Big Dogs, leadership in Canadian politics

Man can now fly in the air like a bird, swim under the ocean like a fish, he can burrow in the ground like a mole. Now if only he could walk the earth like a man, this would be paradise.
- Tommy Douglas

[Robert Bateman book bag: source]

This post is not about dog behavior. It's about people behaving like dogs, in politics, in Canadian politics more particularly.

First off, a little background about dominance, in animals. According to the American Dog Trainers Network, there's a difference between dominance and aggression, though the two traits can overlap. "While a dominant dog likes to control their pack, the aggressive dog takes it one step further, using threats and/or actual aggression to gain and keep control."

Here in Canada, Mr. Harper is not merely dominant but has shown tendencies towards aggression, in particular his random cuts to the arts only weeks before the election and more recently his attempt to cut funding to political parties, a step that would have virtually destroyed the opposition for the foreseeable future. In both cases, small amounts of public money were at stake, indicating the cuts were symbolic, threats intended to assert Mr. Harper's status as the Big Dog.

Dominance, unlike aggression, is an ever nuanced thing, particularly as you go up the evolutionary ladder, to the primates. How familiar does this sound?

"In a deeply political species like the chimpanzee, the similarities to social behaviors of the rich become even more pronounced. Chimpanzees are masters of social networking, with a Machiavellian knack for developing friendships and building political alliances. Prominent individuals practice a kind of noblesse oblige; they seem to understand that sharing food and other resources is a way to accumulate prestige and the support of lower-ranking individuals.

"Like the rich, chimpanzees also know the value of putting on the right face. In his book Chimpanzee Politics, Frans de Waal recounts the spectacle of a dominant male named Luit being challenged from behind by a rival. Before turning to meet his challenger, Luit paused, like a CEO about to enter a roomful of dissident stockholders, and actually reached up with his fingers to press his lips together and wipe away his nervous grin. Then he faced down his rival with the serene image of unshakable power." - The Natural History of the Rich: A Field Guide, by Richard Conniff

While Stephen Harper is clearly the alpha Big Dog in Canadian politics at the moment, it's also clear that he is struggling on the evolutionary ladder; he's uncertain about what noblesse oblige is or what use it might be, and struggles to wipe the conceited grin off his face before television interviews. One can imagine how maddening this must be for the other Big Dogs on the scene, his political rivals, who are expecting a more sophisticated kind of alpha behavior.

If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch."
-Romney adviser Warren Tompkins to ABC's Jake Tapper

The problem for the other pack leaders is you can't stay on the porch. Thus, we had Jack Layton's campaign strategy putting him forward as a pack leader, then after the post-election fiasco in which the Big Dog threatened to cut the pack off from their food bowls, Stephan Dion, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe formed a coalition of packs; now we have a new BD on the scene: Michael Ignatieff sniffing Stephen Harper's butt.

The thing about Big Dogs is they can act as conciliatory as they want. Like Luit, Stephen Harper can appear magnanimous, granting audiences to just about anyone who asks, but at the end of the day, he will do as he decides, not because he is right, but because he is the Big Dog.

People recognize a BD when they see one; emotionally they rank the BD within his or her own pack and then rank the pack among other packs, and then even rank themselves, choosing pack and leader, or more likely, leader and pack. That would seem to be how the last two elections have played out.

Frankly, given that two minority governments have resulted, Canadians seem to be either not in the mood for a Big Dog or are having trouble figuring out what to do with the BD that has strayed into the dog park. In any event, it looks like there's going to be a lot more butt-sniffing and teeth-baring and hair-raising before we're done.

Whether we see any of the BDs standing up and walking on two legs remains to be seen. In the meantime, this butt-sniffing advice from venture capitalist Mike Lyons might serve everyone best:

"Get undressed quickly."
- Mike Lyons, Venture Capitalist

And finally, a great description of successful leadership:

"A leader is best when people barely know he exists. Less good when they obey and acclaim him. Worse when they fear and despise him. Fail to honor people and they fail to honor you. But of a good leader, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say: 'We did this ourselves.' "
— Former U.S. Senator Alan Cranston [source]

The je n'est sais quoi of dogs

Photo: Geoffrey James, Trinity Bellwoods Park, 2006

It's wonderful how the off leash area sort of levels the playing field, with all types of people coming together over their common love of dogs. It's how I've been fortunate to get to know photographer Geoffrey James, who revealed recently and somewhat shyly that he has been taking photos of dogs and their owners for some time now. Above is an example of his fine black and white photographs. That shirt reminds me of something... so French.

More works by Geoffrey James on Cybermuse.

Meet the artist on Cybermuse.

Books by Geoffrey from Douglas & McIntyre.

Previous posts that have mentioned art and dogs:

Williams Wegman and Eggleston, Seth Scriver and anonymous

Jennifer Delos Reyes

Jana Sterbak

William Wegman clone

Coping in a "ruff" economy

Make your own leash image above from Methods and Ideas.

Wendy Diamond at the Huffington Post offers these tips for the austerity decade ahead:

1. Buy your cat and dog food in bulk.
Good advice at any time, bigger bags are better. But not so big you have to drive your SUV to get them home. In fact, buying locally, within walking distance is a good idea. Don't live close to anything. Move.

2. Get rid of your dog walker.
I don't agree. Now more than ever we need to keep people employed and dog walkers are cheap, on the margins, most vulnerable. And you? Your time is well spent working, keeping focused.

3. Use old collars and leashes instead of buying new ones.
I totally get this one, having lost many leashes over the years. I started buying dollar store leashes, which are actually not bad. You can also make your own with a clasp from the hardware store and a length of leather or nylon or even ribbon.

4. Groom at home.
Well ya, duh! Grooming is special time between you and your pet.

5. Make your own dog toys.
Nice idea. Also the Sally Ann, Goodwill, or Value Village are good places for small stuffed animals and what not. Be creative. Hey, a stick works for most dogs.

6. Do keep your yearly vet appointment.
I agree. It's worth it just in peace of mind. But you might want to shop around for a new vet. I know my neighbourhood vet is great but expensive, so I'm looking.

7. Wash and dry your dog's paws in the mud room.
Ha ha. Mud room, imagine that!

8. Finally, adopt a dog!
This is well-intentioned advice, and a good message for people who have more than they need. Maybe they could adopt a homeless person too. But you have to think too about all those dog breeders struggling to eek out a living. That's never been a very profitable business for the vast majority. I imagine the price of purebreds is going to drop significantly, and probably most breeders are already thinking hard about how many litters to have this year, none of which is good for the economy. Are breeders going to have to retool just like the Big 3!

Wendy also has some good things to say about the importance of pets in stressful times, as social instigators and companions. More about that later.

I don't know much about coupons and such but this article is pretty good on pet saving too.