Owning a pet is a fantastic experience and one that can ensure you never quite feel alone.
They will do hundreds of funny things on a daily basis, they’ll always be there for you and they’ll look adorable when they gaze up at you with those big eyes.
But while you may well be infatuated with your new furry friend, it’s important that you are careful not to cross the line into full-blown lunacy and that you know when to tone it down a notch. If you’re becoming a ‘crazy cat/dog/rabbit person’ then you need an intervention. Here are some signs that you might be teetering close to the edge and raising eyebrows when you have guests round.
They’re All You Talk About
Pets are a great ‘fall back’ conversation. As soon as there’s a lull in conversation someone can just say ‘haha, look at him sleeping’ which is a great way to avoid ever enduring an awkward silence. Only that’s also not healthy, and especially when it starts to seem as though every conversation ends up finding its way back to your animals.
If you’re concerned that this might be a problem for you, then try setting out with the intention of not bringing up your pet at all in your next social gathering. You may find it’s harder than you think.
You Talk Using Baby Talk
Grown humans hate baby talk. This is true no matter who you are or who you’re talking to, but when there’s no baby on the receiving end it gets even worse. Talking to your dog or cat in a baby voice is not only irritating, but it’s also a tad creepy and unsettling. So don’t do it.
Photos and Ornaments
You know those new parents who upload hundreds of photos of their baby every day on Facebook and fill up your home feed? Annoying aren’t they? Well, it isn’t any better when you do the same thing with pictures of your pet rat snuffles. Sure he might look cute, but if you upload too many pictures people are going to start thinking you don’t have much else going on in your life. ‘Look, snuffles is wearing a hat!’
The same goes for putting photos up around your home. Photos around your home should be of happy experiences you want to remember, of your closest relatives, or of loved ones who are no longer with you. If you have a portrait of your dog hanging proudly over the fireplace, then your guests are going to want to back slowly out of your house as soon as they step through the door.
Oh and going overboard with ornaments isn’t much better either. A hundred ornamental dogs across your windowsill is a cry for help if ever there was one. And worse, once you start collecting dog ornaments you’ll find that that becomes all anyone ever gives you. Don’t get into that situation in the first place – you have a real dog remember? Incinerate them with extreme prejudice.
