Your dog is with you at the highest and lowest points of your life. In the middle of the night, you reached out to cuddle it when you were heartbroken over your first love. It was with you when you graduated and decided to be on your own. It feels that it took care of you in every stage of your life. Whether you have a young or old dog, it takes such a huge space in your heart that it almost feels like you two are family.
That’s why it’s baffling how many other people don’t think of their dogs when they make significant changes in their lives. Getting married, having kids, going away for work, and many others affect your dogs. If you change your routines, they will try to figure out why that is so. Your lifestyle will impact your dogs because they rely on your decisions. Any change you make in your place of living, work, relationships, and finances will force your dogs to adjust, too.
Basic Needs
There’s no need to say that your dogs rely on you for basic needs. Since they cannot prepare their own food very well, they will need you to do this for them every day. They need you to take them out for a walk, too. To make it easier for you when you get too busy at work, look for high-quality raw alternative dog food that you can easily prepare for them.
How do you know if dog food is made of the best ingredients? Simple. You have to make sure the company sourced the ingredients from one of the cleanest countries in the world—New Zealand. The country thrives on growing its cattle naturally and organically. Any food you feed your dog should be free of artificial colors, artificial flavors, and preservatives.
Since your dogs cannot bathe themselves, you have to do this for them, too. There are two ways to do this: either carve the time out of your busy schedule to wash them weekly or take them to the groomer to let a professional care for them. Either way, you need to make time for your dogs’ hygiene since there are many illnesses dogs can develop because of not washing regularly.
Emotional Attachment
Dogs are emotionally attached to their owners. Their worlds revolve around you. Thus, when there’s a new person in your life (a boyfriend or girlfriend, for example), they might take that against you. They will not easily understand why you need a new “friend,” so take care not to make them feel that they’re unimportant now that you have someone else. Instead of leaving them at home to go on dates, make sure there are some dates where you can take the dogs. Your partner needs to understand this.
If you start a family, your dogs are going to have a big adjustment in their lives. Some spiral into depression, while others become violent. When making big changes in your lifestyle, you have to think about how this will impact your dogs. Not that you have to stop yourself from pursuing your goals, but there’s a need to be more circumspect about your commitments.
Separation Anxiety and Jealousy
Dogs have a hard time adjusting to your life when they first arrive at your house. They will also have difficulty understanding that things will change as you grow and pursue many of your interests. Are you thinking of going away to study and work? Maybe you have to leave your dogs with your parents for a while? This will cause them to feel unwanted, which can lead to depressing emotions.
Sure, they love your parents as much as they do you, but if they used to spend all their days with you, then not seeing you will make them feel lost. They might also begin to feel resentment and jealousy over this new life of yours. Dogs are loving creatures, but they are also prone to jealousy.
Fitness
It would be good if you have a large yard where they can run around to exercise. If you live in the city or a small apartment, however, your dogs are going to rely on you to walk them around the block. They need to move. Even small breeds must get their muscles going and lose some of the fat they gain when they don’t do anything all day. If you do not have a healthy lifestyle, such as walking in the morning, then your dogs are not going to have one, too.
Dogs, of course, are a huge responsibility. Don’t go adopting one just because it’s trendy. Think about your lifestyle now and your plans. Any change you make in your life will have a huge impact on theirs.
