I love the beach! But this fair complexion lady has to be very careful about sitting all day out in the sunshine. I’ve had my fair share of sunburns and I definitely do not want to go there again, if I can avoid it.
So, I sit under a tent or an umbrella and still enjoy soaking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the beach. I really enjoy watching the people walking up and down passing by my sentinel seat of observation.
A little while back I really honed in – I focused – on two different couples with their canine associates walking in opposite directions. In the beginning each couple was some distance away, one couple heading North and the other, South. Each couple allowed their dog to run into the water and out to the full extension of the leash held tight by the male of the couple.
At first, I really wasn’t THAT focused on the couples. But as the inched their way closer to an inevitable crossing of paths right in front of me I began to notice some curious, but minute changes in their pets.
Dog number one appeared to be a full-blooded German Shepherd. He was mostly black with touches of caramel colored fur. He was muscular and an inch or two larger than most German Shepherds I’ve ever seen. While he (I’m assuming it was a male dog) was at a distance he seemed to dance around and be very playful with his human friends.
Dog number two was a little smaller and appeared lighter in weight and in coloring. This smaller canine was mostly a whitish color with various black and brown markings but frolicked around his owners in a much more carefree way than D-1. Dog 2’s fur was softer and slightly longer than D-1’s stiffer, crew cut looking fur.
As the couples closed ground and grew nearer to each other with less and less sand between them, the dogs began to adjust their attitudes and focus. One couple was down closer to the water and the second couple had moved slightly toward the dunes dominated part of the beach.
D-1 seemed to shrink an inch or so but as I watched I noticed that his muscles were tightening and his stance was more of a beginning crouch. His ears slowly stood straight up for a few seconds before they folded down close to his skull. His eyes riveted on the other couple and the smaller whitish interloper.
D-2 had also begun a change that was becoming apparent to the leash holder because I could see the slack in the leash was much shorter than it was moments earlier. As a matter of fact, the leash length had shortened considerably for both dogs.
D-2 moved closer to his people and made an obvious insertion of himself between his people and the other dog family coming towards him. D-2’s tactic seemed more of self-sacrifice by way placing his body between his dog family and the approaching other dog family.
By the time there was only about 20 yards between them the leashes had been reigned in to pull the animals tight to the side of the leash holder. I find it interesting that neither dog barked or growled. It seemed to me that the focus for each dog was protection of their humans and they chose similar, but slightly different tactics.
D-1 seemed to be in a more offensive stance and D-2 seemed more defensively oriented even though the focus was the same: protect my humans. Like D-1 and D-2 most of us have a single-minded desire when it comes to protecting our humans. Some of us come at it from a very attacking offensive posture and others of us simply place ourselves between our people and danger.
There are a multitude of ways to protect our families. Whatever protection mechanisms you choose, are your humans aware of what is coming toward them down the beach of life? Once we reach a certain point in the journey our options for adjustment are like the shortening of the leash: the range becomes much tighter.
Dog 1 and Dog 2, with their respective humans passed by each other with no necessary interaction and walked on down the beach. But they were ready! You can be aggressive or defensive in how you go about protecting your family. The Guardian’s Gift offers options for you to choose from. Our DIY version allows for your own ears and fur up version or you might prefer a guide to hold on to while you prepare.
The point is; you have options. The Guardian’s Gift is a choice you can make to prepare for the protection of your humans. We don’t know what else is down the beach. But we do know that there will be another encounter of some kind coming toward us. Be ready!
~Dr. Judy Butler, PsyD
