Dog Hard

I love an analogy and I know that many dogs think they're Bruce Willis.

You know the plot, John McClain sees the danger of which everyone else is blissfully unaware. He starts to deal with it alone, the feds step in and tell him to back off, there's no threat. But McClaine knows better, his fine tuned senses mean he sees things that the dumb FBI agents or airport security guys refuse to acknowledge. He won't give up and if one of the feds gets injured while he takes on the threat all alone, then that's just "collateral damage", they should back off and let him finish the job. Eventually he finds one person who is on his side, someone who will listen, the calm, doughnut eating, wise patrolman, or the streetwise pawnshop owner. Now they start to work together and kick ass!

You're probably way ahead of me here, especially if you know how dogs (and Dog Listeners) think. Unless a dog is in the company of someone in whom they are totally confident. Someone who is wiser, more experienced, able, then they will have to take on the "threats" that life throws up at them, telling everyone else to "back off" while they handle it. After all, it's a matter of life and death - to them. Unfortunately dogs aren't aware that the paper bag blowing across the road is harmless or that the postman isn't an international terrorist so, to be on the safe side they'll investigate and deal with it their way - "go away".

This is where my analogy does go awry as Willis then goes on to machine gun everything in sight and blow up the rest. But we've paid good money to see him do that. In 3D, where available.

Nevertheless, until McClain can see that he can trust someone, then he'll trust no-one and sweep them aside if they get in his way. If they try to force him into line, then it's the feds that end up with the rifle butt treatment - they don't know what they're doing and they're getting in the way - so Bruce uses the only quick and effective means he has to tell them that. He means them no particular ill, it's just that if they start faffing about, then Jeremy Irons will blow up half of New York and everyone will be toast.

Now if he could trust the FBI to take him seriously and if he had confidence in them taking notice, we'd be dipping the first Nacho into the cheese sauce, the lights would be coming up, everyone would be heading for the exit looking for a refund, and Bruce Willis would probably still have some of his hair.

If you can calmly build your dog's confidence in you as a leader, not by force or "pulling rank", remember what happens to the most pompous twerps in "Die Hard", then he'll stand back and take notice of you and when you say "no problem" he'll accept it. Otherwise he'll put on a tatty vest, sweat profusely and start smoking again.