Lessons from a Doberman

This morning as I sat under Grandmother Willow sharing coffee with my dear friend Athena, we began a conversation about Brutus and his amazingness... We were watching Brutus jump at frogs and butterflies and talking about the many life lessons I learned from him (as did others). For anyone who has never met Brutus, he is a Doberman. He is stubborn, hard headed, assertive, pushy sometimes, protective, loyal, thoughtful, and very very connected! He came into my life when I was struggling with the complexities of being "nice" and getting confused with niceness and allowing others to push past my boundaries. I was wishy washy because I was afraid of being seen as "not nice". Brutus taught me that when I am clear in what is expected and what is okay with me, there are less opportunities for misunderstandings and hurt feelings. This I realized is NICE!. He also taught me the meaning of saying NO firmly without being nasty. He taught me that its NICE to say NO if your heart is not in something, and that allowing what doesn't make me happy is not nice to me or the other person who was unaware of my feelings and who thought all was well because I didn't say NO. Brutus also taught me about consistency, about being clear in my own mind before speaking something outloud. For him it was "this word means A, B, C" and this word means something else. Being clear and consistent in training him, helped me become more clear and consistent in my relationships with others. Patience is the most recent lesson from Bru... Introducing a hunting dog to a little kitten in a way that is safe and easy on all, dog cat and human, is very much about patience. We began the introduction into Sacred Waters with putting Zeva (kitty) in her own room so that Bru gets used to her scent. Then we had Bru in his own room and brought Zeva down into the rest of the house so he gets used to the scent of her in the house and also used to the idea of her being part of the "pack". Last night was the first face to face introduction, and there was no barking or growling. Bru was a bit excited, but no aggression and I believe that is because I was patient. Taking the steps A B C instead of going from A to Z in one day. I continue to learn everyday from this wonderful creature. And now I imagine I will learn from Zeva too. Gifts and surprises daily!!