(Animal) Behaviour & Success

Yesterday as I watched my dog, Vegas, dig fervently in the snow to track a scent I thought back to Mark Jaffe's November 30 bnet.com column "Things you can learn from a dog that will help your career": http://www.bnet.com/blog/executive-recruiting/things-you-can-learn-from-a-dog-that-will-help-your-career/415?tag=content;drawer-container

 

vegas in the snow (she has a tail ... it's curled underneath her because she's camerashy!)

 Vegas, shown in the photo, is an Airedale Terrier.  I like all breeds of dogs, but the reason I favour Airedales I admit is that I love the Airedale temperament.  Most commonly referenced in the dog show world as 'the terrier spirit' or 'the Airedale spirit', the breed is known and examined for its standard appearance as well as its spunk, intelligence and humour.  Though not as commonly practiced in the dog show world (I'm told by a consultant friend of mine), at one time the Airedale spirit was tested by placing a few of them (while on the lead) within close proximity to each other to see if they would attempt to spar. 

The Airedale spirit I daresay, if practiced carefully and strategically could help me sharpen my professional skills.  For example, when Vegas has caught a scent she's got to follow it.  She roots her blunt snout into the earth or the snow and digs until she's satisfied -- that's first class investigation and perseverance.  Now Vegas isn't much for sparring, but she wasn't a show dog. 

My other Airedale, Stretch, was an American/Canadian Champion before he came into my home and he had the spunk and sparring spirit full-on :-)  He was a fabulous and personable dog -- excellent with children and people ... but when it was performance time (or what he perceived as performance time -- in truth, we would be walking past another Airedale on the sidewalk!), the old competitive feistiness would return instantly to him.  

the illustrious "Mr." Stretch[elton], "if you  please"

This is a skill that I've been trying to relearn.  I'm competitive and performance driven, but I wonder ... would a bit of the Airedale spirit help me here? 

Could I be just a bit more aggressive, say, without alienating myself or others? ... it's a fine line, and dogs don't have to worry about that silly stuff.  Maybe I should worry less about it too :-)