Brooklyn Rebellion Dogs: They’re Almost Human

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a blogumn by Shante Paradigm

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks in Tilo and Shanté land. I’m coming to understand that dogs are organic, alive, learning beings. Ha! You would think, as someone who’s had dogs almost her entire life, I would know that on some level. I often find myself acting as if Tilo is some sort of robot that I program and he never forgets it. Like any parent (and I DO consider myself his mom), I have to give Tilo the guidance, structure, love and discipline he needs. In other words, it’s up to me to be consistent.

One day at the dog park, I was joking with some new dog parents that I realized I was being lazy and fantasizing about Tilo being able to walk down insanely busy streets, sans leash without being scared of trucks, motorcycles, dogs, loud noises, skateboards and other dogs. Now he’s not bothered by all of those things, but I heard myself and how ridiculous I sounded. Basically, I was  encountering my own fatigue. We laughed about it and talked about our experiences with our dogs, traded dog tips and ideas and got to know one another. Tilo playfully tried to engage their dog, who promptly ran and hid under the picnic bench. Of course, my dog harassed him until he came out to play.

Some great highlights for Tilo: he’s started walking with his tail up when we take walks on the street and park on-leash. This is hugely significant, as Tilopa used to walk with his head facing behind him–he felt that unsafe. It also means he’s less likely to bark or lunge at another (bigger) dog or strange man. When he feels calm, he feels relaxed enough to enjoy his walk and not defend himself.

We’re also working on greeting other dogs politely. This really has to do with me being patient to not let him drag me the last 2 feet. When he sees a dog friend, he starts to pull (as almost all dogs do), so we work with going slowly (i.e., in a totally boring way) toward our friend. Finally, and this was huge, a couple of weeks ago, he was able to walk past 3 of the Doe Fund guys who clean the streets in their blue uniform. This was tantamount to a miracle as he has a VERY strong aversion to them and we have been working for months to lessen that aversion. Of course the next day, he barked at a Doe Fun guy on the street.

It’s progress, not perfection.