The brain waves that are set to spinning in my head when I put words to paper or electronics in various forms -- blog versus articles versus tweaking drafts of my book-in-progress versus the voluminous emails I generate daily [not to mention the efforts of this middle aged multi tasking mom to twit, use facebook and explore other cutting edge cyberspace warrens vary in style but always stay true to my core sensibilities.Most hours every day I am actively and passively engrossed in my vocation of sharing a knowledge base, methodology and useful tools with clients who engage my services. Whether private or group classes; companion or working dog -- the intention is to communicate the path towards benevolent leadership.
A person of authority is calm, consistent, firm, confident and compassionate. Professional assistance can quickly and very dramatically change dynamics by developing a proactive approach to the process as opposed to stuck patterns of reactivity.
If you are tentative, hesitant, punitive, or vacillating, these mixed messages create anxiety and you can no longer be trusted to lead. Authority is leadership, not force. Dogs want leadership; dogs naturally gravitate to leaders, even if their past included lots of ambivalence. Leaders can be adults and children; those who seem to know what they're doing. Dogs want someone to guide them while at the same time allow them to make mistakes and learn. A benevolent leader understands that ebb and flow and continues and shows patience and awareness while remaining mindful of safety -- safety of people, safety of other animals, safety of dog and safety of "stuff". Not all are natural born leaders, but motivated people can learn to be great dog owners.
We get bombarded through all forms of media about The Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan (as opposed to The Dog Whisperer Paul Owens). In each episode we see this disclaimer:
Last Sunday, Oct. 11, The Sunday New York Times had a cover article in the business section that inspired me to write an article for examiner.com. Please read it, comment on it, and take action.
I cannot believe how little my dog trainer peers have voiced complaint. How is it a top ranking and very benevolent and prolific guru, Dr. Ian Dunbar, can generate only one poorly worded paragraph on a whole realm of dog training? How is it that Millan charmed the reporter into dismissing positive training in one nonsensical sentence and then continue kvelling about his dominance / submission / exhaustion message being sent to dog owners around the world? I really want to know.
2 comments:
Your dog trainer peers have voiced many, many complaints. To Nat Geo, blogs, articles, even the committee that receives Emmy nominations. We have cited AVSAB, Dr. Dunbar, Dr. Dodman, and others. But the marketing machine rolls on for Mr. Millan fueled by his charismatic manipulation of the uneducated media.
I understand. I'm just saying any and all rallying cries and efforts are not working yet. I see positive trainers as a rag tag team of mostly groovy people using a battering ram again and again on the big strong door of the dominance (power and $) / exhaustion (wear us out with what they think we want) / submission (we accept it even if we bash it) messengers and I'm just hopeful that soon the door will swing open and we'll spill in and the pendulum will swing our way.
Rachel
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