Today marks one year since my husband and I adopted Harley, our adorable, handful of a puppy who manages to make me laugh (and misbehaves!) every single day.
Any dog owner would probably agree that our pups teach us much about life. In reflecting on this past year with her, I got to thinking about all of the lessons she reminds me of quite often:
- Live Each Day to the Fullest
Every morning, Harley wakes up excited about life, rolling over to get a belly rub as her tail wags. She makes it hard for me to not be happy to see her and start my day.
All day and night, she runs around, on a mission to get a tennis ball out from under the coffee table, or 
attempting to eat a treat out of a toy. 24/7, Harley is either playing and enjoying the little puppy things in life, or she’s passed out getting her beauty sleep. This sort of work hard, play hard mentally resonates with me and is how I like to live my life.
- Take time to stop and smell the roses
Literally! This dog smells flowers (and lots of other things) everytime we go outside. Just laying in the grass at the park, she couldn’t be happier. Her enthusiasm rubs off on me and serves as a reminder to enjoy the little things in life.
- Don’t be afraid to get dirty
Yes, she’s a dog, so she’s obviously not thinking of the fact that because she rolled around in the mud, I’m going to torture her with a 
bath once we get home. However, Harley’s love for playtime and tendency to act like a maniac and expend as much energy as she can reminds me to have as much fun as possible, and to give anything I do my all.
- The squeaky wheel gets the grease
I’m not a complainer, and if I do voice a negative opinion of something, I tend to feel bad about it. Having Harley makes me realize that if I want something to happen or change, I may need to speak up about it. When she’s gunning for a play outing, she’s annoyingly persistent with her whines, pacing, and dirty looks at me until I give her what she wants. If she feels like it’s time for a treat, you can be sure that she’ll let me know. To get what you want in life, you must be vocal about it (and not give up easily).
- Don’t judge by appearance
My dog is one of the friendliest canines I’ve ever come in contact with. She’ll go up to the straggliest looking dogs and lick their faces just as often as she goes up to a beautiful, well groomed pup. I can’t even count the amount of times that she has run up to a person who, quite frankly, might not look like someone I would eagerly have a conversation with (Let’s just say that her tendency to steal a lick of beer out of peoples’ plastic cups at the dog beach has resulted in me having some interesting conversations with some strange characters!). Nevertheless, Harley reminds me to not be so quick to judge others based on what they look like or whatever their current situation may be.
- ….But trust your gut
Although 99.9% of the time Harley is quick to say hello to whomever we come across, once in a while she has a very strong reaction to a stranger, and there’s no convincing her otherwise. She’ll stop and hold a stare at a random person as she lowly growls. When this happens, though I find it kind of funny and slightly embarrassing, I also take it as a lesson to always trust my gut. If someone or something doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t. Don’t be scared to trust your instincts.
I think it’s safe to say that my crazy little pup has my heart! 🙂
Harley is as smart as you darlin!
Ha, I just saw this comment! Why thank you 😉
I think that we can learn a lot from our animal friends. She looks like a fun, adorable pup!
Agreed!! She totally is! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Beautiful puppy. They do teach us important life lessons. Thanks for the pics. Enjoy your SITS Day.
Aren’t dogs the best??!! I love my Riley so much and can’t imagine life without her. All of your tips are so true. Cute post!
YES they certainly are!! I love the name Riley 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Meghan!
AW! Such adorable pictures and love the parallel between sweet Harley and life’s lessons… Great insights!! 🙂 Happy SITS day!
You can learn so much from a puppy. I have 3 dogs at home. Two are older and one is still a pup. She drives me nuts, but she reminds us to live life to its fullest!
Very true! 3 dogs, wow! Harley is a spoiled only child at the moment, but I’d love to get another pup someday.
Stopping by from SITS! Love your post! With seven 4 legged furry creatures in our house (3 dogs and 4 cats), we’ve learned a lot from each other. What a blessing our pets are!
Wow!! I grew up in a house with that many pets — not too many dull moments right?! I couldn’t agree more.
Lessons from my cat: Sleep all day on the tallest pile of laundry. Make loud noises whenever you can see the bottom of your food or water dishes. Alternate between seeking out attention and shunning it just to keep people on their toes.
I think Harley’s smarter and more successful than my cat!
Hahaha I’m laughing out loud at your comment! Cats are such funny creatures aren’t they?!
So true! Dogs are the best…it’s funny how human-like they can be. I swear sometimes that my golden retriever can understand what I’m saying lol. Enjoy your pup! And happy SITS day:)
I bet that your dog DOES understand what you’re saying!! I heard somewhere that research shows that the average dog understands 200+ words or something like that. That’s a lot of other words besides eat, walk, treat, and outside!
What an adorable puppy!
Great post from a fellow dog lover! Life lessons we all can learn from. Thank you for such a great post and Happy SITS Day!
Thank you Tracy!
She is so stinkin’ adorable!! I loved this post. Our family is getting a dog of our own in just a few weeks. It’s been a long time coming and we are SUPER excited!! This post just makes me all the more eager. =)
Stopping by from SITS.
Thanks Ashley!! How exciting, dogs are such amazing animals. Wishing you the best with your new pup!