Five years ago when I went with my mom to adopt a two-month-old, black Labrador Retriever, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. One could have never guessed that the tiny bundle of joy who was clumsily running throughout the house would grow up to be a bear-like goofball.

My now five-year-old, approximately 100 pound dog, resembles more of a wild black bear than a puppy. While he is as sweet and cuddly as man's best friend could be, he also backs a powerful bark that can probably be heard six houses down, and he even looks as if he will crush you with just a slap of his paw. Having watched my puppy grow up, get bigger and get fatter, I've learned just what it means to own a dog practically the size of a small house.

Introducing your dog to your friends for the first time is an event all in itself.

You tell everyone that your dog is huge, but they don't really understand just how huge you're talking about until they walk through your front door and see a lion running toward them. It is normal for you to warn your friends to wear closed-toe shoes just incase one of your dog's gigantic paw lands on top of your unaware friend's toes.

They may be the size of a young adult, but they think they're a Chihuahua.

Constantly wanting to be picked up or lay in your lap on the couch, these monster animals don't fully understand that they can crush you with their oversized love. Maybe they haven't grown out of their puppy-phase yet, or perhaps they played with too many teacup dogs as they were growing up. Either way, there seems to be a thought in their brain that they are only five pounds in weight and thus, deserve to be in your arms, all of the time.

When you decide to cuddle with them, you're going to be stuck for a while.

It's a natural thing to want to snuggle with your teddybear puppy. But when your puppy is the same size as you, it gets a little tough. With all that extra weight comes an extra soft-spot for affection—just try not to get stuck on the bottom of the cuddle fest. While all you wanted to do was rest your head on your dog's stomach like they do in the movies, your dog had other ideas; ideas that normally include resting their head on your body.

You're worried they might crush smaller dogs, but really it would probably go something like this.

While looking like a fearless giant is a natural ability all big dogs possess, their killer instincts are often lacking, and they end up being big softies. This experience normally leads you to wonder just how protective your big guard dog would be if someone were to break into your home.

Eating at the dinner table always includes an extra guest.

Even though it may be absolutely adorable when they trot over and rest their head on top of the kitchen table to stare at all of the food at eye-level, it is then impossible to get them to stop begging. Once your dog has seen the delicious food awaiting them, stopping them from doing whatever it takes to reach that food is a mission.