Why your dog might be smarter than you

There are two kinds of people in this world: people who love dogs and people I don’t understand. See, dogs are truly one of life’s greatest gifts and I’ve often wondered if they have more to teach us than we have to teach them. 

My dog treats every meal like it’s the finest meal in the history of food. Same bowl. Same food. Same place. Every single day. He acts like Chef Wolfgang Puck personally prepared it just for him. Sometimes he’ll look up at me in between bites, as if to say, “can you believe how good this stuff is?” Then he goes outside and lies in the sun like he’s on vacation. Because, you know, life is pretty good for a dog. Not a care in the world. Later he’ll chase a ball as if the future of the free world depends on it. Then he’ll take a nap like he just finished a double shift at the steel mill. And when I come home — even if I’ve only been gone for fifteen minutes — he completely loses his mind like I just returned from six years fighting the Russians in Ukraine. Dogs don’t save excitement for special occasions. They don’t feel guilty about napping. They don’t worry that they got too much sun or that they weren’t productive enough today. They don’t eat something great and then promise themselves they’ll be more disciplined on Monday.

Humans, on the other hand, seem to live by a very different set of rules. We have somehow convinced ourselves that enjoyment must be earned, scheduled, limited and justified. Somewhere along the way, we learned to feel guilty about enjoying anything, even down time.

A recent study confirms that doing “absolutely nothing” is challenging for many, with 56 percent finding it hard to enjoy down time on vacation. Nearly half of travelers (48 percent) feel guilty if they are not busy on vacation.

We say things like “I deserve this” before we eat something good or take time off from work or buy something special, as if everything must be justified to some invisible committee, instead of just enjoyed as a part of being alive. Meanwhile, a dog will eat until he’s full, lie in the sun until he’s warm, chase a ball until he’s exhausted, and fall asleep without a single ounce of guilt about how productive his day was.

Dogs give 100 percent to whatever they’re doing. When they’re happy, they show it. When they’re tired, they sleep. When they’re excited, they don’t hide it. When they love you, they show it. Dogs don’t ever complain and don’t ask for much. And that same dog will be with you on your worst day. And he will carry your secrets to his grave. In comparison, we hold everything back. We try not to get too excited. We try not to enjoy things too much. We cut conversations short or text instead of calling. We rush through meals without even tasting the food. We see major life events through the lens of our iPhone. We live like enjoyment is something we’ll get to later. As if we’re saving our happiness for some future version of life. A life when things calm down. When we make more money. When we get through this busy period. When the kids are gone.

When everything is finally in order. But life rarely calms down. There is always something to worry about, something to fix, something to improve, something to plan. So, we end up living most of our lives distracted, stressed, and guilty for not doing enough. Dogs don’t live like that. They probably think we’re nuts. Because humans are always trying to add things to their lives so they can enjoy life later. A bigger house. A better job. More money. A nicer vacation. A newer car. We are constantly upgrading our lives while quietly postponing our enjoyment of them.

A dog will walk around the same block for his entire life. But he’s just as excited today as he was the very first time. Just pull out the leash. You’ll see. He doesn’t need a better yard, a better house, a better bowl, or better humans before he allows himself to be happy. Even though we can probably agree that he could trade us in for better humans. He is fully committed to enjoying the life he already has, as long as you’re in it. Which makes me wonder. Is it possible that our dogs are smarter than us? We only get about 80 years on earth, if we’re lucky. Your dog will only get twelve of them if he’s lucky. It’s why he doesn’t waste time. He knows time is limited. If you only got twelve years, don’t you think you’d live differently, too?

Maybe nothing new needs to be added to your life for it to be more enjoyable. Maybe you just need to stop holding back. One day your dog won’t be there waiting at the door. His life will be over. But you’ll have amazing memories of your time together. Those memories are still trying to teach you how to live differently because he knows you probably won’t change. So, stop wasting the time you have. Because, while you were waiting for the right time to enjoy your life it was slowly slipping away. And honestly, the more I watch my dog, the more I think he’s figured this out, which means he is a whole lot smarter than me.

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