It’s almost Valentine’s Day. A day to appreciate the people (and animals) we love dearly. With this day-of-love approaching, I took some time to reflect on how much I love my dog…and it made me think, can you love your dog too much?

Sometimes (okay, most times) I treat Squash like my baby. I can’t help it. She’s the sweetest, funniest, most loving, most special little thing with a big personality. So, the line can feel blurred: four-legged child or domesticated animal. Except when I come home to recycling strewn across the floor with big chunks eaten out of the ice cream container, then I remember, “yep, she’s a dog.” (I know I’m not alone in this. Read Julia’s previous post about “pethood” preparing you for “parenthood”.)

What is the best balance for a happy, healthy dog? My dog growing up was never allowed on the furniture. He wasn’t even allowed upstairs, let alone on the bed. We never gave him food scraps from the table. And he NEVER wore a sweater (well, maybe once). While we loved him to death, he was obviously the dog.

Then there’s Squashity. On the spectrum of spoilage, we are much closer to “full blown baby” than “furry companion”. I share in her excitement when she sees her dog friends walk by outside. I bundle her up when it’s cold outside. I cuddle her when she’s sick. I let her tear into stuffed toys and meticulously pull out all the stuffing because she loves to. I don’t like to interrupt her obnoxious 10-minute squeaky ball squeak-fests because she looks like she’s having the time of her life! We even hold her like a baby sometimes because it’s cute. But what’s the harm in that?

In reality, I understand the importance of parameters and structure. I try not to be totally blinded by love. So, we did make some rules of the house that help keep Squashinator grounded:

1. She obeys a command for any treat or human food. (She LOVES banana – she can hear you open one from a room away – so we make her wait patiently until the last piece before we give her any.)
2. We are sticklers about her jumping on people. Even when people say it’s okay. She has learned to sit for a pet.
3. At feeding time, she has to sit and stay for several seconds before she’s allowed to start eating and only after we say “OK”.
4. We have a gentle leader collar that we use every walk, even though she hates it.
5. She has her own dog bed that she sleeps in at night at the bottom of our bed. (She’s even learned to wait until after the first snooze to get up. Now, I just have to teach her how to hit the snooze for me.)
6. Before I let her go outside, I make her sit and stay at the open door. She has to wait until I say “OK”. (This takes a LOT of self-control because she can’t stand giving those bunnies a head start.)
7. She doesn’t get a treat for everything. Sometimes she’s expected to obey without a reward, just a “good girl” and pat on the head.

I can’t say we don’t make exceptions on some of these. Like I think it’s adorable when she puts her paws up on me to stretch. Or when one of us is away for work, she gets to sleep on the bed. Also, we can’t help but enable her squirrel obsession because she’s actually learned the word for “squirrel!”. So it’s hilarious when she runs to the window to diligently search for them in the trees whenever you say the “S” word.

Despite our weakness for Squashbuckler’s cute antics, there was one moment at Christmas with the in-laws when I knew we were not totally failing as “parents”. At dinner, my father-in-law, who faked an allergy to avoid getting a dog for my hubby as a child, actually said, “If I ever got a dog, I’d want it to be Squash.”

Melt my heart.

• How do you spoil your pet? Are there certain behaviors you just can’t help discouraging because it’s too darn cute?
• What kind of rules have you set in your home to ensure there are boundaries between the humans and animals?

Katy comes with an advertising background and a Master’s in Social Psychology, so she can basically read your mind. She’s also the proud parent of a sweet, smart, energetic “borador” named Squash (aka Squasharina, aka Squashinator, aka Squishy). Katy helps manage Marketing and Operations at Rover-Time with Julia.