They Like It

I don’t like pointless noise. I don’t like uncontrolled energy with the dogs. Mainly because, when you grunt and growl with our dogs – more specifically Kujo – and raise their energy level, they become out of control and want to bite and attack…in a playful manner, but bite and attack all the same. I am clueless to this urge my dad feels, when “playing” with the dogs, to raise them to such an excited state. I also am frustrated at his mentality of excusing this behavior with “but they like it.”

Why do we use this excuse? Ultimately, it is supporting instant gratification in the long run; whether it be a dog or a child. I am not one to compare animals to children. When a fellow coworker of mine compared breaking a horse’s spirit to breaking a child’s spirit before “training them,” I swore to myself I would never compare raising children to raising animals. Despite this vow, I have done so many times.

I am a great Cesar Millan fan. In all honesty, I really should start reading his books and buying his products…instead of watching “The Dog Whisperer” and using that as my sole means of understanding dogs. Even with that, it still helps a lot. I have learned that a “calm and submissive dog is a happy dog.” The most peaceful times my dogs have are when (1) the treat giver – aka my mom – and (2) the aggression builder – aka my dad – aren’t around. Do they seem happier when it is only me? No, not really…but they are able to relax and sleep freely.

During my second semester in college, I was supposed to observe an eighth grade classroom during my practicum work; keyword…observe. Unfortunately, I was assigned to a classroom where the teacher was retiring at the end of the semester. I learned very quickly that, if a teacher is retiring, there is little concern for the students’ actions. Upon opening the door, I saw students throwing paper wads across the room, pencils and spit-wads at the ceiling, passing notes to each other, and two students jumping from desk to desk while the rest were covering their heads to avoid this chaos. Were the students having fun? You betcha’! Is allowing this behavior good for them? Of course not.

I sat in the far back left corner of the classroom, dodging anything being thrown or any child jumping around within my vicinity, for about ten minutes. The unproductive noise level could be heard in Timbuktu. The teacher, seemingly oblivious to all that was going on, was perfectly content writing social studies facts on the board. It was pure chaos. When I had enough, I walked up to him and asked if I could help. He gave me his lesson plans and several piles of books and papers and told me to be ready the next day.

The following day, sure enough, I entered the classroom in the same condition and state of energy as the previous day. Did they like jumping around desk to desk? Yeah. Did they enjoy messing around and not learning? From what it looked like, yep. Was this a positive environment for them? No…kids were afraid of getting trampled on their own desk! I took the alpha dog role to another level and became the alpha teacher. Within minutes, kids were in their seats, pencils stayed in the hands of students and not in the ceilings of schools and papers were written on instead of thrown. Were they having fun? Not as much as they were before, but I had them smiling and laughing. Was this a better environment for them? You betcha’!

I don’t like to use the word “hate” often. It loses its emphasis if you overuse the word. In this instance, it is well deserved. I absolutely hate the excuse or the reasoning, “They like it.” We like many things. Kids like to experiment by sticking forks into electrical outlets to see what happens…or pour water onto a lighted bulb to cool it down (guilty!). We like to stuff our bellies with great-tasting, bad-for-us foods. We like the euphoric feeling of sex, drugs and alcohol. Does this give us permission to do such things without discretion? I would hope so…I mean, “No!”

Why must we use this reasoning to justify things we think won’t matter? We need to realize that it is the smaller issues that lead to the big problems. What is simple growling and grunting with the dogs may lead to aggression with strangers and biting children…thinking it’s all playful fun. What passing notes in class leads to is students shouting and jumping across desks. If we nip it in the bud, we will not have these issues. We will also be able to emphasize the benefits of constructive fun rather than chaotic, uncontrolled fun.