The Kardashians – what can one say… If there has ever been a prime example of attention hounds or attention gone wrong I believe it is epitomized in this poor family. Yes, I wrote “poor” for there are many forms of wealth and they are devoid of several of the better kinds. While they may be wealthy in terms of finances and buttocks I’m afraid this poor family (in my opinion) has been off their rockers for years now. In this exciting and illuminating blog post we will go over the Kardashian conundrum and the vital importance attention plays in relating with our dogs.
Whenever we give our attention to something it lends power or often credence to that subject. The more we give our attention the stronger habit grows. Besides Kardashians, another prime example to illustrate my point would be how often we stay tuned to the news. Much of the “news” and “journalism” today is nothing more than a competitive bloodsport. A vile competition in conditioning the viewer. The networks seek out the top 5 or 10 most heinous, atrocious, and shocking stories they can find across our world and then plaster it everywhere. This GRABS our Attention! They manipulate our fight/flight responses. The news plays with our fears and does so quite successfully.
My question, Why are we giving so much attention to it? Most answer, “To stay informed.” Really? Honestly? Imagine if there was an actual emergency that had something to do with your immediate life, or the life of a neighbor, or neighborhood near yours. Even if you literally had your head buried in the sand, at some point a family member, friend, or nearby neighbor would most probably inform you of the tragedy by word of mouth and then, and this is critical, you could make a decision to act.
How unhealthy have we, as people, become just from filling our heads with the “news” and every terrible thing that happens across the planet every moment (even though we aren’t really going to do much about it)? Oh No! There’s genocide in Africa! Oh God! Thousands have died in a flood in Asia! I can’t believe it! There are riots going on in South America! There’s famine in Ethopia! Yikes! A train derailed in the US! We could literally (and we do) go on forever and ever. But, Friends, there is only so much a person can or should take into their mind and their heart! We must guard our attention.
It is totally different if you take action to change, alter, or otherwise become involved in the plight. But do we? Well, if we compared the daily and nightly global tragedies vs what we actually act on because it really affects us close to home and personally – it’s not even close. What is the percentage really of complete and negative BS we are giving our attention to over and over, versus, what we actual give our attention to and then DO something about?
What we give attention to grows! “Energy flows where attention goes.” This is vital to comprehend if we desire growth in our lives. Think of some childhood movie stars. What typically happens to them as the years pass? They Had everything. They Had money, houses, cars, growing power, and FAME. They Had our ATTENTION and it was too much for them!
Examine what goes on on social media for a moment. It is often less about connecting with loved ones and friends now-a-days and has become more about announcing what you are doing or how you look with duck lips to the world. We have been conditioned by Facebook “likes” identically like Pavlov would condition us. We want to put out the image of fine vacations and cultivate our own little fame to gain more and more Attention! (Please understand me – I’m not judging you just telling it like it is – we do the same thing on our Facebook business page – we seek attention in hopes of sales)
Attention given to your pup or dog can make or break the dog’s future behavior and relationship with you! Too much attention given to your new rescue dog paves the way to destruction and chaos! The mother and father dog give way, way, way, way, way, LESS attention to their growing pups than almost any modern human would give their dog. The parent dogs do Not fawn all over the pups. They can be observed readily turning their faces and eye contact away from the pups and walking away!
Imagine how life starts for a wolf pup, a dingo pup, a feral dog pup, a coyote, or just a normal pup at a breeding facility. The mother dog doesn’t have near the amount of possessions a human does. She also gives birth to several pups at once. She doesn’t care if the pups chew on the flooring because she doesn’t know how much you paid for your carpet. She doesn’t mind if her pups chew up the furniture because dogs place little value on your Grandfather’s antique, roll top desk. Because we have possessions and so many of them and work so hard to acquire them throughout our lives we guard them. And to guard them takes our attention. When a new puppy or a new rescue dog comes home to live with us we (as people) have many more rules and boundaries than the mother and father dog naturally ever would. And that’s okay. We don’t all have to join the monastery just to have a better relationship and behavior with our dogs. I’m just saying, attempt to be smooth about what you give your attention to. I have several nice things in our home that I don’t want chewed, destroyed, or soiled. But I have learned how and when to ignore (and withhold my attention) how and when to address and calmly discipline if need be, and when to occasionally redirect with a toy, game, or training command. If you’ve ever watched an older dog interact with a younger pup the older dog is often attempting to ignore the young pup. They do this with very good reason.
Use reverse psychology for better success instead of constant attention! This can and does work wonders with any dog or pup!
Don’t turn your puppy into a Kardashian. Attention hounds are a very real thing. And attention hounds are skilled at draining our energy. We only have so much energy and so much attention to give. A large part of a successful life is determining how and what and when we give our energy and attention. Why do we direct it? Why are we doing what we are doing? Please think about these things with me, folks. Beware making a needy dog or pup more and more needy!
And…….ATTENTION, ATTENTION! Ha ha. I have finished my books on dog and human behavior! I know you will love it and get loads out of it! We are so excited to help so many with this book! Dog Myths: What you Believe about dogs can come back to Bite You! is available at Amazon, Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, or wherever books are sold. Pick up your copy Today and you’ll never look at dogs or their training the same again! (Update: My second book, So Long Separation Anxiety, is also available and is receiving great reviews too!)
-G
PS. As to the Kardashians I hold zero ill will and wish them the best. I just thought this and the “news” example may resonate with dog owners who may be dealing with an attention hound or accidentally creating a future one!
thecaninecalmer 