“Whoever said you can’t buy happiness forgot little puppies.”
~Gene Hill

Fortunately for me, my girlfriend did not forget this. A couple of months ago, we became the proud owners of a little Westie, aptly named Dixie. Since then, she has grown quite a bit, played quite a bit, and eaten quite a bit of… well, I will spare you that detail here. But other than being rambunctious little cute things that have bad breath, what else are puppies really good for?

Well, did you know that people who own dogs are 90% likelier to become millionaires? Ok, that is just a plain lie, but seriously, nothing can cheer a person up like a little pup. Now, dogs can also teach you many valuable things, one of which may make you at least a buck or two. Here are 5 things that I learned:

1. If you want something, never give up trying to get it.

   This is another way of saying that our puppy is stubborn. If there is something that she wants, she will stop at nothing to get it. If it takes digging, barking, squirming, climbing, or defecating, she will work for what she wants. Even if none of those things would ever help, she will do them just to make sure.

2. Whenever in doubt, go to sleep.

   Dixie at times, seems to be an endless little ball of energy. But on the other hand, she sure seems to sleep a lot. One source that I found says that puppies sleep 90% of the time. Well, in our puppies case, when she is not sure what is going on, she will just go to sleep; which is fine with us.

3. When someone comes through the door, run to the person and shake your whole body with joy!

   Why shouldn’t we do this one? I mean, who knows when we will ever get to greet that person again?! Besides that quasi-morbid point of view, there is another good reason. Namely, the person being greeted will never feel more loved than when they are met at the door that way.

4. Stay well hydrated and eat only what you need.

   This one time, Dixie stared at her food bowl barking and pushing it around; it was empty and she wanted more. So I faithfully obliged and refilled it. She proceeds to eat one mouthful, then walks away. The lesson is only to eat until you are replenished. Also, drink constantly, even if that means peeing constantly.

5. Put everything in your mouth at least one time.

   Well, you should not literally do this, but it is something that Dixie sure does. She will put anything in her mouth at least once. She chewed up a cigarette the other day, and clearly did not enjoy it; but now she knows that. The point is that you should always try new things, no matter how scary/disgusting it may seem.

Well, I have certainly learned a lot from Dixie, the super puppy in the last couple of months and I sure hope that you came away with something as well. If not, feel free to put me to shame with a blistering comment.