Congrats! You’re now the proud owner of an adorable dog, and you instantly fall in love with him after one look into his precious, expressive eyes. Suddenly, you find yourself doing things for your new pup that you always questioned before becoming a dog parent yourself. Let’s look at some of the things that all fur parents are guilty of and the unexpected consequences that come with!

Sharing Your Bed

You buy an overly priced pet bed that finds itself lonely because your dog wants to sleep with you. Obviously, you let him (regardless of the protests of your partner). After all, how can you resist those adorable puppy eyes? Intimacy with your partner is compromised and may potentially lead to relationship problems down the line. What’s that you say? You don’t have a love life? Well, you won’t if you allow your pet to sleep in your bed with you.

You Don’t Set Aside ”You” Time

You’ve been saving for a vacation for months on end by waiting tables, doing odd jobs, and resisting the urge to talk back to your boss. Alas, you’ve elected not to go because you can’t take your furry pal with you. This is a trap that most new fur parents fall into – you become so pre-occupied with your new fur baby that you forget to do things for you. While there’s nothing like coming home to slobbery kisses from your fur kid every day after work, it’s important that you set aside some time for quality “you time.”

Sharing Your Food

This is something that all fur parents are guilty of. Whether it’s ice cream, dinner leftovers, or snacks, the food you share with your pet can potentially make him sick and can even be fatal to him (animals’ metabolisms are not like ours). For example, feeding your fur kid chocolate is a no-no as it is toxic and can lead to diarrhea, vomiting, or damage to his heart and nervous system. Additionally, feeding your pet human food will inevitably make him develop a taste for it and the next thing you know, they’re craving filet mignon, and now you have to get a second job.

You Forget to Take Care of Yourself

Some fur parents are guilty of spending more money on their fur baby’s trip to the vet than on healthcare for themselves. You’ve been meaning to go to the dentist for months to get that nagging pain in the back of your mouth looked at. Instead, you worry and fret over a mole on your pet's skin that the vet deemed benign three weeks ago. You now have no funds to see the dentist, and when you smile at your pet, he runs away from you. Or perhaps you’ve put off pampering yourself so that you can pamper your pet instead. When your pet's nails look better than yours, or he smells better than you, it’s time to reprioritize. In your quest to seek balance in your relationship with your fur kid, just remember to choose wisely, be firm but loving, and in turn, your pet will devote himself to you, and the two of you will live a full and happy life.