May 30th, 2011
Sacred Stewardship: Be the Change You Wish to See in Your Dog
So often I hear people complain about their dog’s problem behaviors. These people seem to disassociate themselves from their human/canine relationship. What they don’t realize is that dogs are pack animals and need to do things at the same time and together as their pack members, or in this instance, human caretakers. Dogs are receptive to their people’s energy and respond to the nature of their song. I also hear people say things like, “My dog is really stupid.” I ask, “Oh yeah? Why do you say that?” They respond, “Because he doesn’t listen to a thing I say!” As if not listening to someone meant you were dumb. The actual definition of intelligence is defined as "having the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills" according to the Apple Dictionary. It says nothing about "not listening to someone". It is common for people to assume that “not listening” to their owner is a sign of “lacking smarts” but actually it is a sign that there is an imbalance of power in the relationship. It is a “neon sign” that the dog is lacking respect for his owner but not intelligence.
The order of the day is to step up and assume an active role with your dog. Instead of placing blame on your dog why not begin embracing a new way of being? Stop waiting for your dog to change. Begin being the change you wish to see in your dog by realizing that your dog should be looking to you for what is happening next. So often clients say that they are indeed dominant over their dog but not when the dog is outside, or when the dog wants to go see another dog or not when this or that. I say, “Well then, how do you figure you are dominant then?” They tell me they are because the dog does know it. I say dominance must be dominance 100% of the time. If your dog know his commands but won’t listen to you when you really want him to then clearly you are not dominant. Your dog doesn’t lie.
Being dominant doesn’t mean being cruel to your dog. No just the opposite. Being dominant means controlling your dog mentally. It means that no matter what is happening your dog looks to you for what happens next. If we are to embrace the shifting energies of the cosmic order of change occurring on the planet we must recognize that we must enter into sacred stewardship with our dogs. Sacred stewardship means going beyond the What, Who, Where and Why which has occurred previously with the way we think about dogs. The What is that dogs are a different species than we are with different set of mental processes that needs to be addressed. Dogs are not furry humans. Dogs have specific needs such as honoring their pack mentality, their need for exercise and for being told what to do. The who is YOU! You need to be different. You need to act differently and do different actions to see results with your dog. The Where is right HERE right NOW. When would NOW be a better time to start changing your paradigm? The Why is to wake up to the fact that we can no longer keep doing the same things. We must change. We must be the change. We must stop waiting for the world to change. We must wake up and be leaders of goodness, compassion, creativity, intelligence, kindness, beauty and prosperity. Are you listening?