Someone once commented that it was crazy of me to have pets more so dogs since I was an entrepreneur. Really? Why? The person said that pets are significant responsibility and that running a business (in my case, holding a full-time job, as well) and taking care of pets would cause me unwanted stress. It is common sense, right? You have so much on your plate and there you go adding on to the heap by adopting a pet or in our case having a houseful of puppies.
Four months later, they were moved to the farm we rented and suddenly the house went silent and I felt boredom set in despite having so much to do. The energy level just went south, and it became a struggle to remain focused on business without distraction.
So, I realised that there was no truth in what was said. In fact, on the contrary, having a pet is said to make the entrepreneur more productive. In this article, I would focus on dogs because as a family we have twelve of them!
Here is why having a dog would make you, the entrepreneur, more productive:
Efficient use of time
Dogs need a lot of activities at specific time slots of the day. Food time, playtime, walk time – all these would have to be included in your daily activities which would help you use your time effectively to get more done within the available hours.
My day used to start early with feeding them milk. Then, cleaning the porch and half of the living room which we cordoned off for the puppies and their parents. Change drinking water outside, by when the oldest puppy, Mafia, would have done his swimming in the water basin!
A quick shower and breakfast (with all six begging for a bite of my toast), after which my day would start. In between work, there would be cooking lunch and dinner for the puppies, feeding them some dry food and changing the pee pad when it gets drenched. Oh, I forgot – shouting at them to stop when they start fighting with each other.
All in all, at the end of the day, you will feel very productive as you would have accomplished more than you thought you could – both work and taking care combined, in a day.
Forced breaks
You will certainly not be able to sit at your work desk and type away for hours. Something or other the dogs do will make you move every few hours which would ensure your blood flow continues throughout the day.
Running away with your favourite shoes, trying to go up the stairs to the upper floor, hatching escape plans through the front gate or just puppy eyes to melt your heart.
Many times I had to run after them when they grabbed one of our shoes and started zooming around. It would be a task to catch the offender amongst all the other dogs which try to grab that shoe from him/her. So, imagine a middle-aged woman running after the puppy that ran off with one of our shoes while competing with the rest! I call that pleasure break because once I catch that fellow, I would pick him up, no, not to beat but cuddle and that releases dopamine which is said to stimulate the motivational centre of the brain, which pushes us to work harder and more efficiently.
Few more cuddles for the rest of the puppies and their parents, and my day continues.
The human attention span is said to last only for 45 minutes at one time. Beyond that, the brain starts digressing, and attention moves elsewhere. So, a short, forced break would re-energize the tired mind to have greater clarity.
Natural alarms
They are. Dogs love routine and discipline. That means when it is time for them to poop, they shall. So, before your porch or home gets soiled, they would come to you to remind you to take them for their walk.
Weigh between finishing that task and cleaning your dogs’ poop – I am sure the former can wait. After all, a ten minutes delay would not bring down your company or your employer for that matter.
This is what the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has to say about walking your dog: Studies have shown that owning a dog comes with numerous health benefits. Regular walks with a pet would help to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Running or speed walking with your pup would bring added benefits since exercise increases serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is the hormone that helps boost brainpower and mental clarity, which can assist in increasing productivity levels and output.
The activity that I love the most is walking in the jungle adjacent to our land with our dogs. There are ten of them there: Power, Mocha, Sonny, Mimi, Jhansi, Simba, El Diablo (Devil), Rocky, Fiona and Elsa. Jhansi is the only one that would keep me company, often walking within 5 feet of me at all times. The rest would run off to explore the jungle. The thought that Jhansi kept me company as I walked in the wilderness is a feeling of bonding like no other.
Positive mental health
Dogs give unconditional love. Starve the pup but he will still lick your hand and stand up on his hind legs to greet you. Scold him, yet he will come to you and cuddle up. Look into your dog’s eyes and for one brief moment, you would forget the world. The loving look from the beady eyes of a dog had never failed to kindle deep emotions in human beings. That is the strength of pure love.
For those who do not know, dogs do communicate with their eyes.
When Jodha died and her carcass was unceremoniously thrown away by the neighbour at our farm, Power, her partner would run to me, stand on his hind legs and look deep into my eyes, seeking an answer to her whereabouts.
It is customary for us to let other dogs see the carcass of the dead dog before burial so that they would not look for the dog later. That was the case when Ambi and Anarkali died. But Jodha did not die at our premises; she escaped her captors and ran back to the neighbour’s premises to hide. Probably also because in case they had followed her, her coming back to our land may have put her own puppies in harm’s way. Jodha was discovered dead two days later and the neighbour immediately disposed of her carcass, thus her puppies and Power kept searching for her, for weeks. Power’s eyes said it all. He wanted to know where she was and how was I to tell him she was dead.
His love for her and his puppies often brought about warmth to our hearts. The way the puppies from the second litter licked his face and sometimes cuddled him brought out deep-set emotions that could not be explained. That feeling erased all troubles that we were going through at that time, aiding us with positive mental health.
As an entrepreneur, that relief helped a lot in planning the business. It provided clarity in thoughts.
Laughter is the best medicine
One who laughs lives longer, they say. We often laugh seeing our dogs’ antics. Mafia (now abducted) was a footballer. He played football so well with our human friends, often robbing the ball of the players.
Elsa and Fiona negotiate – yes, they do, when there is only one piece of bone and both wanted it. They would lie on their backs and make sounds as if they were discussing the bone!
Simba has a habit of putting everything into his mouth – just about anything – food or otherwise. The otherwise can be the skull of a dead monkey, baby monitor lizard or a mouse. Once, to trick him, we gave him a piece of lemon. He took it and when the tangy taste hit his taste bud, he dropped it and ran away. The look on his face!
Mocha and Jhansi are climbers – no, not mountain climbers but car climbers. Their favourite pass time is to climb up the old Honda City and sit watching the ongoings around them on the land. Other times, my Myvi – Claudia becomes the victim. Mocha even tried digging on the car roof! Dei!
Good health
All of us, more so entrepreneurs, get stressed at times. Cortisol is a stress hormone that rages at significantly higher levels in high-risk occupations such as entrepreneurship. High levels of cortisol are not only associated with the development of disease, but also with decreased efficiency at work. Dogs can be instrumental in lowering cortisol levels in humans and counteracting such disease development by providing a distraction when entrepreneurship takes a toll.
Social interaction
If not for my puppy at home, I would not have known other dog owners within my community or within the locality, I live in. It was through such communications that I got to know the stray dog feeders around us.
Eventually, I also got to know the business group for the communities within the locality, opening up a bigger market for our products. These days, marketing includes network or social marketing. People buy when they trust the brand or the benefits of the product. The ability to hold closer interaction aids in the above-mentioned forms of marketing.
Looks like owning a dog adds value to the entrepreneur’s life in many ways contrary to what I was advised. So, what do you think? Would adopting a dog help entrepreneurs stay on top of their game? I think so, how about you?
