In partnership with Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
Before I met my fiancé, I didn’t consider myself much of a dog person. Sure, we had family dogs growing up, but as someone who has always valued their independence, I saw them as a bit of a ball-and-chain. But then I met my fiancé Ben, and on our first date he brought along his dog, Edie, for a walk. Reader, my fate was sealed. From then on, my life has been a series of acts to try to get this 25-pound ball of energy to not only like me, but love me.
And for the most part, it’s worked. Which is great, because my fiancé and I are just about a month out for our wedding, and I was not about to be stepmother to a dog who wasn’t obsessed with me. So here is what I do to make sure Edie is just that.
We Make Sure She’s Got The Dog Food That Supports Her
When I met Ben, he approached Edie’s care with what he lovingly calls a “Spartan sensibility.” In other words? He fed her the most generic, run-of-the-mill dog food on the market. But now that we live together, I can’t abide by that. So now we feed Edie Hill’s Pet Nutrition Science Diet Small & Mini Senior Vitality Dog Food. It’s the #1 Veterinarian recommended brand in the US, and provides a great taste with natural ingredients. And let me tell you — Edie LOVES it. She gobbles it up so fast, and she has more energy now that we’re feeding her well.
We Always Make Sure Her Toy Box is Stocked
If there’s one thing that Edie loves, it’s absolutely gutting a stuffed animal. I’m serious — she gets a real thrill out of tearing a stuffy limb-from-limb and presenting the disemboweled carcass to us. So why not give the old gal what she wants? I make sure she constantly has at least one stuffed animal to play with at all times, and I don’t even complain about having to pick up all the little tufts of stuffing all over our house.
We Splurged On an Oversized Bed and Lots of Blankets
Edie is not a huge dog. But her bed? Roughly big enough for a Great Dane to lounge comfortably in. But in just the same way that most adults prefer a king size bed, we figured Edie would prefer a larger bed to curl up in. To make it extra cozy, though, we make sure to stock it with lots of blankets that smell like her. Ben even likes to throw a shirt in there when he’s out of town. Sweet!
We Make Sure To Snuggle Her As Much As Possible
Edie is one of those dogs that takes a while to warm up. But once she does, she’s a huge softie. So every night before bed, we have a little ritual. Edie will get all cozy in her bed, and then Ben and I will curl up with her one at a time. We give her lots of pets and snuggles, and tell her what a magnificent angel sent from above she is. Because she is. And she deserves everything we give her.