Your Pet Might Have Introduced You to Some Surprising Lifestyles

Most of us plan to take on healthier lifestyle choices. There's always room for more self improvement. No matter where we are in life we tend to plan for the future. We often pick up a surprising amount of skills without even knowing it. Pet owners in particular might be surprised by how many lifestyle related skills they've picked up without noticing.

Fitness instructor

You might not think of yourself as a fitness instructor. But any pet owner has taken on that role whether they're aware of it or not. If you're not convinced then consider just how much care you put into your pet's fitness routine.

Most mammals will drift to as sedentary a life as possible. But as a pet owner you push yourself and them. You want your pet to be as healthy as possible. And you know that exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. And don't just think that you're helping your pet get in shape either. Pet owners usually get a lot of exercise when they're helping their pet do the same.

Nutritionist

It's not always easy to make sure your pet is eating properly. And you might even have to adjust your own diet to ensure there's no dangerous foods sitting around which might make them sick. Pet owners typically learn all about what foods are healthy for their pets. And likewise, pet owners learn which foods might be harmful to their furry friends.

But along the way a person isn't just learning about what's good for their dog health or cat. They're usually learning about the various nutrients and other components within different ingredients. Before pet owners know it they're often quite knowledgeable about nutritional science.

Psychology

Owning a pet involves more communication than people realize. We often think about communication in terms of spoken or written language. But body language and non-verbal communication can convey an immense amount of information. And it's one of the primary ways animals communicate with each other.

Owning a pet means that you're essentially immersing yourself in their method of communicating. Keep in mind that you're not only picking up on some of their body language. You're also learning to observe your own tone and body language more than you normally would. If you've reached a point where you can communicate with your dog than you've learned quite a bit about nonverbal communication.

Photographer

It's a rare pet owner who isn't taking tons of pictures. Pet owners love capturing moments in time with their animals. And many even like to share valuable information while doing so. For example, the Ultimate Pet Nutrition on Instagram touches on the earlier nutritionist angle. It helps people understand nutrition by focusing on healthy diets for one's pet.

Expert hiking skills

You might not think of yourself as much of an outdoorsman. But if you own a pet who goes outside with you then there's a good chance you've picked up some impressive skills. Consider what you'd do if you saw your dog chewing on something. Would you know if it was OK for them to eat any given thing along their normal route?

Chances are you know quite well which types of grass or foliage would be good or bad for them. And in turn you might even have picked up a bit about what berries or fruits you can pick and eat during those walks.

Never stop learning about your skill set

You're probably starting to pick up on just how much you've learned from your pet. This might easily just be the tip of the iceberg though. Every pet is unique. Likewise, every pet has some unique skills to teach his or her owner. It's just a matter of recognizing what they've been able to teach you. And from there you might even want to try adding on some more formal education to further hone those skills.