Doggie Order

Mary’s Monday Morning Musings to Quilt Encouragement.

Doggie Order

Dominance plays an important part in a dog’s life. Who is top dog in the household? It doesn’t always go to the biggest or the oldest. Watching dogs vie for their place can be an entertainment itself. Life for their humans goes smoother if it is quickly established. How the second in dog-order displays submission to the top dog makes attention-grabbing sights. In the accompanying picture, the two dogs first enjoyed a time of dog play by rolling around and mouthing one another and making guttural dog noises somewhere in between growls and yips. Definitely not menacing but not quiet either. After a period of dog play the larger dog sat down ready to quit. The Bassett hound rolled over in the vulnerable tummy up position, definitely a position of doggy submission and, in this case, also an invitation to more play. Big doggy simply ignored the invite, standing loftily above the other. Party over.

A friendly, simple end to a good time had by all. Would that it could always be that simple and clear for us humans. Some of us seem to be born with more need for dominance than others. Some of us readily recognize superior abilities of one type or another when we see them in others. Other times we find ourselves competing almost without realizing it. We may even feel threatened by someone’s abilities or position. Our feelings may surprise even us. Before we roll over and play dead or growl our complaints, we would do well to silently ask God what underlying reason sparks our reaction. Is this a time to assert ourselves? Is it wiser to back away? We can’t always rightly divide our motives and timing. But God knows, and He has ways to let us in on the secret if we take a moment to lay each situation in submission to Him before responding. One place where submission always works in our favor is submitting our will to God’s will. God’s way puts us in the winner’s circle every time. Regardless of how it looks, God’s ways are best and safer than what our ways can sometimes concoct. A pause for a quick silent prayer for guidance will never hurt and can rescue us. There are times for rolling over and exposing our vulnerable middle like the dog in the picture, but other times the tall regal stance is more appropriate. Ask God how we should respond for each situation.