My Doggz

Cesar Milan is The Dog Whisperer. He says dogs really only need 3 things to be happy: Exercise. Discipline. Affection. In that order. I am on this road with a pack of dogs. Lately I have tried to make exercise a part of our routine. We have always done the walks. They use the walks to smoke cigarettes. As it becomes colder we have have gone to the gym for our breaks. They hoop. I watch. I watch how they interact as a pack. I look for signs of the hierarchy of the pack. I have not seen an alpha or an omega. They banter and they tease but it all evens out. I would think that A with his slightly effeminate mannerisms would be the omega. But he holds his own on the court. He is athletic and quick. He is fearless. He is the only one in the pack besides R with a girlfriend. It gives him a secret status. I know the others have seen them entwined against the wall or in the stairwells between classes. R's girlfriend is expecting any day now. I suspect she is more like a wife than a girlfriend. When we first get to the gym there is a sort of 5 minute period of pure energy release. Balls flying wildly across the floor before it becomes one ball and they organize themsleves into 2 opposing teams out of the random chaos. The teams are always a little different each time but they are always evenly matched. I am amazed to watch their sense of fairness and self-regulating even as they compete against each other. I have never had to intervene. They invite me to ref. I am afraid I would just get in their way. I know that none of them have ever played organized sports. They all play so hard. I have watched them go full on for over half an hour and continue to play even when I tell them it is time to go to lunch. At first I thought maybe I was cheating them out of academic time by bringing them to the gym. No this is therapy far more important than the wanderings of Francisco Coronado or the founding of Jamestown.

The discipline is the routine we practice. The the tasks that I give them. They grumble and whine but no one has ever outright refused. The alpha rules by the force of his presence. Not by bullying or intimidation. The pack follows the alpha because they trust him. It is a delicate balance when the dogs are teenage boys.

I bring them pastries on Fridays. I am not above bribing them with treats. My weak attempt at affection.