It was very unusual to find my dog Piper waiting at the front door when I walked into my home.
Normally he lounges on his bed until I walk into the bedroom to greet him. Typically it is my youngest dog Raider who is anxious to see me when I come home.
"What's up Piper?" I asked as I rubbed his soft, liver-coloured head.
He looked at me with great eagerness in his eyes and ran up the stairs a few steps then looked back over his shoulder at me. It was almost as if he was asking me to follow him, so I did.
He ran up a few more steps then, again, looked back to make sure I was still there, so I continued to follow him.
At the top of the stairs he began to slowly walk down the hall, looking back every few steps checking to make sure I was right behind him.
Giggling to myself as I witnessed him luring me to the bedroom, I inquired, "What's going on bud?" Then at the entrance Piper stopped. He looked up at me then back into the bedroom. It's almost as if he was standing with his paws on his hips saying, "Look, just look at what that little hooligan did!" While I was out Raider had gotten into the bathroom garbage and dragged its contents into the bedroom. He had shredded Kleenex, cardboard tissue rolls and cotton swabs all over Piper's bed and Piper's nose was obviously bent out of shape! I laughed out loud, gave Piper a huge hug then cleaned up Raider's mess.
I just love my dogs and after 10 years with them I love even more how they have learned to communicate with me and how I have learned to listen! Piper is not an anomaly in his communication abilities. All dogs try on a daily basis to communicate with us and as humans we are either aware of it, or not. Unfortunately most dog owners fall into the "or not" category and over time their dog simply gives up making the effort.
To dogs, body language is their first choice of communication. The placement of a tail, ear or position of a body means far more to a dog than a bark or a whine. And when those barks, whines and growls are combined with body language what they are communicating is different than what they are saying by using their bodies silently.
At times I am in great awe of the canine species. Here is a group of creatures who, just like humans, differ on the outside in shape, size and colour, yet they are able to speak so clearly to one another without saying a word and, unlike humans, they all understand.
Humans are gifted in so many ways in our ability to communicate with one another, yet we fail miserably.
Conflict, anger, greed and deception are daily occurrences between humans, whether it's two neighbours or two countries. We just can't get along. We let judgement cloud our vision.
Competition guides our souls and domination is our goal. When words no longer work we pull out weapons. The bigger the weapon, the louder the voice and the demand to be heard.
Yet dogs solve so much with no words at all. A turn of a head and looking the other way can end conflict within seconds and two adversaries can become tolerant of each other, even friendly.
I'd like to say they put their egos aside, but dogs have no ego. When a dog shows arrogance or intolerance, it is always a reflection of its owner's inner ego - always.
If the owner of an intolerant dog is aware enough of their emotions and how they create their own issues, they will look within themselves and realize that they live their lives silently expecting conflict.
In times of quiet reflection, instead of seeking peace and resolution, the ego that is left unchecked runs through scenarios in the brain, either reviewing conflict, creating it, or finding ways to seek it.
There is a saying that, paraphrased, goes something like this: There are two wolves living inside of us, fighting to survive. One seeks conflict, one seeks love. The one who wins is the one you feed.
Without human intervention a dog will choose peace over conflict, every time. As a human, which one are you feeding?
Joan Klucha has been working with dogs for more than 15 years in obedience, tracking and behavioural rehabilitation. Contact her through her website k9kinship.com.
