Pupdate: about...comparisons

About comparisons

By Humanomics Editor, Fox

The sharp witted amongst you might have noticed that humans have a habit of making comparisons. This strange compulsion seeps into everything humans think about, from how they look, to the jobs they have, to how well their dog behaves (I mean, please).

Now, comparisons are not necessarily bad, but quite often humans use comparisons incorrectly – to pick out what they have “failed in” or are doing “wrong”. Sadly, this can leave your humans feeling down in the dumps.

Let me give you an example. At our training classes (often misnamed as “dog training” classes), I am praised by other humans for my good behaviour. They will say, “She is so well behaved. I can’t get my dog to do that”.

What they mean is that they admire my humans for their excellent “dog training”. And they believe their own “dog training” is not up to scratch.

Wrong.

At training, I choose to be well behaved for my humans, to keep up my image. I have been known to be rather silly at home, but now I am no longer an adolescent dog, I would not wish any other dog to see me act in this way – that would just be embarrassing. 

I have also come to realise that there are certain rules I need to know in order to survive in the human world, and my humans are best placed to teach me those rules. (I am not a proud pup. Even Alphas need to learn.) My humans and I have established a partnership, where we help each other to behave appropriately.

Because every Alpha knows that leadership is about responsibility, not control. No one can have complete control over someone else. But they can take responsibility to look after them and guide them. The best human – dog partnerships are centred on taking responsibility for one another.

Not all dogs and humans have a strong partnership yet, but that is not to say that they never will. They may be younger, more distractable, or they may be a Beta and a little bit slow on the uptake (that was certainly the case for my large human).

Whatever the circumstance, comparisons do not expose weaknesses and failures. They only show differences; the variety created by the muddled mix of choice and circumstance that is life. We can never control our situation fully, but we can take responsibility, and everyone at the training session (humans and dogs) should be proud that they are doing just that.

In the dog community we use comparisons in a positive way to help us investigate. We are drawn to each other through our similarities (you won’t find us sniffing a cat’s bottom in greeting), but we savour our differences; the interesting sights, sounds and smells they bring.

How do we help our humans see this? I focus on modelling the D.O.G philosophy:

Do things your way

Order comes from taking responsibility, not taking control

Greet differences with openness

Stay Alpha

Fox