What have your pets taught you about yourself?

[WillParkinson]

When Cat was still alive s/he taught me something about myself that I never forgot. I can NOT sing. Every time I would try s/he would run up behind me and bite me in the back of the leg, sometimes hard enough to draw blood.

It's a lesson I carry with me to this day. (I still sing, I just do it much more quietly.)

[Skittles]

1. they taught me I am not a morning person

or maybe I taught them not to wake me up before 3 PM :D

[kayakjohnny]

2. They've taught me to live in the present.

As much as is possible.

[graywarrior]

3. That cleaning a litter box is honorable and a duty

[madmom]

4. That no matter how quietly you try to open a bag, they WILL hear you.

[backtoblue]

5. that my heart is alot softer than if I didn't have them.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

6. lol. that is hillarious

love is fear. i fear losing my cat so much, because i love her so much. sometimes even the thought of it makes me cry.

[Demoiselle]

7. Mine have taught me that I cannot...and should not...

..sit down to eat my dinner until they've all been fed theirs.

[LoveMyCali]

8. That I'm a complete push over

for a cute face even if the face belongs to six pounds of evil wrapped in cuteness and fur.

[trof]

9. I learned that dogs are pack animals.

And the family they live with is their pack.
Long story that I won't go into here, but our 2 year old, 150 lb. male German Shepherd once challenged me for pack leadership.
I still have small scar on my hand.

After a trip to our vet and one to a canine neurologist/psychologist (Yeah, REALLY.) the only acceptable solution was to have him castrated.
The other 'solution' was to have him euthanized.
Not acceptable.
He was a good dog, and very protective of my family.
I just didn't at the time understand pack mentality and made a bad situation worse.
My bad.
:-(

Max was with us for several more years, but much less aggressive.

[Flaxbee]

12. yikes! Some friends had two German shepherds, one enormous

white male one, and a smart-as-a-whip female. That female dog was just uncanny. She was definitely alpha, too, when it came to dog pecking-order.

The husband was Alpha of the pack, but the wife most certainly was not second in command. It caused quite a few behavior problems; a lot of it was her fault because she just would NOT stick to training or rules or anything to do with maintaining the pack status quo.

[trof]

13. White German Shepherds are considered to be a weakness in the breed.

I don't think AKC 'recognizes' them.
Reported to be sometimes unstable and unpredictable.
:shrug:

[Taverner]

10. That I give good bellyrubs

[Flaxbee]

11. how funny your cat did that! My landlady's dog, a sweet Golden Retriever,

would poke me hard in the butt with her nose if proper attention was not paid to her wonderfulness when I first got home.

From my cats, I have become a gentler person who has learned not to yell when angry. I love all animals and would never, ever deliberately hurt any of them, would feed and cuddle and protect all of them if I could.

But. I used to just be an impatient person and when upset, loud. I am not those things anymore. Some of it no doubt comes with aging / mellowing out a bit, but also tuning in to the needs and behaviors of my cats, and not wanting to upset their sweet furry little selves, has really helped me rein in my temper. And to take the time to take very good care of them.

The only thing I do that terrifies the poor kitties is use the vacuum. :D To vacuum up the copious amounts of fur 5 shedding beasts produce.

[mysuzuki2]

14. That I need to have someone in my life to nurture.

[Orsino]

15. That I lack flexibility.

I still can't reach those places.

[dixiegrrrrl]

16. Life without pets is not complete, not at all.

It feels strange and empty, the times I have had to live without cats or dogs.

I waited for over 20 years to get another Golden because I knew I wanted to be around them 24/7, and could not do that while I was working long hours.
Worth every second of waiting, it was, but a part of me regrets that I could not have had the joy of one or two more of the breed during that time.