What My Puppy Taught Me About Life (Warning: It is a little gross)
By: Dave Mochel
Tags: Emotional Wellbeing, Emotional Intelligence, Happiness, Stress And Anxiety, Mindfulness

We have the best puppy in the world. Her name is Remy and she is a small black lab. She is funny, sweet, energetic, and beautiful. And….she eats poop.

I tell you this because it has been a source of angst for me since we brought her home. She will eat her own if no one is around and she will hunt down nuggets that have been left behind by other four-legged friends. It’s gross.

When we walk on the beach each morning, she finds little gifts that other dog owners have failed to pick up. This ignites my self-righteous indignation about the thoughtlessness of others. So, my peaceful morning routine has been filled with vigilance and judgment. Nice.

I should also mention that we have tried all kinds of interventions — prescriptions from the vet, over the counter solutions, internet remedies of all kinds. We have exhausted the list of responses and found no way to keep this from occurring.

Last night, when my wife, Marnie, and I were taking Remy for a walk, she turned to me and said “You know, this really is a strength of hers. She has a gift for finding poop.” Something about that way of framing the situation changed everything.

We treated her like a tracking dog and allowed her to go on her search. We followed with flashlights, intercepted when she was close, and picked up the droppings that had been left behind. It felt like an adventure and a community service.

This morning at the beach, I continued the practice. Instead of internally resenting and ruminating about what others had left behind, I simply picked up what Remy found. It was actually kind of fun. As we left the beach, I threw several bags of remains into the trash and actually felt that I had done a little something for others.

Would I rather that Remy stopped engaging in this habit? Absolutely. Do I need to suffer over it? Absolutely not. Would I rather that everyone picked up after their dogs? Absolutely. Am I helpless? Does fueling my judgment help? Absolutely not.

I was struck by how reframing a situation I could not control completely shifted my relationship to it. I am so grateful to Marnie for her ability to do this in so many areas of life. We are not ignoring the reality — we are working with it as skillfully and joyfully as we can.

Don’t we all have situations in life that we wish were not as they are? Don’t we all spend time resenting, complaining, blaming, and ruminating about these? What if we found some acceptance for it? What if we found a response that allows us to let go of some suffering around it? What if we used it as an opportunity to be kind, graceful, loving, or of service?

One of the great truths of life is that there will always be stuff in life we do not like and would not choose to experience. We do not have to pretend that everything is always rainbows and chocolate chip cookies. We also do not have to behave as if we are victims when life is not the way we want it to be.

Whatever is happening in life is our practice field. We can use every bit of it as an opportunity to express our deepest values, to build relationships, and to cultivate well-being — even dog poop.