Puppies. Aren't they adorable? They are innocent, loving, and generally come with no baggage, except they are not housebroken! Then they grow up to be dogs, and if you haven't messed up too much with training them, are also adorable, loving and selfless. Jeff and I have had several dogs together, including 3 that were our original babies, our current dog, Tex, who came with some funny fears, but is incredibly sweet, and our brand new, 7 week old puppy, Luna. She is adorable, trusting, full of energy and personality, and a lot of work! But she'll be worth all of the work when she gets older--and housebroken!   Dogs offer us so much, including improving our mental health, improving our self-confidence and other things. They also can provide our kids with a sense of responsibility, improving compassion and empathy, and exercise. In this episode, I talk about the research about these things, as well as tell some stories about my naughty but wonderful beagle, Jack, the discovery and lives of all of our dogs, and how we ended up with our current adorable brood. This episode is not a knock against other pets, because we have those too, including our current grumpy cat who can not BELIEVE we brought in a puppy, but dogs are where our expertise is.    #DogsRule #BenefitsOfHavingADog #MentalHealthBenefitsOfADog #KidsResponsibilityWithDogs #NaughtyBeagle #Goberians #Puppies   45leftorrightpodcast.com  Instagram: 45leftorrightpodcast Facebook: 45 Left Or Right Podcast Twitter: @45leftorrightpod