{"id":2445,"date":"2017-11-20T15:26:22","date_gmt":"2017-11-20T20:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/?p=2445"},"modified":"2017-11-20T15:26:22","modified_gmt":"2017-11-20T20:26:22","slug":"dogs-teach-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/","title":{"rendered":"What Our Dogs Teach Us About Life, Love, and True Happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-2446\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999-2000x1335.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/>We think of our dogs as family members, best friends, loyal companions, fierce protectors, and adorable snuggle buddies. But wise sage? Master teacher? Those may not be the first things that come to mind when you picture your beloved dog, but maybe they should be.<\/p>\n<p>At <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\">Oakland Veterinary Referral Services<\/a>, we believe dogs have more to share with humans than slobbery kisses and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dog-hair\/\">hair on the sofa<\/a>. Our dogs teach us so many valuable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/life-hacks-for-dog-owners\/\">life lessons<\/a>, we couldn\u2019t resist sharing our favorites!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>The Amazing Lessons Our Dogs Teach Us<\/h3>\n<p>Although there are probably countless ways in which our dogs teach us how to live well, we\u2019ve outlined some that we believe are useful and meaningful in today\u2019s world:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Play every day<\/strong> \u2013 Life is busy, and with so much on our to-do lists, it\u2019s easy to forget to make time for the activities we enjoy. A dog, however, will never pass up an opportunity to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dog-walk\/\">play and have fun<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Always make time for snuggles<\/strong> \u2013 Your dog knows the value of close contact with loved ones. Even dogs who don\u2019t prefer a lot of physical touch like to make sure they are in the same room with the people they love as we go about our days.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get your workout in<\/strong> \u2013 Dogs know how important daily exercise is, and like humans, they need to be in peak physical and mental form. So, if you\u2019ve been skipping the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dog-walk\/\">daily walk<\/a> with your pooch, there\u2019s no time like the present to start again!<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be adaptable<\/strong> \u2013 No matter what life circumstances they find themselves in, or how often those circumstances change, most dogs find a way to adapt and thrive.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Practice unconditional love<\/strong> \u2013 This is a great lesson for others and for ourselves! Our dogs don\u2019t care what we look like, how much money we make, or how clean our homes are. They are thrilled to see us each and every time we walk in the door, no matter what life throws our way.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Forgive and forget<\/strong> \u2013 You stayed late at work every night this week, and your dog missed out on his daily walk or game of fetch. Is he mad at you? Of course not. Dogs don\u2019t hold grudges and neither should we.<\/li>\n<li><strong>We don\u2019t have to go it alone<\/strong> \u2013 In the wild, dogs bond with their pack as a way to fulfill their emotional and physical needs. The hustle and bustle of daily life often prevents us from spending quality time with our loved ones, but we benefit from close bonds with our human pack, too.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Accept praise<\/strong> \u2013 Have you ever seen a dog turn down a head pat, a kind word, or a scratch on the back end? Neither have we. Dogs teach us to graciously and happily accept praise and good will from others.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Live in the moment<\/strong> \u2013 Although we can\u2019t be sure what dogs are thinking about, we can be reasonably certain they aren\u2019t worrying about bills, schedules, family drama, or any of the other countless concerns most of us face. Dogs take each situation as it comes and act accordingly, and they aren\u2019t likely worrying in the meantime. A dog is the ultimate mindfulness instructor!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We hope you have enjoyed (and related to) these life lessons from your dog. If you have any questions or concerns about the health of your canine best pal, don\u2019t hesitate to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/contact-us\/\">contact the staff at OVRS<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We think of our dogs as family members, best friends, loyal companions, fierce protectors, and adorable snuggle buddies. But wise sage? Master teacher? Those may not be the first things that come to mind when you picture your beloved dog, but maybe they should be. At Oakland Veterinary Referral Services, we believe dogs have more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,29],"tags":[803,194,801,802,804],"class_list":["post-2445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-for-dogs","category-you-your-pet","tag-dog-care","tag-dog-ownership","tag-dog-teach-us","tag-our-best-friends","tag-self-awareness"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Our Dogs Teach Us About Life, Love, and True Happiness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our dogs teach us so many valuable life lessons, we couldn\u2019t resist sharing our favorites!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Our Dogs Teach Us About Life, Love, and True Happiness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our dogs teach us so many valuable life lessons, we couldn\u2019t resist sharing our favorites!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Oakland Veterinary Referral Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ovrservices\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-20T20:26:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999-2000x1335.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"OVRS Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"OVRS Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"OVRS Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/624f934086950c0c4fde65d49fc64823\"},\"headline\":\"What Our Dogs Teach Us About Life, Love, and True Happiness\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-20T20:26:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/\"},\"wordCount\":589,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999-2000x1335.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Dog Care\",\"Dog Ownership\",\"Dog Teach Us\",\"Our Best Friends\",\"Self Awareness\"],\"articleSection\":[\"For The Dogs\",\"You &amp; Your Pet\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/\",\"name\":\"What Our Dogs Teach Us About Life, Love, and True Happiness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999-2000x1335.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-20T20:26:22+00:00\",\"description\":\"Our dogs teach us so many valuable life lessons, we couldn\u2019t resist sharing our favorites!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1335},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Our Dogs Teach Us About Life, Love, and True Happiness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Oakland Veterinary Referral Services\",\"description\":\"Oakland Veterinary Referral Services Blog\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Oakland Veterinary Referral Services\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/OVRS_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/OVRS_logo.png\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"Oakland Veterinary Referral Services\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ovrservices\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/624f934086950c0c4fde65d49fc64823\",\"name\":\"OVRS Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b80b9c3ccfe4b645ff35a623de5c58ef22606b7868bac923ebc89d15ca05c921?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b80b9c3ccfe4b645ff35a623de5c58ef22606b7868bac923ebc89d15ca05c921?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"OVRS Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/author\/ovrs\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Our Dogs Teach Us About Life, Love, and True Happiness","description":"Our dogs teach us so many valuable life lessons, we couldn\u2019t resist sharing our favorites!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Our Dogs Teach Us About Life, Love, and True Happiness","og_description":"Our dogs teach us so many valuable life lessons, we couldn\u2019t resist sharing our favorites!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/","og_site_name":"Oakland Veterinary Referral Services","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ovrservices","article_published_time":"2017-11-20T20:26:22+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999-2000x1335.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"OVRS Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"OVRS Staff","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/"},"author":{"name":"OVRS Staff","@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/624f934086950c0c4fde65d49fc64823"},"headline":"What Our Dogs Teach Us About Life, Love, and True Happiness","datePublished":"2017-11-20T20:26:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/"},"wordCount":589,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999-2000x1335.jpg","keywords":["Dog Care","Dog Ownership","Dog Teach Us","Our Best Friends","Self Awareness"],"articleSection":["For The Dogs","You &amp; Your Pet"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/","name":"What Our Dogs Teach Us About Life, Love, and True Happiness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999-2000x1335.jpg","datePublished":"2017-11-20T20:26:22+00:00","description":"Our dogs teach us so many valuable life lessons, we couldn\u2019t resist sharing our favorites!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-516656999.jpg","width":2000,"height":1335},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/dogs-teach-us\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Our Dogs Teach Us About Life, Love, and True Happiness"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/","name":"Oakland Veterinary Referral Services","description":"Oakland Veterinary Referral Services Blog","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Oakland Veterinary Referral Services","url":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/OVRS_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/OVRS_logo.png","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"Oakland Veterinary Referral Services"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ovrservices"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/624f934086950c0c4fde65d49fc64823","name":"OVRS Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b80b9c3ccfe4b645ff35a623de5c58ef22606b7868bac923ebc89d15ca05c921?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b80b9c3ccfe4b645ff35a623de5c58ef22606b7868bac923ebc89d15ca05c921?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"OVRS Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/author\/ovrs\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2447,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2445\/revisions\/2447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}