The Best Advice I Ever Learned Came From my Dogs



Remi and Scout are
wise beyond their years.
Everything in life is just past
the fence, so enjoy the ride and
go for it!



I like advice. Typically on my terms, but I enjoy good advice. I read a lot of articles online and do research on just about everything. I even researched the Consumer Reports best rated toaster. That is how crazy I am. Now if someone walked up to me and said, this is what you need to do, I wouldn’t listen because to me, it is all in the respectful delivery, the wisest words, the most informative terms. And as a writer, it is important for me to listen to the advice of other fellow writers. This is why I love books like Bird by Bird and The Zen in the Art of of Writing. They are dripping with advice and I try to incorporate it in my writing as much as possible, but sometimes advice can be bad thing. We must learn to take what we like and leave the rest.

You’ve met this kind of person: the person who HAS to tell you how to do something that, in their view, is the "only" way or the “right” way. They bend your ear and insist you listen. They insist they know best. And as you sit there listening to their unsolicited advice, you realize that if they took their own advice, it would do them a world of good. And you marvel at how these people don't want to take advice from anyone else either. And you? You end up irritated and angry over all of it. If anything they drove you far, far away from wanting to take their “advice.” So you see, advice can be good and bad. But recently I learned something important and it rocked my world. I learned how to live the best life. It was the best advice I ever got and it came from my dogs.

Scout Sonner Birch

Remington Trailblazer Birch

My dogs trust their instincts. They know when someone isn’t a good person because they pick up on cues that humans are otherwise too preoccupied to spot. They sleep when tired; they play hard. They love getting out and going for long walks. They love a good tasty treat. They love to cuddle up on the bed; they get excited when their humans come home. They love with their whole heart and forget about my mistakes as if they never happened. They do not judge, they do not care about money or what kind of car I drive. As a matter of fact, they don't criticize my writing either. Just so long as I vow to love them with my whole heart, they will be always be there and they do it with a happy wag of their tail. And so it is with my writing process. If I get out and walk, if I indulge in an occasional tasty treat, if I rest when I need it and play hard (meaning write with all my heart), I will get to where I need to be in life and with my writing. Hands down my dogs have provided me with the best life advice ever.

Thank you Remi and Scout. You sleep at my feet and cheer me on to write more, to write better. You are my example to live by and I will do my best to be a good human and heed your advice.

Stephanie D. Birch is a Weimaraner-loving nut that would willingly lay down her life for her fur babies. If you don't know why being owned by a dog is such an amazing thing, email her at birchwordnerd@yahoo.com. She is currently working on a children's series entitled Remi and Scout's Short Tails.