GREETINGS
Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well. The featured photos for this month are from a visit to Kent Park on 31 Jan 2026.
Puppy Life — Feeling Relaxed
Upon arriving home with our adopted puppy, I wanted the experience to be smooth as possible with minimal disruption for the puppy. I thought one way to do that would be to sleep on the floor next to him — as would be typical for a family of dogs. He seemed to welcome that little bit of continuity. The second element of familiarity would be to initially spend time together — napping, playing outside, eating, running errands, and sleeping. He seemed to like that togetherness.
The arrival of the puppy seemed to be perfect timing. I had a light workload due to the holidays and was ready to get some rest. Nothing is more restful than taking a nap next to a puppy for a day … or two … or three.
After a few days, I began to sense a feeling similar to being sedated or having a rise in the body’s dopamine levels. So, I asked Google, “Does the human body release a drug when spending a lot of time with a puppy?”
The answer came back:
Yes, your body releases a natural “feel-good” hormone called oxytocin when you spend time with a puppy. Often referred to as the “love hormone” or “cuddling chemical,” oxytocin is the same substance responsible for bonding between mothers and infants. Interacting with a puppy—or even just making eye contact—triggers several physiological changes:
- Oxytocin Spike: Increases feelings of trust, relaxation, and empathy.
- Lower Cortisol: Reduces the body’s primary stress hormone.
- Dopamine & Serotonin: Boosts these neurotransmitters, which help regulate mood and combat depression.
The response from Google went on to explain: “Research shows this chemical reaction is mutual; your puppy’s oxytocin levels typically rise during these interactions as well.”
I’ve seen mother dogs appear to be in a similar relaxed state around their puppies. They also seem to lose interest in anything except caring for their puppies, which is probably a result of the hormones described above. A squirrel or rabbit could go past them and they’d ignore it, preferring to stay with their puppies. That’s what I was feeling. I no longer had a dozen interests, but was focused on the puppy.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
When I was growing up, probably between the ages of 5 and 7, after school I would walk up the street to the top of the hill to visit a neighbor’s house where I would watch Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and other Public Television after school shows.
As I recall, that neighbor had a color TV set, which would not be common until a few years later. At that time, most TVs were black and white. The show began broadcasting in color on February 10, 1969, starting with its second season. Mister Rogers had a captivating and thought provoking way of story telling. I really enjoyed his show. He had a positive message and taught people to be kind to others, as well as teaching about other values and virtues.
At that age, the brain is still developing, and, according to Google, the brain can “physically reorganize and strengthen neural pathways based on environmental input. This process, known as experience-dependent plasticity, allows specific regions to expand or refine when stimulated by activities like music, language, or visual arts.”
So, for children growing up learning the positive messages from Mister Rogers and similar shows, their brains would “strengthen neural pathways based on [that] environmental input.”
It seems possible that people who are taught to value kindness and empathy may react more strongly when they see those traits exemplified in puppies and dogs, thus amplifying the changes in oxytocin, cortisol, dopamine, and serotonin described above. That might explain why I was feeling even more relaxed than might be expected.
Mother Dog Mindset
After a few days, when I first spent an hour away from the puppy, I noticed the severe relaxation lift a little bit, and I was able to get some work done.
However, I wanted to maintain that ‘mother dog mindset’ because I felt it was important for puppy parenting. With that sedated puppy-focused mindset, having the initial puppy pee or poop on the carpet didn’t really bother me. If things got chewed and destroyed, I wasn’t bothered. Spending every waking and sleeping hour with the puppy didn’t seem like too much of a commitment.
At one point, after some wrestling with the puppy, one of his sharp teeth grazed my head and left a cut that seemed like it might need stitches. I was a little concerned about a possible infection, such as sepsis, so I went to Urgent Care to have that looked at. They said it should heal up okay and told me to watch out for any signs of infection.
About a week later, I ended up in the ER from a severe case of dizziness, which I thought might just be some type of unrelated vertigo. Given the possibility of a serious antibiotic-resistant infection (MRSA), the team of masked medical specialists went to work quickly doing a full blood workup, testing for any heart issues, and running me through an MRI to check for any brain related causes. All the test results came back indicating that I’m in great health. So, that’s good news. The vertigo took a few weeks to completely go away.
These trips to Urgent Care and the ER were mellowed by the mother dog mindset. I wasn’t frustrated.
I found that taking occasional breaks from the puppy seemed to help reduce the dizziness. The puppy smell is part of what seemed to contribute to the dizziness. That smell diminishes over time, but initially is strong. It’s a calming smell, similar to what dog or cat paws smell like. We were initially spending 24 hours a day with the puppy, and because he’s a small breed, he often sleeps near one’s head. This is combined with the puppy nose pushed into one’s ear and quietly snoring, it becomes like a multi-sensory puppy experience.
So, imagine puppy cuteness, puppy empathy, puppy smell, tiny nose and snoring sounds. I think just about anyone would get dizzy with all that.
Calculating Dog Years
A Google query on calculating dog years reports: “The American Kennel Club states that the first year is ~15 human years, the second is ~9, and each subsequent year is ~4–5.”
After bringing the puppy home, in the initial 24 to 48 hours, I began to notice the puppy had some interesting behaviors. Because Google didn’t exist in the years when I was younger, it wasn’t possible to ask AI about animal behavior. I’ve been a renter over the past 26 years, and the properties where I rented did not allow pets, and I didn’t have a pet since prior to the Internet. This was my first pet in the internet era.
Today, AI can review all known writings, research, and knowledge to answer just about any question about puppy behavior. I learned that there are many instinctual behaviors of dogs that were established prior to domestication, more than 15,000 years ago.
So, basically the best way to calculate the age of a dog is to take its current age according to human years, and add 15,000 years to it. Then the behavior of puppies and dogs make more sense.
Zen Puppy
In the first days, on a trip to the back yard, in the snow and cold, I opened the door for the puppy to go outside and go to the bathroom. He stopped in the doorway, closed his eyes, and breathed in the cold air. He seemed to meditate there in the doorway. Then he went outside a short distance, stopped, sat in a certain spot, and just breathed in the cold air deeply while looking off into the distance for a period of time.
He has a very Zen-like way of living in the moment. Given that he can draw from instincts that are 15,000 years old, his “moment” spans thousands of years. At least, this is how I like to think of it.
I decided instead of teaching him our ways, I’d try to learn more about his ways. Having a friend who is like a Zen master with 15,000 years of insight is a great opportunity for growth.
Puppy Life — Health Impact
Since the start of the pandemic, in March 2020, my workload increased. To keep up with the demand, I would typically go to sleep at 9 PM or 10 PM and then wake up about 4 or 5 hours later. It was common to have a 16-20 hour work day.
Rather than teach the puppy all of my bad habits, I waited to see what his routine and interests would be. Eating, napping, playing, going for walks, and sleeping fill most of his day.
Now I’m typically going to bed at 8PM and getting out of bed around 7AM. Within that timeframe I sometimes get 8-10 hours of sleep. The puppy doesn’t like it if I don’t stick to that schedule. So, I’m sleeping when he sleeps, going for walks when he wants to go for walks, and mostly eating meals on his schedule — morning, noon, and end of day.
Even with his bathroom breaks during the night, my wellness tracker reported that my sleep duration and quality had gone up. The puppy-induced relaxation made it easy to go back to sleep. My weight is down to the lowest it’s been in a long time. I’ve lost about 45 pounds in recent years, but had reached a plateau that was hard to break through. Finally I’ve gone below that weight. I got an alert on my smartphone telling me my screen time was down 78% from the previous week (a result of having the mother dog mindset). From my trip to the ER, I learned that my blood oxygen has increased, my blood pressure is down, my relaxing pulse is down, and other vitals are looking good.
The puppy has really had a positive life-changing impact. He’s an inspiration and fund to spend time with.
WRITING TOPICS
I continue to expand on the topic reports found on the Resources For Life dot com website. The list can be found on the What’s New Page. Adding incrementally takes very little time since the post and related context are already present.
TECH WRITING
If you’re interested in the latest tech-related guides and articles I’ve posted, you can visit the Posts Page on the Iowa City Tech website.
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Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 24 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith/philosophy), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]
