“The human language, as precise as it is with its thousands of words, can still be so wonderfully vague.” Enso the dog- The Art of Raining in the Rain by Garth Stein. Yet, “So much of language is unspoken. So much of language is comprised of looks and gestures and sounds that are not words. People are so ignorant of the vast complexity of their own language” again Enso the dog-The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Lastly, “Gestures are all that I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature” Enso the dog-The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Oh how important it is to our relationship with dogs to try understand these concepts.
Enso, the dog is my favorite canine character of all time. I believe if our dogs had the ability to speak words they would voice the very thoughts of Enso. We as humans, with our capability of verbal speech, use so many words, but conflict them with our actions. We possess “higher intelligence” yet act as if we possess none. We are walking contradictions with no concept of how to truly communicate, especially to our dogs.
Dogs, being masters of body language, really only care about our actions, for they truly speak louder than our words to them. If they hear, “Come”, but they see stiff posture and an unsmiling face, they will only “hear” retreat. If they hear “Leave it”, but see charging forward with intent to grab, they will only “hear” run and run fast with your treasure or you’ll lose it. If they are barking and they only hear us yelling fiercely at them to “Stop” they simply “hear” bark even more because the game is on.
The dog is thirsty and has stood quietly beside his bowl with no result, now he is pushing the bowl with his nose, then he is flipping the bowl up in the air. “Oh, hey boy, are you thirsty”, says the human. The dog approaches the back door and looks back at his human with no response. Now he scratches at the door, next he is barking and scratching. “Hey, that is quite enough!!!! I am coming. I didn’t know you wanted out,” says the human. Hmmm, the dog thinks, “Gestures are all I have.”
We marvel at the dog’s skill at perception when we are in emotional pain. We appreciate the fact that they don’t tell us what to eat, what music to listen to, or how we should be feeling or behaving. Yet, when they need us to be perceptive they are left wanting. Thankfully, their ability to forgive far exceeds ours and they continue to be forever faithful. May we strive to say what we mean and mean what we say? Also, may we remember that gestures are all our dogs
