Here’s What Your Pet Can Teach You About Improving Your Relationship

Want to have a better relationship with your spouse? Treat them the way you treat your dog or cat! According to The New York Times, that includes greeting them with excitement, overlooking their flaws, and easily forgiving their bad behavior. Clinical psychologist Suzanne B. Phillips teaches at Long Island University. She says couples may disagree on most topics, but they usually go all gooey and warm when they talk about the family pet. Saying things like, “They’re undemanding and give me unconditional love” and, “I wish he would give me the same attention he gives the dog.” The reality is: Pets require a lot of time and patience. They chew things, throw up on rugs, have accidents in the house, and steal food from countertops, but we accept their flaws because we love them so much. So, here’s what your pet can teach you about improving your relationship:

•Greet them happily. Even on bad days, we greet our pets with a happy, animated hello, and a display of physical affection. Your spouse deserves nothing less.
•Don’t hold grudges. Even when our pets wreck the furniture, wake us up at 3 am, or leave puddles for us to step in with bare feet, we don’t stay mad at them for long. So, when your spouse leaves their socks on the floor, accidentally deletes everything in the TiVo, or eats the last cookie in the kitchen, cut them a little slack.
•Assume the best. You know your dog wasn’t trying to torture you by eating the mail. So ask yourself: Was your spouse really trying to torture you by putting your keys where you couldn’t find them?
•Finally: Accept your spouse for who they are. If your dog licks a visitor from head to toe, you pull him away, or laugh it off. You don’t view his behavior as something that’ll tarnish your image or cost you a friend. Even if your spouse makes inappropriate comments, eats with their mouth open, or puts a new dent in the car every week – they were probably that way when you fell in love with them. So, accept their flaws, and move on.