The Flow of Life for Dogs
As a follow up to my last article on energy, it would deem appropriate to write about the flow of life in which dogs follow. Basically what this means is that dogs, being as in tune with life as they are, pick up on changes in the daily pattern or “flow of life” that occurs in the environment that surrounds them. Whenever something new happens big or subtle, it has great meaning to a dog. Examples are when someone new comes to the house, going from one room to another, going up stairs, or doorways, or even things like getting up off the couch and mealtimes will tap into a dog’s natural tendency to feel life’s energy shift, and be in tune with these changes in the flow of life according to their established roles in the pack. We as dog owners and trainers can tap into these energy flow changes to be one step ahead of our pets to be, as you guessed it, the best leader possible to our dogs. A good place to start can be with greetings. Whether it be at the door or on walks in public, this will apply to any initial greeting scenario you may encounter with your dog. If your dog tends to display innappropriate or hyperactive behaviors (jumping, barking, running around, hyperactivity, btitng, etc.) upon welcoming someone or something new into their lives, then it means they are trying figure out a situation that is too much for them to handle. The ”bad” behaviors we see are just symptoms of their mental discontentment from having more responsibility than they can deal with even though they do not know any better. It is our jobs as their pack leaders to take the high road and take over these types of situations (especially greetings) so they no longer feel the burden which in turn fuels the fire of the problem behaviors we see in dogs.
An example would be giving our dogs a “Place” or “Sit” “Stay” commands at those times when they are trying to figure out what to do. This takes the multitude of thoughts going through their minds and puts them all into one simple task for them to accomplish, the command you give them, focusing everything into one single-pointed mindset. This also “places us in charge” of the new event that just occured in our dog’s lives. So by instinct, the dog will relax because of they sense we now are taking over a situation for them that they couldn’t handle on their own. Now, we must be consistent with this approach, because of the fact that if our dogs feel this way in the first place, they have a strong disposition to be in charge of new situations which arise in their envirionment. If we are not consistent, then the dog will gravitate towards what they feel is most comfortable for them. Even though the result is stressful. They don’t know any other way until we make it a standard for us to be one step ahead of our dogs when it comes to the flow of energy in life. 9 out of 10 doesn’t cut it with a strong willed dog. 10 out of 10 consistency is the only way to go for the re-establishment period it takes to make the more positive and healthy behaviors the norm, placing us in charge of new situations and alleviating the burden of our dogs running the show. For them and us! Although some dogs can be quite stubborn in giving up their top dog status, with some persistence, we can out-lead them and once they are used to it and forget the old ways, we don’t even have to think about it anymore, they just know we are in charge without us having to go through the motions associated with proving it to them. They know we are in tune with the flow of energy as well as any leader they would respect could.