But don't you know who you are?

Cesar Milan's show The Dog Whisperer has become a passion of mine, and over time has become a great teacher to me for the handling of dogs, children and people.  One of the mantras from Cesar is: "No Talk, No Touch, No Eye Contact."  This is an important posture for being introduced to dogs -- even your own dog, and it pays remarkable dividends.  A balanced dog's natural state is cautious curiosity.   When a human is introduced, the dog tends to observe, approach slowly, sometimes pass by at a distance, and eventually come to smell and sense the human up close.  It is amazing to observe and one cannot help but ponder how dogs perceive humans.  It causes me to ponder on the story at Exodus 33:18 revealing the protocol God deploys in granting the request of Moses to see God.

The not so obvious truth is that we are quite noble and glorious creatures to a balanced dog -- particularly if we remain calm, confident and gradual in our introduction to them.  Dogs are amazed by humans and want nothing more than to be in our presence and please us.  Perhaps if we were better at noticing that, we might be better is seeing each other as noble and glorious creatures made in the image of God.

Yet humans have no idea and usually succumb to baby-talk gibberish and less than noble postures in greeting dogs; we tend to miss the opportunity for a mutually respectful and comprehensive man-dog bond.  Cesar's show is really about how humans mess up the relationship and how we need to acquire more subtle observations and need to deploy more confidence and poise.

Cesar's show offers great insights on how refined and subtle one's skills need to be in handling animals.  It has enhanced my respect for persons who keep dogs, cows, sheep, horses and the like -- and it instills a deeper appreciation for what was meant by scripture writers when they spoke of a Good Shepherd.