Authority is "the power or right to give orders [and] make decisions [. People who have this dominance tend to succeed in their work as well as their private life. In the text "What the dog saw" by Malcolm Gladwell the example of Cesar, the dog whisperer, is given, who seems to be a authoritative person. In the end of almost all of his cases with problematic dogs, the animals are subject to his power to give orders and make decisions.
Cesar stays calm and doesn't show fear, he empathizes with the dogs and he uses his body language to gain authority in front of the animals. This procedure can also be seen in human interaction.
Staying calm and showing no fear is especially important when working with dogs and also with people. The animals "pay a tremendous amount of attention to how relaxed our face is and how our facial muscles are" (Gladwell 135). This means that they will instantly recognize if someone is being scared or being calm. Furthermore Gladwell says that "they pay a tremendous amount of attention to where our arms go"(135). This can also be compared to humans. They look at the gestures of the other persons they are communicating with. The gesture is showing the emotions of the person doing them (Segal). Gestures are something you do not think about in the moment you are doing them (Segal). This shows how similar the behavior patterns of dogs and people are. Another point is that " A dog that shows signs of fear when exposed to loud and strange noise may still, several years later, show similar tendencies in such situation" ( Jensen 182). This means that they not only react to fear which is shown by a human, but also to noises from outside. The dog is dependent on someone or something to know how to behave. "The whole point is that everybody has to stay calm, submissive, no matter what." (Gladwell 131) This is the main point of interacting of people and animals, because you have to stay calm and relaxed when you meet a dog or a other person to prevent aggression.
