It follows that I've been reading up on training and disciplining dogs. Go big or go home, right? A few tactics Jeromy and I have adopted are:
-the tight, short leash since whoever is leading the walk is considered the leader in the relationship
-consistent one-word commands
-refusing to cave (except for her first night with us in which she whined to be let out of her crate... I just couldn't take it!)
Aside from the techniques, I've been learning the fundamentals of dog-dog and dog-human relationships by reading Cesar's Way. Written by Cesar Millan, who was made famous by his Dog Whisperer television program, it's an incredibly thorough survey of dog psychology that insists on describing the foundational ways dogs think and act before offering specific, practical solutions for training. In sum, it's primarily a "why" book, then a "how" book. As silly as it seems to be this invested in the behavior of our dog, I'm intrigued by the governing principal of human dominance and dog submission. In everything, you are to show yourself the "pack leader," loving, but strong. According to Cesar and his plethora of success stories, the dog is happiest and most comfortable with you in this position.
Jada Pinkett Smith explains in the Preface, "You see, we humans are the ones who have lost the concept of the natural order in which our dogs function... Cesar helps us understand the natural ways our dogs live, so they become more balanced and happier. Our dogs, in this state, enable us to develop a healthier companionship with them."
Cesar implores that we actually do our dogs a disservice by letting them prance around in control and succumbing to their demands. A dog is most comfortable (and best behaved) when it knows who the leader is and what the leader wants, when "natural order" is maintained.
Martin Deeley, President of the International Association of Canine Professionals, further explains, "We have the means to help us achieve well-behaved dogs, yet we lack sufficient understanding of our dogs' natures. While most of us are well-intentioned and loving dog owners, this lack of understanding can create many common dog problems. Put simply, dogs are not small humans. They do not think like humans, act like humans, or see the world in the same way as humans. Dogs are dogs, and we need to respect them as dogs. We do them a huge disservice by treating them like humans and thus create many of the bad behaviors we see today... In this book, Cesar reminds us that the most important part of training a dog is building a healthy relationship between human and dog, one in which the boundaries between the two are clearly drawn."
I stopped when I read Deeley's commentary and re-read, extrapolating the concept to another dominant-submissive relationship, that of God and us. Put simply, humans are not small gods. They do not think like God, act like God, or see the world in the same way as God. Humans are humans. We do ourselves a huge disservice by treating ourselves and each other like gods and thus create many of the bad behaviors we see today...
We live most abundantly and securely when we find ourselves in the natural order designed for us.
We get messed up when we demand treatment as God OR when we put others in God's place. I'm learning that dogs need boundaries, discipline, and a firm hand. They need to live within the natural order created for them. Incredibly, they not only need these boundaries, but enjoy the structure those securities provide. Are we really so different? I'm not saying humans are dogs in God's eyes. We know we were created with the very Imago Deo of God in us. Amazing. But we do need discipline, training, and direction from our pack leader in the same way a dog does. Not just because it will help us lead a fuller life, but because it is a reminder of the Father's love for us.
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:5-11.
Disciplining Beanie (who we have actually renamed Bailey) is a sign of love. It is meant to produce a comfortable, secure life for her in which she knows her boundaries and the behaviors expected of her. In a similar and more magnificent way, God disciplines us to produce the fruit of peace and a harvest of righteousness in us. It is for our good. Why are we so stubbornly resistant to God's leadership of us? Why are we so unwilling to submit? Our culture implores us to believe that freedom comes through independence, yet the natural order created for us cries out "Follow!"
God is teaching me a great deal about the beauty of submission to Him as a result of adopting Bailey. "When dogs and human live together," says Cesar, "A calm-submissive state of mind is the best state of mind for the dog to have." In recounting his childhood experience with dogs on his family's Mexican farm, he says, "The dogs always seemed happy, relaxed, serene, and content. They didn't exhibit stress or anxious behavior. They were healthy, balanced dogs, as nature intended them to be." What's so wrong with striving to posture myself in a calm-submissive state before my Father?
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