Being true to oneself is the far far more important than knowing yourself thru your dog's admiration. Your dog would always admire you  as you are the master and moreso does it have any choice ? Yes there is  ... staying hungry , no petting and getting neglected .Its not important that you need to have that acknowledgment which gives you that high !

Know yourself thru your own eyes, thru the path you took, thru actions which made that difference in someone's life and LEARN and reflect back on to your actions of future. 

The more i know myself.... the more i realize .... how much lesser i know ...

Thank God ... i realize ...