The other night, as I stayed up way past my normal bedtime to finish up a blog post that was scheduled for that night, I glanced around my living room at my pack of dogs, all of whom were already sound asleep.
I thought about that and realized, in many ways, dogs have the wisdom to listen to their body’s needs that goes way beyond ours. That frequently, dogs are smarter than their humans.
9 Ways Dogs are Smarter than Their Humans
They sleep when they need to.
Unlike most human beings, you’ll never see a dog force themselves to stay awake to finish a project, watch a silly movie, or read a book. Nope, if they’re tired, they will sleep. And, unfortunately for us, if they’re not tired, they won’t.
S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g
Ever notice the first thing a dog does when he wakes up? He stretches his body, that’s what. Long, luxurious stretches that feel good and prepare his body for the day ahead. Just for comparison purposes, when was the last time you did that?
They drink when they’re thirsty.
For about the zillionth time, I’m adding drink more water to my list of things that I need to do. I know I don’t drink enough, and I’m sure it’s one of the reasons I get a lot of headaches. Dogs don’t sit there and think, “I’ll just finish this Facebook post, then I’ll get up and get myself something to drink.”
They eat when they’re hungry.
Without human intervention, supposing adequate food availability, a dog will eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. Humans, apparently determined to make dogs as screwed up as we are about food, often change their dogs’ habits by overfeeding them and giving them inappropriate food.
They love to exercise.
Again, all things being equal (that is, without human intervention), dogs love being active. You won’t hear them say, “I hate exercise!“. Nope, they run, play, and generally stay fit just because they enjoy it.
They scratch when they itch.
Okay, it may be an inappropriate thing to do in public, but if you’ve ever suffered because you have an itch in an “unmentionable” spot, you can appreciate that dogs just don’t care about mixed company.
Dogs have a great body image.
You won’t ever hear a dog ask their partner, “do these pants make me look fat?” or words to that effect. Dogs are comfortable in their own skin and don’t worry about what they look like.
Dogs don’t feel sorry for themselves.
Have you ever seen a three-legged dog? Or a blind dog? A dog that humans look at and say, “oh, poor fellow.” Guess what? They don’t even know they are different. They just are what they are. They know they are enough.
They are confident of their dog ability.
Dogs don’t worry that they will fail if they try. If a dog makes a leap and misses, they don’t look around, embarrassed, to see who was looking. They just get up and try again. And again if necessary.
Of course, these are all generalizations (and we know what Mark Twain said about generalizations), but overall, you will see that when it comes to appreciating their body and listening to its needs, dogs are smarter than their humans.
Of course, human intervention, which is an important part of a dog’s happiness and well-being, can also change some of the above instincts and behaviors. Our dogs become more like us, they overeat, lack confidence, get lazy.
What if, though, we tried to become more like our dogs?
Well, except maybe the eating poop and sniffing butts part.
As I mentioned last Monday, I’m taking a break from recipes for a couple weeks. Instead, I hope you’ll enjoy some personal reflections. I’ll be back after the new year with some new, easy plant-based recipes.
What do you think we can learn from our dogs?
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Sunday Blog Hop with Jenn
Meatless Monday with Tina and Deborah
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Friday Fitness with Jill
you KNOW I so so so believe this as well.
Especially my Bullmastiff (pour some kibble out for a fallen homie)
<3
I think mostly of one of my fallen comrades too when I write this post. Penny my Dalmatian (she’s the one posing with the sign above 🙂 ). Kibble it is!
Oh absolutely! I try to follow my dogs lead daily. Except for the butt sniffing and poop eating thing.
They definitely have a lot to teach us if we take the time to listen. For example, all of my dogs went back to sleep this morning, yet here I am, at 6:30 reading blogs. 🙂
Truth! And they can’t hide their feelings!
That’s for sure. Doggy kisses and snuggles for the win!
So true! TL would prefer a walk to a treat any day!
Not many humans would make that choice 🙂
Sigh….I need a dog.
Yes. You do.
This is so true!! They really do live a very authentic life, don’t they? 🙂
Authentic is a great way to put it. No faking it with a dog.
A lot of these are just about following your instincts! Humans could learn so much from dogs.
True. We could. Though there are probably some instincts we really need to keep in check 🙂
I LOVE this post. It really made me smile! The pictures are so cute and the thoughts about dogs are just the best. I loved the point that dogs don’t feel sorry for themselves. That is so true – they just go about their business of being happy and enjoying life.
Thank you! Dogs definitely have a great spirit.
hahaha, so very true! :] I can’t wait til I finally have my own space so I can adopt one from a rescue! <3
Yes! Life isn’t complete until you have a dog 🙂
that was super cute and a fun change of pace!
Thanks Deborah. I needed it 🙂
Now I want to be a dog, but your dog! 🙂
Haha! You’d have to share with 7 others. Or actually 8 right now (we’re dogsitting).
Well, Chester is on a lot of diuretics and Lola has a thing about water so every time I turn around I’m refilling the water bowls.
And left to their own devices, they’d eat like they’re Great Danes (because of course, in their minds, they are).
You are so right about not feeling sorry for themselves (and not realizing their sick). Chester doesn’t seem to know (most of the time; there are definitely times he does look very tired & definitely knows).
And of course then there’s that whole unconditional love thing — actually, I don’t think that’s completely true, but they will forgive you most anything — I could definitely learn a thing or two from that!
That love thing is pretty unconditional. A dog puts up with a lot and still loves their human.
I love this! I’ve had dogs my whole life and I really think we can all learn so much from them! If humans were as compassionate and friendly as most dogs are, the world would be a much better place.
We really could learn so much from our dogs. They operate instinctively, something that we tend to lose the ability to do after about age 5.
I love this post! I especially love this line:
“Dogs don’t worry that they will fail if they try. If a dog makes a leap and misses, they don’t look around, embarrassed, to see who was looking. They just get up and try again. And again if necessary.”
Thanks LeAnne. It’s so true. One of my dogs, Johnny (the one who is sleeping with the tennis ball above) has a blind spot in his eye. He is always bumping into things (because he is quite exuberant in spite of his disability) or missing things when he jumps. It doesn’t slow him down in the least though. He just tries again.
Oh. my. GOSH! First off, your doggies are INCREDIBLE! I just want to kiss their sweet little faces. Secondly, these are fantastic points to keep in mind. I especially love the one about dogs being confident. I could learn a thing or two from dogs when it comes to positive self-image:-)
I’m just curious. Where do all your puppies sleep at night?
Above I read that your dalmation is no longer with us. I’m so very sorry. Your kibble comment made me cry (yeah, I’m a total namby-pamby).
Anyway, this was a terrific post. I just subscribed so I’m excited to start receiving your posts!!!
Yeah, I’m pretty much a softie too. Actually both my husband and I will watch rescue videos with tears streaming down our faces :-). Yes, we’re a perfect match.
Which is fortunate, because all the little dogs sleep on our bed, as did Penny (the Dal) before she died. Yes, it gets a little tight, especially for me because they all seem to be on my side of the bed! Goldie, the handicapped one, has her own bed at the get side of ours.
It was a shock when Penny died. She was 14, and starting to show the effects of aging, but she still seemed so healthy. It was a hard loss because she was my running partner for many years as well as the “mama” of our pack.
Thanks for stopping by. After reading your post the other day I figured you’d enjoy this one 🙂