Dogs and families

Yesterday, I watched one episode of the “Dog whisperer”. It was about two dogs. The one was a co-dependent crazy dog barking and biting other dogs and the other dog picked up everything from the ground and ate it, even glass. The interesting part was that the dogs reacted to their owners. - The first owner was a nervous man with PSTD and had found solace in his dog. This made him the owner not the leader of the pack but gave the dog responsibilities that were too much for him. So the dog reacted as a defending soldier of his owner. Both needed to have their roles redefined.  A dog needs guidance, rules and needs to know where in the pack (family) he belongs. -The owner of the (vaccume cleaner) small dog was given another dog to walk who did not have the bad habit of picking up everything, and guess what!! The new dog also started sweeping the ground and nibbling on things. It was not the dog that had bad behavior, it was the young owner. The owner was holding the leash so tight that the dog could not keep his head up and feel free to move. The owner just needed to walk with straight shoulders and give the dog a little space. If he wanted to nibble something the owner would just give him a gentle pull and both were happy. The dog knew that he was a good dog and the owner was leading. I am writing this down because I see similarities between dog-owner families, and human families. Parents should not become a co-dependent of a young child but rather the leader and guide. When a parent relies too much on the child, the child flips out. It’s too much responsibility. Parents need to give their children space to grow but a light tug if they walk in the wrong direction. Parents are the leaders of the pack and not the children.  

Sometimes parents give their children too much responsibility or become to buddy-buddy like.

And sometimes parents hold the leash too tight and then the kid does exactly what he/she should not do. Letting go of the leash a bit and giving light guiding tugs in the right direction give the child selfconfidence and security at the same time.

Parenting is not easy but only a slight change of behavior can be very helpful.

The roles change when children are grown-up and parents are no longer strong and healthy. The child then needs to step up but still be respectful and caring of their parent. Have a happy family day.🙂