Dogs convert stress into flow
Subsequently the aim of all complex dog behavior is to push past resistance and thus convert stress back into a feeling of harmony, or flow. This is what compels the dog mind to evolve, i.e., seek to improve itself via feelings of flow.
When stress is converted into flow, the dog mind associates this state with a sense of its “self.” The capacity to maintain a feeling of flow by being able to flip from laminar to turbulent, or turbulent to laminar, in the face of resistance, means a dog is able to perceive its “self” in other beings and sometimes in inanimate objects.
Most species can only do this relative to their own species, under hormonal influences, or, under rare circumstances of low resistance. They have a low capacity to emotionally couple with others and thus they stay confined to an environmental niche and stereotypical patterns of behavior.
But dogs evolved by sensing feelings of stress in others to whom they have become emotionally attuned, even those not of their kind (their owners, neighbors cat, etc.), and then aligning (laminar) or synchronizing (turbulent) with these other beings to convert stress back into flow, or harmony.
K. Behan, founder of Natural Dog Training
This article was reposted by New York Dog Nanny.
