I set up Dog Centred Care as a project to help support the movement that is focussing on, and exploring, the dog’s emotional experience. No individual owns this narrative, and if we are going to ask all the right questions, and try to put the human ego to one side and attempt to step into the dogs emotional experience, it will take the voices of many, not a few.
Reaching out, making connections, and finding safe spaces
for collaboration are really important, and form a central part of this
project. So many wonderful people have been trying to shift the conversation,
some for many years! I am hoping to bring many of those voices into this group
to chat with us, and to signpost to their work.
However, an important point is that we can ALL offer insight
into the emotional experience. Everyone should be able to join in asking these
questions, to take a role in speaking out and even seek to challenge some of
the received wisdoms. You do not have to be an academic, a well known voice or
even be a jobbing behavioural professional, to take part. If you feel you have
an observation or a thought, find a safe space to share it. There will be
people ready to hear it and connect to those thoughts. There will also be those
who want to disagree or to challenge – and that is ok too!
Whilst we all share similar neurology, biology and
physiology, our own emotional experience of all this will be unique to us (human animal and
non-human animal!)- and this is what makes exploring the emotional experience
so interesting.
Firstly, because we all have one! We all know the
complexities that drive our behaviour, our own unique ways of processing the
world around us. There is so much to explore about our own experiences if we
stay mindful and allow regular self reflection. Understanding and supporting our
own care needs is an important place to start!
Secondly, our own experience shows us that there is so much
we need to learn about the emotional experience of others - and that includes
our dog. We need to learn to put aside our initial judgements, bias,
expectations etc and seek to understand what lies behind the behaviour of
others. It isn’t easy, especially when considering another species, but it
doesn’t mean we should stop trying to find ways to do it, or to stop asking the
questions, to which there may be no direct answers.
I feel there are four main ingredients needed to try to step
into the emotional experience of others and be able to offer care and support.
Compassion. We need compassion to help bypass some of our
own judgements and needs. It is an integral part of care and support and
without it there is little motivation for someone to even try. Compassion, at it's heart, is about turning up despite our own judgements or expectations. It is not about condoning or approving, but about turning up regardless. It helps us to navigate our own biases.
Awareness. Being aware of the care needs of others comes
from mindful observation – observation that comes from an open mind and without
judgement. To move beyond our own bias, we must be prepared to connect to the
active and passive communications of others - to Watch, Wait and Wonder as my
friend Andrea
Breen said to me.
Knowledge. Our own personal experiences only give us so much insight, and it is connecting with, and learning about, the experiences of others that helps give us a more rounded view. Actively seeking knowledge from others, especially about their own lived experience, is crucial to own own growth. Being open to learn about the experience of another is an important aspect of CAKE - it is about being humble enough to learn from others first !
Empathy. Definition ‘the ability to understand and share the
feelings of another’. With Compassion, Awareness and Knowledge we can then have empathy. Without Empathy, the other three become lost – it is empathy that
truly leads us to want to offer the support needed based on the care needs of
others, and not on our own narratives and expectations.
For example - when we consider CAKE, it neutralises the
ongoing discussions currently being had in the U.K re shock collars. Shock
Collars only work to support the humans needs, expectations and ego, and does
nothing for the dogs emotional experience. If we follow through the layers of
CAKE we can easily see why we need to leave these tools behind. Same goes for
the many debates on methods and tools. CAKE informs us that we need to worry
less about the 'How' and give way more consideration to the 'Why'. Learning the
emotional truths from the dog in front of us is the best foundation to build
on.
So, when we need to support our own dogs, or turn up to help
others with theirs, don’t forget to take CAKE. Who doesn’t like cake right!
Especially ones with a cherry on top 😊
Thanks again to Denise
O'Moore at Mighty
Dog Graphics for the image x
Andrew Hale Dog Centred Care (https://www.facebook.com/groups/dogcc)
