A few days ago, I was watching an episode of "Dog Whisperer" and was surprised by what I learned... and not just about dogs.
If you have never heard of the show "Dog Whisperer", it is about a man named Cesar Milan, who is called upon by dog owners to help them with their dogs, because of his expertise in the field.
In this particular episode, the "Dog Whisperer", Cesar Milan, is hired by a couple who run a small business of owning and training dogs to sniff out drugs and explosives on a busy port. Already, the couple owned three dogs and had recently added another three dogs to their pack. From the footage, it was apparent the dogs were well-trained to do their jobs. However, the owner's concerns were not in what the dogs were doing "on the job", but rather what they were doing "off the job".
On two different occasions, one of the newly acquired dogs--a chocolate lab--had attacked another dog from the original pack--a german shepherd. The attacks resulted in wounds serious enough that the trainers were finding they had to feed and walk the dogs individually, for fear more attacks and greater harm would be done to the dogs. Walking and feeding six dogs individually was taking up the bulk of the day, leaving little time to train. It was an inefficient way to run their business, and certainly took the joy out of training their dogs. So, they turned to the Dog Whisperer for help.
When the Dog Whisperer arrives, the dog owners immediately begin sharing their list of concerns. Cesar interrupts at one point and says, "[So] you want a balanced pack." Both owners immediately nod with exclamations such as "yes" and "that's it".
Now, I'm not sure what a "balanced pack" means, but I did think it was interesting that Cesar would articulate what the owners desired and not just what they were concerned about. It was the difference between being able to see the end goal and simply seeing what was immediately before them. It even made me wonder if the owners really knew what their ultimate goal was. They obviously knew what was bothering them and could express those concerns fluidly, but they could not clearly express what their end goal would look like. Perhaps, because, they had not clearly envisioned that goal for themselves.
There is something positive about this. When Cesar was listening to the owners describe their situation, all they could do was talk about the bad behaviors and the concerns they had about their dogs. Cesar listened and then summed up their negative perspective with one positive goal.
In my life, many times I get so caught up in what is before me--in dealing with the challenges and conflicts at hand--that all I care about is making those obstacles go away. If you ask me how my day is going, it would be easy for me--much like these owners--to list the concerns about what is going on in my life... all the negative stuff. It would be much more productive and motivating for me to focus, instead, on what my end goal is and truly try to envision that. It is certainly a much more positive perspective.
Returning to the show, Cesar, then, has the owners show him the dogs. The camera pans to what appears to be a warehouse located along a busy dock. The dogs' kennels are set against a backdrop of pallets of cargo. The barking and growling of the dogs, as Cesar and his camera crew approach, is deafening. You can see the dogs jumping up and down along the sides of their kennels trying to get out, barking loudly as the sound echoes obnoxiously off the warehouse walls. Cesar observes for what seems like a moment and then points to the glaring lights overhead and the noisy port just outside the doors, located just a few feet from the dogs' kennels.
Briefly, Cesar explains to the owners, in essence, that the dogs are surrounded by a chaotic, busy, and noisy environment. Even the commands given by the owners are loud. (From footage taken earlier of the owners interacting with the dogs both on and off the job, you can see and hear the owners yelling: "Get it! Get it!... C'mon! C'mon!... That a girl!... Good girl! Good boy!... ") Cesar explains to the camera audience "[The dogs] have a job [to do], but they do not know how to rest... [They] never learn how to find whatever [it is they are looking for] calmly."
After his observations, the Dog Whisperer goes to work. He steps into one kennel and notices a warning sign--the dog's pupils are huge with a green film around them, a sign that the dog is in fight mode. Upon further inspection, Cesar finds the same physical feature among the other dogs... definitely a sign that the dogs have not moved from their "work" mode to a "rest" mode. Before Cesar can address that issue, he must first address the anxiety and stress between the dogs.
Cesar begins by putting the two dogs, most at odds with each other--the chocolate lab and german shepherd--into the same kennel with his supervision. With some coaxing and redirecting from Cesar, the dogs interact cordially. Shortly after, Cesar takes them for a walk., saying, "The fastest way to help two dogs that want to kill each other is to have them walk together--as simple as that." To some extent, I think that would work for people as much as it works for dogs.
He takes a short walk with the two dogs, correcting, directing and training them as they go. Then he comes back and adds a third dog to the pack... then a fourth.. then a fifth and sixth. Within a couple of hours, Cesar is walking the dogs as a pack while the owners observe.
When he brings them back to their kennels, he briefly, again, gives the dogs additional training, teaching them how to enter their kennels quietly and calmly. Surprisingly, the dogs submit... entering their kennels submissively and remaining quiet and calm in their kennels. They are so subdued that Cesar is able to leave the doors open to each kennel. When a dog attempts to move outside the kennel, Cesar gives a quiet command and the dog immediately retreats into its lair. After working with the dogs for just a few hours (three to four hours), you could see a marked difference. Cesar uses the moment to point out to the owners that this was what he had envisioned as the end goal--each dog quietly and calmly remaining in its kennel with the gates open, until summoned for work or for training. It was a most amazing thing to see...
In the end, Cesar states: "It takes patience to train a dog to find drugs, weapons and explosives. But it also takes patience to train a dog to find peace."
I really liked what Cesar had to say about finding peace. It never really occurred to me that finding peace might be something that is learned, something that could be taught. As I contemplate the world that I live in, the world my children live in, I can not help but think of the harried lifestyle our modern life can bring with it. And in all that chaotic, noisy, business of life, learning to find peace would allow people, like my family, to live a much more balanced and fulfilling life. As a mom of eight, I feel impressed to make this learning more concrete in my home, more visible, more accessible... and not just some vague, peripheral concept.
Coming away from the episode, I realized I have much to do in my home, in my life.... and all this spurred on by the lessons I learned from the "Dog Whisperer"... :)
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