This came to me on the airplane flying from Seattle to LA, My computer was in the upper container and I was not willing to drag it out just to capture the thoughts. So, I've decided to put down what I remember those thoughts to be. I'd been reading Dog’s Mind by Bruce Fogle. This is what I was thinking:
I have always been fascinated by human behavior. That fascination has manifested in my life through, careers, relationships and personal growth work. When I began sitting with the dogs I also became fascinated with canine behavior and to a lesser extent feline behavior. Putting the two together was a natural progression.
For years I’d heard and seen that dogs and their owners look alike. My own personal experience of this phenomena was less grounded in fact than in observation. I did find some physical similarities at least half the time, and in my unscientific way, I tucked the information away for retrieval at another time. It was fun observing dogs and their owners at parks, on the city streets and naturally in the home as I began my house sitting career. (I was beginning to think of it more and more as a career and less as an income producing activity.) The observation of similarities in physical characteristics , emotional and behavioral characteristics were an integral part of my “job”.
Here is what I found in a very simple generalized way.
Overly nervous or anxious owners produced overly anxious and nervous dogs.
Strong independent owners produced well behaved and frequently self contained dogs.
Fat people had fat dogs
Eating disorders in people lead to eating disorders in dogs
Insecure women used dogs as emotional crutches
Many men were affectionate with small dogs contrary to the prevailing attitude that men and dogs should be the strong silent types.
Boring people had boring dogs
The drama and anxiety around a poorly behaved dog was frequently a way for an owner to remain a victim in life.
It wasn’t long before I began to generalize that almost all dog behavior was a reflection of owner’s behavior. It was about this time that I began to watch the “Dog Whisperer” and to read a few of the classic dog behavior books. Some of my favorites were “Year in the Life of a Dog” an elegantly written, soulful book about the strong bond between owner and his dogs, in this case golden retrievers.
I also read my very first book on dog behavior and browsed through many more. some gave good information, most reiterated the others. When I felt I'd absorbed enough information, I practiced with some of the dogs I sat with.
My first real insight came to me that no matter what the breed, a dog was a dog. The smallest Yorkie and the biggest Akita had more in common than their size indicated. Of course there were natural personalities and preferences as in any individual. The variables of breed, owner and environment, contributed to these individual differences in much the same way our own heredity and environment contributes to our. Yes, I knew it made a difference if the dog was large or small, it was a dog. A species in the same way we humans are a species.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Me and Dogs
It was after sitting with Sasha and Seiga, the standard and toy poodles, that I realized I could have a profound effect on a dog just by my presence and actions. Their owners were delighted when they returned from their three week trip to Africa to find not only was Sasha well and happy, she had begun to play more, she looked alert and she was less anxious than previously.
Of course, some of that has to be attributed to the fact that my job was to tend to the dogs, that my first priority was always their care and attention. They in fact, received more care from me than their owners might not have at their disposal, with busy lifes and the durgery of everyday doggie duties.
But then I heard comments like, “Oh, he never approaches a new person like that,he must really like you” or “ She just layed down and fell asleep while you were there, that’s unheard of for her.”.When I made my initial visits prior to sitting for a family for the first time it was a frequent experience to hear these comments.
I was fascinated by how and why that would be. Did I have an effect on the animals or on the owners or both? I suspected it was both.
I knew from my years as a Human Resource professional and as a therapist that I did in fact have an effect on people. I was energetically involved in life at all times, and I knew that others were drawn to me for that reason. I began to think this is what life is for. To be all that we can, whenever and where ever we can. Dogs and people sense that because the dogs like what they can understand and people yearn for the same thing. At least that's my thoughts on the subject.
Of course, some of that has to be attributed to the fact that my job was to tend to the dogs, that my first priority was always their care and attention. They in fact, received more care from me than their owners might not have at their disposal, with busy lifes and the durgery of everyday doggie duties.
But then I heard comments like, “Oh, he never approaches a new person like that,he must really like you” or “ She just layed down and fell asleep while you were there, that’s unheard of for her.”.When I made my initial visits prior to sitting for a family for the first time it was a frequent experience to hear these comments.
I was fascinated by how and why that would be. Did I have an effect on the animals or on the owners or both? I suspected it was both.
I knew from my years as a Human Resource professional and as a therapist that I did in fact have an effect on people. I was energetically involved in life at all times, and I knew that others were drawn to me for that reason. I began to think this is what life is for. To be all that we can, whenever and where ever we can. Dogs and people sense that because the dogs like what they can understand and people yearn for the same thing. At least that's my thoughts on the subject.
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