By America’s #1 Love and Marriage Experts .

You can learn a lot about love from a dog. Over the years, we have learned much about the essentials of a loving relationship by observing our dogs.

We are proud to tell you that our Louie is truly a Wonder Dog. He is loving, caring, intuitive, intelligent, handsome, and a wonderful friend and companion. Frankly, we love him like a child. And the good news is, he loves us right back! And he loves us unconditionally!

Louie is a mixed breed dog – half Golden Retriever and half Yellow Lab. He is a marvelous dog. He is a beautiful dog. He has been our faithful companion and best friend for nearly 13 years. He is everything you could ever want in a best friend. He tells us by his “words” and his actions that he is delighted to see us, that he missed us, and that he loves us. And when we come home from work he shivers, howls a gurgling sound, and wags his tail uncontrollably.

No matter how bad our day, no matter how stressful our work, and no matter how tired we are, just seeing Louie lifts up our spirits, relaxes us, and makes us feel loved. Isn’t that amazing? How can a dog have that effect upon us? How can our Wonder Dog, Louie, make us forget all of our cares and woes, lift up our spirits so completely, and make us feel so warm and fuzzy?

1. Here’s the first lesson. Our dog loves us unconditionally. He doesn’t love us “If we do something he likes,” “If we feed him his food and water,” “If we let him sleep with us in bed,” “If we comb his fur,” or “If we take him to the Vet.” He just loves us. He loves us unconditionally. People in the human race should learn this simple lesson.

2. Louie never lies to us. He always tells us the truth. When those soft brown eyes look at you, you melt! There is no equivocation in his eyes. He loves us, plain and simple. Just tell the truth! The eyes know love.

3. Louie never bites us. Oh, for sure, he might let out a little growl when you try to move him over so you can get in bed, but that is only a warning that he has found his “cozy place” in bed and you are intruding on his space. But bite? Never in a thousand years. He disagrees with us from time to time, but we are his friends, his family , and his supporters. To bite us is so far from his mind that he could never imagine it. And neither could we.

4. And finally, Louie knows the most important lesson of all—we are his best friends, his family , his trusted associates, and his providers. He can count on us through thick and thin. He can count on us when the chips are down. Louie knows in his heart that we would never let him down, never cheat on him, never hurt him, and never betray him. He loves us unconditionally and we love him just the same.

You can learn a lot about love from a dog. Our Wonder Dog Louie has taught us the loving lessons of life. We are eternally grateful for his love, his trust, and his companionship.

To learn the lessons we have learned from Louie is to have learned the essence of love. Louie has inspired us on to even greater love. We owe the big boy! His example about love is a model we should all follow. Human beings could learn a lot about love from you. Thanks, Louie. We love you unconditionally.

In love and marriage the simple things matter . Love well!

By Dr. Charles D. Schmitz and Dr. Elizabeth A. Schmitz

For hundreds of tips to enhance your relationship get the Doctor’s best-selling and multiple-award winning book Building a Love that Lasts: The Seven Surprising Secrets of Successful Marriage (Jossey-Bass/Wiley 2010) Available wherever books are sold.
Winner of the INDIE Book Awards GOLD Medal for Best Relationship Book
Winner of the Mom’s Choice Awards GOLD Medal for Most Outstanding Relationships and Marriage Book
Nautilus Book Awards Winner for Relationships

Author's Bio: 

As America’s #1 Love and Marriage Experts and award-winning authors, Drs. Charles and Elizabeth Schmitz help international audiences answer questions about love, marriage and relationships. With 28 years of research on love and successful marriage across six continents of the world and their own 44-year marriage, the Doctors know what makes relationships work.

Get started with America's #1 Love and Marriage Experts by taking their Marriage Quiz or sending your questions to Ask the Doctors for Marriage Advice .

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