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What have your pets taught you about parenting?
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<blockquote data-quote="donna723" data-source="post: 483993" data-attributes="member: 1883"><p>I hate to admit this but I think I'm a lot more patient and tolerant now with my dogs than I ever was with my kids! Of course, when the kids were little, I was in a much worse place - in a horrible marriage, constant money problems, stress levels off the charts.</p><p></p><p>Now the kids are grown, I'm on my own and getting by financially, I don't have to worry about work anymore ... I'm just a grandma in a house with four dogs! I'm another one that talks to the dogs like they were people. I say "please" and "thank you" and occasionally, "I'm sorry" if it's called for. We have regular conversations and they love to be talked to. And they are very eager to please (in sharp contrast to the way the kids usually were). But for the most part, I've learned that they are who they are and I'm not going to change that. What I <u>can</u> change is the way I react to it. Nothing drastic, no horribly bad totally unacceptable behaviors, more just annoying things. For instance, Katy has her beloved red ball and the minute I leave the room she will climb up on the back of the sofa and play with it. It's usually nasty and spitty and she goobers up the sofa and even the wall with it! For five years I've tried to make her stop doing that ... she does it anyway. I could get mad at her and yell at her and get myself all upset, but she will do it anyway! So now when I catch her up there I just tell her to get down and she does! And then I tell her "thank you"! And as soon as I leave the room, she will get up there again! And Freebie, my big dog, is going to bark every time a leaf falls off a tree in the yard. And she does NOT like strangers and will bark and bark and bark... For twelve years I've tried to make her stop and she won't. Her behaviors are out of fear and probably come from when she was dumped and abandoned as a puppy. It's so ingrained in her, there's no way she will change. It's part of who she is. So I just make allowances for her and get on with it. It's sort of like the serenity prayer ... change what you can, accept what you can't change, and know the difference between the two. I wish I had known that when the kids were little!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="donna723, post: 483993, member: 1883"] I hate to admit this but I think I'm a lot more patient and tolerant now with my dogs than I ever was with my kids! Of course, when the kids were little, I was in a much worse place - in a horrible marriage, constant money problems, stress levels off the charts. Now the kids are grown, I'm on my own and getting by financially, I don't have to worry about work anymore ... I'm just a grandma in a house with four dogs! I'm another one that talks to the dogs like they were people. I say "please" and "thank you" and occasionally, "I'm sorry" if it's called for. We have regular conversations and they love to be talked to. And they are very eager to please (in sharp contrast to the way the kids usually were). But for the most part, I've learned that they are who they are and I'm not going to change that. What I [U]can[/U] change is the way I react to it. Nothing drastic, no horribly bad totally unacceptable behaviors, more just annoying things. For instance, Katy has her beloved red ball and the minute I leave the room she will climb up on the back of the sofa and play with it. It's usually nasty and spitty and she goobers up the sofa and even the wall with it! For five years I've tried to make her stop doing that ... she does it anyway. I could get mad at her and yell at her and get myself all upset, but she will do it anyway! So now when I catch her up there I just tell her to get down and she does! And then I tell her "thank you"! And as soon as I leave the room, she will get up there again! And Freebie, my big dog, is going to bark every time a leaf falls off a tree in the yard. And she does NOT like strangers and will bark and bark and bark... For twelve years I've tried to make her stop and she won't. Her behaviors are out of fear and probably come from when she was dumped and abandoned as a puppy. It's so ingrained in her, there's no way she will change. It's part of who she is. So I just make allowances for her and get on with it. It's sort of like the serenity prayer ... change what you can, accept what you can't change, and know the difference between the two. I wish I had known that when the kids were little! [/QUOTE]
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