As an update to yesterday’s post, I feel like I left some things not fully thought out. Of course the size of your dog matters. But what’s more important is how you use it. And the bigger the dog, the more things it can do for you when it is well trained. Like get you a beer from the fridge. Or allow you to make a presentation (humbly) in front of thousands of people. Now, I would much rather have my dog trained than not. No matter what the size is. 

IF YOU KNOW HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DOG, YOU CAN GROW IT TOO

Think about it this way. A well rounded dog trainer can not only train all types of dogs, big or small. They can also train other owners dogs. This knowledge makes these people extremely valuable (and also extremely rare).

As for the people that cannot control their dog… how do they get to be leaders? By intimidation, by annoyance, by power struggles. These are the type of people that think they win all the time. But mostly it’s just other owners crossing the street because they don’t want to deal with their dog getting attacked. To the owner without control this makes them feel powerful and big. Think of these owners in more of an underground dog fighting scene. The people care about the aggressiveness of the dogs and which one wins more so than the owner controlling it. The owners just unleash their dogs onto each other and the dogs do the rest of the work. These people mostly bash their way up to leadership positions. Yes sometimes this approach is extremely helpful, but only in very rare situations (most of them are lose/lose for both sides). These people are usually despised as bosses (notice how I didn’t use the word leader… because they are not leaders). These types generally rule around the basis that if people disagree with them they will just keep quiet because it’s extremely annoying and stressful to disagree with the “boss” and induce their ego filled response.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THESE PEOPLE

In order to have consistent positive interactions with someone who has no control over their ego (dog) you must have almost full control over yours, and more knowledge of their dog than they do (which happens a lot more than you think, in both ego and actual dog ownership). You must feed the dog little bits and pieces of what it wants without the owner really noticing that you are doing so. Let’s say that you are a good dog owner. And your neighbor is a bad one, you happen to walk your dogs at the same time in opposite directions to where you always meet up somewhere on your walking route. You know that their dog is misbehaved, but you also know the fucker love treats. So you always bring treats with you on your walk. Once you see them you calmly stroll up and start a conversation. During this conversation you make their dog sit before you give it the treat, slowly teaching it good manners for the other owner. But if you give it too many treats the owner will notice you trying to fatten up their prized “shit” tzu. Same with people. You need to understand what treats you have at your disposal and how to tactfully use them along with some restraint to train the other person’s ego to like you, and sometimes it even will listen better to you, than to its owner.

IN CLOSING

Know your dog, know others dogs, always have treats, be tactful when you use them. In doing so, you will most definitely, Center Your Edge.

Who would you follow? Would it be someone kind? Someone mean? Someone who gets the job done? What is it about leaders that is so needed. But yet so lacking?

MOST “LEADERS” SUCK

Is it because they lack something? Or because they do not apply themselves? I find myself in positions where people are willing to follow me. And I have no goddamn idea why. Nor do I care that they follow me (at this moment in time). What I possess are some qualities that might roll into leadership. But I think it’s more of an energy thing. There are some people you meet, that you can instantly tell care about you. There are others that you can instantly tell have an agenda. Their agenda might include you, but not positively. Or might seem to pass you by without an inclination of your existence. To me, this is due to ego. I don’t think it matters how big or small your ego is, but if you listen to it. How often do you ACTUALLY listen to your own ego? The more that you live with you ego, in an actual co-mingling sense. The more you get to understand it. Hear it’s cries of war, hear it’s cries of loneliness, it’s cries for help. Your ego. Is. Not. You.  And you have no control over it. It is something that lives inside of you and persuades you to do. It is the last bastion of our animalistic selves. You need to listen to it. Treat it like the animal it is. Whenever you feel something hitting your ego. Keep note of it. And show your ego how to act to it. Now a quick turn back to the original thought “who do you follow?”. To me this comes down to basic humanistic instinct. That is why people for the most part can’t even tell that they are a follower. This mixed with the most basic human need for community is why we follow. Now for who. Who is, in a few words, the goddamn boss of their ego (don’t confuse being a boss to having control). OR, they are the goddamn slave to it. These two true leadership values produce VERY different results. For the bosses. Your ego is a well trained dog. You tell it to sit, it sits. You tell it to do a backflip, it does it. Sometimes you tell it shit, and it doesn’t listen. Just like your ego. Sometimes someone knocks at the door. Among my friends we lovingly call this knock an EH (Ego Hit). This knock in real life could be anything from someone cutting you off while driving. Stealing something from you. Insulting you. These knocks at the door of your house. Who is the first to know? The god damn ego, it will bark to protect its home (your body). Now if you are a goddamn baws of your ego. You hear it barking and you check the door. (understanding what gave you the EH) you then go to your dog (ego) and tell it to sit. And be quiet. Since you are the boss. The ego sits it’s ass down and refers to you.

If you have as much control over your ego as well trained german shepherd. You will be able to react with sharp, thoughtful action. (your edge will be centered)

Now, let’s talk about the other side, you are the slave. In this example. You do not have any sort of sway over your dog. It does not give a shit about what you say, and in worst cases might even harm you (the “owner”) if you are not listening to it. Let’s take the same example of someone at the door (Nice EH). The dog barks. For. Fucking. Ever. not only can other people hear the dog barking (People noticing your uncontrolled ego) It bugs the fuck out of you. Your dog will not listen and will continue to bark (take up mental energy) until you do something with it. In these cases most people let the proverbial dog out. usually deciding to harm whatever knocked at the door (EH) because it needs to protect “it’s home” and since it doesn’t trust YOU as the owner to do that. It takes this job upon itself. Bad shit usually happens now (Fighting, Holding grudges, ETC.)

You’re a slave to your ego, It decides when to act and usually forces you to do so in the process (your edge is not centered, not sharp. however it is forceful, like big stick). This gets the job done. But in most cases with high levels of tangential fallout.

Now why did I just rant about Ego for ^ that amount of time. Because that is what leaders are. People can instantly see if you have a well behaved dog. People like being around well behaved dogs. People also think in the back of their mind “wow, I wish my dog was as well trained as that” (everyone has a dog in this scenario….because everyone has an ego). And they choose to follow the person will the well trained dog. Maybe learn something about how to train their dog. But what they do know. Is that your dog will never attack theirs. That is the most important part. (the slaves like that their dog is aggressive and attack other people, because is makes them feel big, and aggressive. these types usually like to hang out with the same type of owner)

So take a good look at your own dog. Visualize it. And visualize what happens when someone gives you an EH, does your dog listen? Or does it run over you? How many repetitions of saying something does it take for your dog to listen? Wouldn’t you like to waste less time on that?

TRAIN YOUR DOG, CENTER YOUR EDGE

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