i didn't bring this topic up to have people feel like failures. our dogs love/loved us. we love/loved our dogs as best as we can. did we forgive them the chewed up kleenex, tennis shoes and muffins snatched from the tabletop? of course we did. the dogs have long since forgiven us our mistakes, we did/are doing the best we can. please don't beat your self up over the fact you're not perfect, your dog loves you and wants to play, so forgive yourself and go play!