11 Things You Need To Know Before Dating A Dog Owner

There’s something truly unique about the bond between dog and dog owner. Whether you’re relaxing on the couch scratching your dog’s stomach, running together, or playing fetch in the park, a dog is loyal to the core, always his or her drooling, panting, authentic self. We’ve partnered with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, which advocates for rescue dogs and neglected animals, to celebrate the special relationships that can only be forged between dog people and their trusty canine friends.

A man and a woman walking a dog in the park.

1. We think of our dogs as our children.

We identify as dog-moms and dog-dads. We are dog parents, and our parents are dog-grandparents. Our siblings are dog-aunts and uncles, and even our friends are dog-godparents. We love our dogs, and they are as much a part of our family as any human is. Our dogs are family.

2. Our dogs tend to interrupt romantic moments.

When you’re going in for a kiss, our dog will probably lick your foot, and when you sleepover, they may or may not chew a hole in any piece of clothing you happen to remove. This might be their grand scheme to scare you away because they want ALL of our love and attention, but either way they’re just being dogs, and they don’t always contribute to a romantic ambience.

3. They’re our go-to cuddle buddies.

Not all humans are cuddlers, and even if they are, it’s an occasional occurrence. Dogs are willing to cuddle whenever, wherever, which is exactly why they’re our designated cuddle buddies. It’s okay if this makes you jealous.

4. We try to bring them everywhere.

When you ask us to dinner, we’ll ask if the restaurant allows dogs, even if it is five-stars. Who knows maybe the restaurant owner is a dog-lover like us. Wherever we go, and wherever you try to take us, we will probably try to bring our dogs too. Life is just more fun when they’re around.

5. You’ll hear about our dog’s bowel movements at least once.

Being a dog-parent is not always glamorous. Sometimes our beloved furry friends have belly aches that make their poop the consistency of peanut butter, and we will most likely tell you about it when it happens (if you’re not with us when we have to clean it up). We don’t really find it disgusting, we just consider it another day of dog parenting.

6. We have TONS of photos with our dogs.

We most likely have more photos with our dogs than our significant others. Our dogs are our home screen, our lock screen, and their bark might even be our ring tone. They’re just so cute and lovable, we want to be with them even when we physically can’t be. Every time we check what time it is, we see their adorable, loving face light up our phones and it makes us smile immediately.

7. They are the main subject of our social media.

All of the photos we have of them you can definitely bet have made appearances on any and all of your news feeds. We don’t care if it’s annoying. We love our dogs.

8. We need a little advanced-notice for any spontaneous trips, vacations, or sleepovers.

Dogs are as big of a commitment as any relationship. When you want us to spend the night, we have the care of our dog to consider, and when you want us to spontaneously go sky-diving, we think about who would take care of our dog if our parachute failed to open. Everything we do, we have the responsibility and care of our dog to worry about.

9. We spend a considerable amount of money on our dogs.

We like to give them special treatment, and that treatment isn’t always cheap. We spend more money on dog grooming than we do on our own trips to the salon, so don’t take offense when the gift we bought for your birthday costs less than the vegan leather dog bed we ordered from Amazon. Our dogs deserve the best.

10. They’re our best pal.

Significant others have broken our hearts, best friends have let us down, but our dogs have never done either. They’re always there for us, and so is their love. They’re our everything.

11. The love for our dog is incomparable to our love for anyone else.

We love our dogs, AND we love you too. We have multiple loves in our lives, and our dogs will always be one of them. We don’t want you to compare, we just want you to accept the amount of love we have to give, because all dog owners have more than enough.

This Post Was Produced In Partnership With Tito’s Handmade Vodka

Writer based in the Philadelphia area. Person who really loves her dog and watching cooking shows. Check out my writing on Thought Catalog and follow me on Facebook! Connect with me and submit your work on Collective World.

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