Over the last few years, I can't help but notice the quirky parallels between dog training and man training. I'm not a bra blazing feminist or an over bearing girlfriend and I'm not a yank-and-crank dog trainer. In fact, I don't even believe in 'training' any sort of animal or man. What I do firmly believe in is learning to live with positive energy and live in the Now, so that I can better communicate with all people and animals in my life. Communication, through oral language and body language is a vital part of our life that allows us to live in social groups and also live harmoniously with different species of the animal world. Sometimes those species may be dogs, or even men. Both men and dogs are hairier, smellier and often more simple than women yet we manage fall very deeply in love with them. We love dogs for their loyalty, companionship and playful personalities, and we love men for similar characteristics.
Sometimes however, the communication between women and these other species goes awry causing major culture clash, emotional stress and sometimes abandonment. The culture clash refers to the two different worlds that dogs and people live in, as well as the two different worlds that men and women often live in. These worlds and ways of life all intersect and are often very fluid, however they often clash. For instance, dogs are expected to live under a human's roof, but we often forget that dogs are animals and would naturally sleep under the stars or in a den under ground if they were living as wild dogs. Instead we invite our dogs to sleep and live in our houses, but oftentimes instead of showing our dogs how we want them to live in our culture, we yell and scream at dogs for peeing on the floor. In dog culture, there is no difference between the outside and inside of a house, and carpet may seem like very soft grass. It's up to us as humans to learn how to communicate as clearly as possible cross-species so that we may live harmoniously with positive energy.
As for men and women, our human culture has been made to be very gender specific and since birth we are socially constructed to be Man or Woman. Girls wear pink, boys don't cry. Parent's communicate these 'differences' from the start, but then when girls and boys become women and men in the dating world, these differences in way of life sometimes collide. For example, women often complain that their spouse should just know what they are thinking, but men are not psychics and are often not as analytical as women. Instead of flying off the handle and bitching and yelling at our significant others, there are more positive and effective ways of communicating our thoughts and wants. For instance, if your man always says that he will be home from work at six, but then doesn't get home till seven and you yell at him the minute he steps through the door, he's not going to want to come home any faster. Instead, sincerely and happily be excited when he comes home, especially when he gets home somewhat earlier than before. Give him a big smack on the lips, lots of hugs and whatever else, and then let him have his space and veg. He'll start wanting to come home faster and earlier. I'm not so much a traditionalist, but more so a purist who believes in effective communication and positive reinforcement to live more stress free.
There are no written answers about how to know when you've found the 'One', or whether or not you are in a good relationship because every relationship is different and every relationship has it's benefits and downfalls. There's countless books written about how men and women are different and how to date, how to get married, how to have kids and how to get a divorce. However, there needs to be a manual about how to live harmoniously through clear communication between different species. How to 'train' yourself to communicate your desires, needs and expectations in the most positive and succinct way. So instead of yelling at your man and your dog, you can start to work on yourself to be a more balanced, effective and happy individual who knows how to clearly communicate to your furry animal or man what you expect out of them. That way everyone can live happily, respectfully and peacefully under one roof.
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