Let us back up here and go through the main points of the energetic circumstances and causes and effect of "attention seeking behaviour disorders" in dogs (and this includes people too) step by step.
•There is a form of energy that is exchanged between dogs and all social creatues that is derived from the attention of another. This attention is focussed, direct and involves eye contact, no matter how fleetingly this takes place.
•This energy form is as important to a dogs and all social creatures as is sleep, or food. In experiments, human babies died when attention was withheld (although the babies were fed and their physical care taking proceeded as normal). Adults develop severe behaviour disturbances including rage, deep trance type repetitive behaviours, antisocial behaviours and autism under similar conditions.
•Western humans have been trained from birth to withhold attention, especially when it is being "demanded" – possibly a learned response and set up that occurred in their own energy systems when their energetic attention needs were repeatedly and systematically refuted when they themselves were young.
•Dogs and other companion animals vary widely in how great their tolerance is to living with "not enough attention energy" being supplied.
•It seems to be also specific to an individual if their first choice response to a shortfall of this form energy is withdrawal towards autism or escalating fiercely in their "attention seeking behaviours" before systemic collapse and those, too, falling into autism.
•Attention Energy is Attention Energy – in general, dogs do not seem to care one way or the other if the attention energy they receive is of the loving or of the non-loving kind. Indeed, with the set up amongst the Western Human caretakers, dogs find it far easier to obtain negative attention through disturbing/annoying/naughty behaviours than to obtain positive attention. Indeed, a great many caretakers "train" their dogs into ever more outrageous behaviours by firstly, failing to give attention of the positive kind and secondly, trying to ignore developing behaviour escalations in the beginning stages when they are still fairly mild.
•Giving focussed attention in the beginning stages of any escalation pattern does not only stop the escalation pattern dead right there but over the long term, actually cures the individual and re-sets their energetic exchanges with everyone and not just with the owner to a natural and sociable status.
•With the energy system balanced that needs this social love energy, a dog truly blossoms, becomes more self assured, self balanced and gains access to sleeping resources of problem solving, interaction, communication, thought and experience that were previously out of reach.
•With this part of the energy system balanced, an individual will be radically better placed to face any kind of stress challenge including showing a greater tolerance to environmental poisons, toxic energy systems and all immune system stressors.
Turning The World Upside Down
Back in 1993, I formulated the appalling idea, based on my theoretical musings and practical observations, that instead of playing power games with a dog, one should try and give positive attention right away, as soon as the dog would indicate a need by a small behaviour such as coming up, looking at the owner, or trying to make contact in any other shape or form.
This contradicted about everything I had ever been taught or learned to do; for example, it was common practise to let small puppies howl and cry all night until "they had learned that no-one would come" and "thus never to reward this appalling attention seeking behaviour".
So it must be said that it was not without trepidation that I began to experiment in earnest and put my theory to the test. And I will tell you how it worked out in tomorrows post...
