Dealing with Alpha (dogs)
I like cats - especially big cats. Dogs too - Afgan Hounds and, as of lately, I grew very fond of one still tiny Chow Chow specimen.
This tiny ball of fur reminds me of one very special lady - Gaby, a fila brasileiro who charmed me with her amazing temper. She was old but still impressive and very strong-willed yet she immediately accepted my friendship for reasons only known to her. And yes, she regarded herself as a human and a lady - one who can afford to bark at people for as long as she wants but not less than 30mins/day but also show respect, friendship and good manners.
What do they all have in common? They're very independent, can be very stubborn, self-centered loose-canons. Alphas.
Gaining their respect and friendship (don't let that cat fool you) is a great challenge. One I was reminded of by Hachi, the tiny ball of fur with razor sharp teeth and a seemingly never-ending drive to bite heels, inflict pain and pee in all the wrong places.
I met a few persons that are quite frankly the same way. Alphas that either turn out to be charming as Gaby was (and you put up with their barking) or as much of a loose canon as Hachi is. But he's small and cute and that (still) buys him a lot of leeway especially from the unsuspecting first time victims.
I admit that I was somewhat unprepared to deal with Hachi so I started looking for help/advice. Understanding what drives alphas is as important as knowing how to handle them. Sure enough, loose-canons have more to do with us, the humans around them, than with their own nature. They're social animals, after all, so no surprises here.
If you happen to own a 'Hachi', "Who's in Charge Here?" can be a good starting point to read about alpha dogs.
What amazed me though is how much of it applies to some of the human alphas. I wrongly assumed that us, humans, ALWAYS operate on some higher levels and with, at least, some understanding of right and wrong, of good and bad - clinical cases aside. That bad people are actually evil because, deep down inside, they know that they do bad stuff.
Turns out that some don't. Without knowledge of the social norms and with the confidence gained from successful attempts at imposing their arbitrary will at the cost of others, they become the much less cute versions of Hachi. Human history, culture, education and a very unfair (to Hachi) comparison of cranial capacities cannot really explain their (thriving) existence.
Human social evolution, though, seems to favor selfish behaviors...and increasing populations supply enough undiscerning pack members.
Just in case you were wondering - cattle prods (as appealing as it may sound) won't work here. Packs these days can choose their leaders. Well, at least most of the time. However, their ability to choose doesn't seem to have improved over time.
While I don't like the idea of 'inventing' new concepts just because the old ones fail (hiding the trash under the mat), leadership does fail and maybe it's time people pay more attention to the core values (login seems to be required) behind servant leadership. Both pack members and leaders should pay attention to them because only together can they drive positive change.
HUH moment? For a more down to Earth answer to what leadership should be and what should the remaining cranial capacity be used for, I recommend you start by reading a couple of different takes on it from better skilled writers and thinkers: Simple Encouragement (by Thomas Waterhouse) and the 3 part series on Servant Heart: Behind Blue Eyes / Where is the Love? / Loose Ends (by Stan Faryna).
This tiny ball of fur reminds me of one very special lady - Gaby, a fila brasileiro who charmed me with her amazing temper. She was old but still impressive and very strong-willed yet she immediately accepted my friendship for reasons only known to her. And yes, she regarded herself as a human and a lady - one who can afford to bark at people for as long as she wants but not less than 30mins/day but also show respect, friendship and good manners.
What do they all have in common? They're very independent, can be very stubborn, self-centered loose-canons. Alphas.
Gaining their respect and friendship (don't let that cat fool you) is a great challenge. One I was reminded of by Hachi, the tiny ball of fur with razor sharp teeth and a seemingly never-ending drive to bite heels, inflict pain and pee in all the wrong places.
I met a few persons that are quite frankly the same way. Alphas that either turn out to be charming as Gaby was (and you put up with their barking) or as much of a loose canon as Hachi is. But he's small and cute and that (still) buys him a lot of leeway especially from the unsuspecting first time victims.
I admit that I was somewhat unprepared to deal with Hachi so I started looking for help/advice. Understanding what drives alphas is as important as knowing how to handle them. Sure enough, loose-canons have more to do with us, the humans around them, than with their own nature. They're social animals, after all, so no surprises here.
If you happen to own a 'Hachi', "Who's in Charge Here?" can be a good starting point to read about alpha dogs.
What amazed me though is how much of it applies to some of the human alphas. I wrongly assumed that us, humans, ALWAYS operate on some higher levels and with, at least, some understanding of right and wrong, of good and bad - clinical cases aside. That bad people are actually evil because, deep down inside, they know that they do bad stuff.
Turns out that some don't. Without knowledge of the social norms and with the confidence gained from successful attempts at imposing their arbitrary will at the cost of others, they become the much less cute versions of Hachi. Human history, culture, education and a very unfair (to Hachi) comparison of cranial capacities cannot really explain their (thriving) existence.
Human social evolution, though, seems to favor selfish behaviors...and increasing populations supply enough undiscerning pack members.
Just in case you were wondering - cattle prods (as appealing as it may sound) won't work here. Packs these days can choose their leaders. Well, at least most of the time. However, their ability to choose doesn't seem to have improved over time.
While I don't like the idea of 'inventing' new concepts just because the old ones fail (hiding the trash under the mat), leadership does fail and maybe it's time people pay more attention to the core values (login seems to be required) behind servant leadership. Both pack members and leaders should pay attention to them because only together can they drive positive change.
HUH moment? For a more down to Earth answer to what leadership should be and what should the remaining cranial capacity be used for, I recommend you start by reading a couple of different takes on it from better skilled writers and thinkers: Simple Encouragement (by Thomas Waterhouse) and the 3 part series on Servant Heart: Behind Blue Eyes / Where is the Love? / Loose Ends (by Stan Faryna).
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