks put into training their dogs – trust me, the field champions we have didn’t happen overnight. I applaud their achieve- ments because they are happy and proud as they should be. But is there anything else in their lives? Where are the pictures of some place beau- tiful or interesting they’ve been? Heck, it could have even been some place they went with their dog! Where are posts of events they’ve at- tended, great books they’ve read (assuming folks still do that), funny sto- ries, trips they’re planning or have been on…..? And what will these poor people do once they are no longer able to run around the ring at warp speed or sit in a saddle all day if that is all there is to their lives? Will they become those who are avoided because they can only speak about, “back when Fido was the number 1 dog” or “you remember when Fluffy did this or that” (no, you don’t and really don’t care)?

Several years ago, I realized that my life mirrored these posts. The pen- dulum had swung over time from “dogs sometimes” to “ALL dogs ALL the time”. The activities that my husband and I used to enjoy had gone by the wayside. There was no camping or fishing or travel for just plain old fun…. I said to myself, “I am NOT my dog! I love them, I spend lots of time with them and oodles of money on them, but there is more to me than that.” So I made the conscious decision to swing the pendulum back to a more balanced and healthier position. As a result, I’m a far happier and less critical person than before.

It took time and effort, but I think as dog owners we owe it to our an- imals to be well balanced in our lives. Our interactions with them and other humans will be healthier and more positive as a result. Of course, this is just my opinion and doesn’t reflect that of management.

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Posted by Alex on Sep 20 2016. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.