Dogs are not only truly loyal, dogs are devoted and love unconditionally, three traits that men seldom receive, at least in adulthood. This loyalty and devotion, is in my opinion why so many veterans returning home to a society that no longer accepts them, with no brotherhood or loyalty and very few in person connections of any kind, find solace in the heart of a dog.
Why are dogs mans best friend? They fill a hole in many a man’s heart.
These days unless your lucky enough to have found yourself as part of a brotherhood, you have beat the odds and built your own, or you found yourself a good wife, A dog very well may be the most loyal living thing that you have in your life. Even if you have, experiencing the unique bond between you and a dog is a quintessential human experience. One just as important as the experience of having a brotherhood. This experience is heightened even more so with a working dog. A partner that shares a purpose with you, both driving toward the same goal. Raised to an even higher degree with a protection dog. For those that have the knowledge and temperament to work with one there is nothing like the experience of bonding with another predator.
That bond can also give you insights into other people around you. Your dog will be able to size up a person and their intentions 100x faster than you can. Trust them. If they are normally well trained and well behaved and they all of a sudden start acting out or being standoffish with a certain person or even aggressive toward them, trust that instinct. That is a person that you should probably be careful around or avoid entirely.
The level of experiences that dogs offer, represent almost a form of spirituality for some people. They offer/require structure, a source of strength, someone to talk to when there is no one, all things that religious and spiritual people have but that those that have been driven away from spirituality might be lacking.
How do you hold up your end in a relationship like that?
Just like you should a human relationship of that caliber. Make sure that you return the favor. Reward that love, that devotion, and that loyalty in kind. Protect them, take care of them, treat them like a brother, like one of your family because thats how they see you. Don’t abandon them, don’t drop them at a shelter when they get old, or inconvenient. Thats not loyalty, and certainly not devotion.
Most old dogs that go to a shelter end up getting euthanized, remember that. Most people don’t go to a shelter looking for an old dog so they will get past over time and time again. All the while wondering what they did wrong to end up there. You are basically killing your dog, in body and in spirit by leaving them there, if you wouldn’t put them down yourself, don’t send them to a shelter when they are old. While there are no kill shelters around they do fill up and often transfer dogs to other facilities that may or may not be kill shelters.
This also happens to younger dogs as shelters get more and more over populated. So if you are not willing to keep and care for that family member then don’t get one from the start. Many people say you wouldn’t abandon your kids so don’t abandon your dogs, but if you take a cursory glance at the internet I am not convinced most people these days wouldn’t abandon their children too if they got to inconvenient so don’t do either unless your going to see it through.
Now when it is your dogs time to go, don’t leave them to face it alone. Grow a pair and stand there with them, no man wants to die alone and scared and neither do or should your dog. They are already going to be stressed being in a strange cold environment the least you could do to repay all they have given you is to stay with them at the end. This is called responsibilities, don’t shrug them off just be cause you can that doesn’t make you a man. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Man up, there is little that is harder to go through than to see the look of confusion, pain, and panic on
the face of your friend when there time has come. It doesn’t matter if its too soon from tragedy or after a long happy life. You have spent a life time building a bond, earning their trust and now they look to you for help and you cant help them. But that doesn’t mean you walk away.
So barbarian you still want your wolf?
Don’t get a dog based only on looks or what breed is popular at the time. That just says your making a status purchase, not looking for a companion. Research breeds, their personality and common traits as well as what they were used for and make sure that they fit in with your lifestyle, family, or needs. If you are looking for a hunting dog you don’t want a chihuahua. If you live in a small apartment a giant breed or high energy breed is not going to work out well. This simple act alone can head off many of the problems listed above.
Once you’ve done that you can start looking for breeders if you are looking for a specific breed. I do, only recommend breeders for people who are looking for a specific breed for a specific working purpose. Protection dogs, hunting dogs, and so on. If you do not have that specific need and are looking for a companion for you or your family, then go to a shelter. In addition don’t shut your self off to adult dogs as well don’t go looking for a puppy only. Not only could it make the learning curve and transition easier for you adult dogs need homes to. They may take a little more time to bond to you after going through what ever landed them there, but when they do it will be bond stronger than any other, If you put in the time.
All that being said, the dog you need or that you are meant to have is the dog that you are going to get. Whether you evaluate a litter and carefully select one, pick one blindly or go to a shelter and let the dog choose you, you will get the one that is meant for you. The dog that you need is usually to teach you a lesson of some kind, usually to teach you patience or how to be loyal.
Care and keeping of your wolf
Nutrition
It is just as important for dogs as it is for you, if you are not willing to put the effort into learning what dogs need then again don’t get one. Most kibble is horrible for dogs If you just buy kibble because its cheap and throw it down in front of your dog. You will either end up having a dog with a shorter life span or one ripe with heath issues just like a human who eats nothing but processed foods. Now there are some much better kibbles out there than others but you have to find them. Little hint, they will not be at the grocery store, and most likely not at any big chain pet stores. I recommend a book called forever dog that explains this topic in depth as well as raw feeding, and the process to finding a good kibble or choosing between kibble and raw.
My family started feeding our dogs a raw diet 8 years ago, and have never seen anything make such a big difference in a dogs quality of life. We currently have dogs on both a raw diet and kibble diet, and some that eat both kibble and raw meat. You will likely get push back from most veterinarians because their entire education was at schools funded by pet food companies like most human medical schools are funded by pharmaceutical companies. Do your own research on how to do it safely for you and correctly for the dog if you go down that road.
Research and understand what a healthy dog looks like. It is called their body condition and there is an easy 9 point scale https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/body-condition-scores to understand what is healthy and what is not. Another helpful tip most dogs today are at unhealthy weights so don’t look to what you see around you as normal, and use it as your guide, unless you belong to a dog club that has healthy dogs. Fat people have fat dogs, if for no other reason than to make them selves feel better about their own bad life decisions. So make sure both you and your dogs are healthy and you’ll both live longer happier lives.
Purpose
Finally your dog needs a purpose in life just like you do. Especially so if you get any working breed dog. If you got a working dog for that purpose then its purpose will be fulfilled most likely as you got them for that reason. The more you can give them that purpose or jobs inline with their breed instincts the better off they will be. Hunting dogs will need to hunt, herding dogs nee to herd, breeds like Belgian Malinoise will need to herd or do protection work, or scent work as well as run 5-10 miles a day, live stock dogs need something to protect, huskies need to be able to run, you get the point.
Conclusion
Barbarians need their wolves, just like they need their tribes. But getting a dog is not something to be taken lightly. It takes time and responsibility, and you have to be the kind of person the dog deserves. People don’t like the comparison that dogs are like children but they are in way more ways than people want to admit. So if you are not going to put in the effort just like anything else that should be done right don’t do it at all. The only thing that irritates me more than seeing unfit unhealthy untrained dogs being dragged around by or dragging around their fat owners is dogs being abused, and allowing your dog to get over weight and unhealthy and not letting him live a life in line with his instincts is just another form of abuse, only a more accepted one by most of society.
Recommended Reading
Advice From a Dog Man – Basic philosophy on dog training/raising
I Belive What My Dog Says – Quotes on dogs, training, and life
Team Dog – Basic dog training
Forever Dog – Dog nutrition and health
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