Although for that part of the system which processes attention energy it really doesn’t seem to matter what kind of attention is being given, the kind of attention (positive or negative) has many repercussions on other energetic exchanges and on the systems of both caretaker and dog.
Dog carers know that animals will prefer a shouting at or a beating rather than being ignored. This is also true for children and of course, the delinquents in the prisons and mental hospitals that these children eventually become. Eliciting negative attention (being shouted at, threatened, chased around, reprimanded, punished) is so much easier and so much more freely forthcoming in this society of ours, it is scary.
You might laugh, but I can’t remember the last time a policeman stopped me on the road and commended me on my safe driving skills. I also don’t think I’ve ever had a friendly letter from the taxman thanking me sincerely for paying up every year on time, either. But I guess that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
With the kind of set up that ignores the good completely but crashes into action for bad behaviour immediately, you can see how easily dog fall into thinking that the only way they can get this vital life energy is by resorting to annoying behaviours and escalating to worse and worse ones over time.
The problem with this process is that prolonged negative attention energy exchanges are bad for the self esteem of both the caretaker and the dog/s; they lead to tension, terrible stress, less in the way of touch and over time, less and less desire to interact at all which cannot help but create a vicious downward spiral where everyone involved cannot help but suffer. The end result of this unloving spiral is usually euthanasia or rehoming of the dog in question.
Even way back then, I began to talk about "reconnecting the owner and the dog" and using "natural communication" and "the underlying strand of love" to do so. Energy therapy in action, only I didn’t even know the name then.
