10 Things Dogs Teach Us About What Matters Most by Debbie Gisonni l Life Lessons from Dogs l Dogs and Family l Learning From Our Pets

I've been around dogs since my childhood and have always loved being in the company of our four-legged friends. When I told my husband I wanted a dog, he wasn't too thrilled with the idea at first. I was traveling a lot for work at the time, and he knew he'd have most of the responsibility. The compromise we made was to let him choose the breed. I wanted a small, non-shedding, off-leash dog.

What we adopted, however, were three husky puppies. A large breed known for shedding and wandering. And despite the years of constant vacuuming up dog hair, we loved the breed so much that when our original three passed away, we adopted two more huskies! Our dogs have been a constant source of love and amusement, but even more so, they've taught us some of the greatest life lessons.

Here are 10 things dogs can teach us about what matters most in life: