. a blogumn by Shante Paradigm One of the most wonderful aspects of having a dog is seeing her or him express joy. Tilo is one of those dogs who loves to run and wrestle with other dogs. He’s especially fascinating to watch when he runs: ears back, mouth pulled back into a wide grin, sleek brindle and white body outrunning almost all the dogs in the park. My little guy is completely exuberant. At other times, he’s completely serious as he surveys the park looking for dogs, people or situations that annoy him. I’m actually quite pleased with Tilo’s complexity. There are many dogs who’ve had their complexity bred out of them for the purposes of domestication and making them easier and more predictable as pets. Tilo is absolutely a domesticated animal, and he also wears the alert, mistrustful scars of an abused dog. However, at just over two years old, he’s becoming a mature, discerning, protective and fun-loving dog. I’ve been enjoying his play with puppies (he;s quite good with them and human babies). He’ll allow them to stick their noses, heads, tongues, faces in his mouth, all the while doing what i call the “annoyed growl,” nothing mean or dangerous, just telling them “chill out little dude or dudette.” But he let’s them bother him anyway. One dog, Suki, has wormed her way into Tilo’s heart — basically, she just pestered him until she wore him down and now, they are becoming sweet friends. My dog isn’t perfect. As a matter of fact, my trainer recently told me that I am a perfectionist and need to give up the dream that Tilo will ever be free of behavioral issues. She went on to say that she couldn’t believe he was the...

. a blogumn by Shante Paradigm I love my dog. Actually, I love all dogs. So the morning dog park ritual is especially joyous and fun for me. Not only do I get to watch my little guy run around, sniff and attempt to eat trash out of the bins (Tilo’s taken to jumping in the trash can to pull out food), I get to interact with scores of dogs and people. We call each other “dog park friends.” It’s actually become quite a little community with organized bowling trips, dinners, TV watching, dog swapping, ice cream trips. One of my dog park friends and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince last Wednesday. This is truly the kind of neighborhood-based community I’ve always wanted and it has been facilitated by a 52 lbs, brindle boxer-hound male dog. Last week, we had Tilo’s pal, Sadie (10 month old female hound mix) over for a playdate. It was great! They wore each other out by playing with toys, tug of war and basically chomping on each other for 10 hours. They left me alone to work and I was able to leave the house without Tilo crying because he had to go in his crate all alone. As a matter of fact, they voluntarily would play in the crate and lay there together. There were many cute moments. Part of the communal aspect is helping each other out, whether it’s with ideas for a good dog diet (Tilo is fully raw: whole chicken thighs, beef hearts, cow/pig’s feet…and yogurt), sitting (Tilo still has some street issues, so only highly-skilled and patient people can take him) and socializing our dogs and ourselves. My dog is a dog lover. He loves to play and...

. a blogumn by Shante Paradigm I’ve finally found time to write and submit an article to FaN! I’m proud to say that Mr. Tilopa has come quite a long way in the 10 months that we’ve been a little family. I’ve logged in many hours of working with a trainer, teaching Tilo how to behave through positive reinforcement methods such as clicker training/shaping and re-conditioning negative associations. He’s totally able to play well in the park without terrorizing the park workers (however, now that it’s summer, he has begun jumping into the garbage cans in the park to find “snacks.”), and he is totally in love with his new dogwalkers at Paw Paw Pets. I’ve even been getting compliments from other dog owners who have watched him go from a scared, skittish pup, who often used his mouth to communicate his fear, to a playful, fairly calm teen dog. He is still quite hyper and puppy-ish, but also tremendously pliant, playful and full of love. His only real place of total meltdown is at the vet and that’s another post for another day. This week, we had a bit of a scare. As we were leaving the park on a bright, glorious Monday morning, Tilo was bitten by another dog. Now, these times are no fun, but they are also instructive. I already had him on the leash (he had eaten so much food in the park post-sunny weekend, I thought I as going to have to get his stomach pumped), so he was relatively calm. he had been playing with two dogs while he was on leash, when a third dog approached. This dog was a large, male, pure white dog–the exact type Tilo hates! So I was cautious and made sure...

. 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...

. a blogumn by Shante Paradigm One of the truths about owning a dog, is that they have gear. Even if the dog is really well-behaved or has no trauma, an owner always needs training tools. I’m not talking about the fancy, expensive dog clothes or accessories, although, it’s quite easy to get caught up in all of that. Instead, I’m talking about training and behavioral management tools, which can include clickers, chest or head harnesses, spray collars or other tools, which I don’t think are as dog-friendly, like shock collars. Well, Mr. Tilopa has quite a few training tools, so my trainer calls him “Gear Boy,” and until he feels fairly safe in the world and with people, we have mad gear. I recently purchased him a HALTI, which despite its ludicrous name, is a great tool for interrupting Tilo’s bark and/or lunging at other dogs. I work with him to greet other dogs politely, but it doesn’t always work out that way–this is a great tool. We do lots of clicker training. He sees a dog, I see him tense up or take a more hunting stance, I might say “friend,” or “Tilo here,” he’ll look at my and I click and reward him with a treat. Every time he looks at the approaching dog, then looks me in the eye, he gets a click and a treat. The dog and owner pass by and Tilo begins to associate dogs approaching him with good things! It’s not 100% with him yet, but he is much, much better at greeting strange dogs in the street on leash (he’s a dream with dogs off-leash in the park). I’ve taken to carrying a back pack to store his coat (it always gets ripped off by...

. a blogumn by Shante Paradigm One of the immense joys of being a dog owner, is learning what activities and objects make my dog happy. Tilo, is a pretty funny dog, he has lots of quirks and he’s incredibly sensitive and eager to please. This goes a long way in making him trainable and desensitizing him to his triggers (negative associations). However, Tilo, is not a “smiley” dog–except when at the dog park. Well, that’s not totally true, I can get him pretty happy and into a game of a ball at home (where he is most comfortable and well-behaved), but he is less sure of himself on the street: suspicious of strangers, looking around, but more and more friendly to all dogs regardless of size and breed and letting joggers pass unmolested. ( I pray for the day when the dreaded skateboarders are no longer tantamount to an invading army, but they seem to be a general aversion among young dogs). Tilo is at his happiest in the park, and not just his daily Fort Greene Park runs, but his new weekend park, Hillside Dog Park. I discovered Hillside after being told about it by various dog owners and the way they gushed about the most cherished of dog experiences: a thoroughly exhausted and sleeping pet. YAY! Knowing I didn’t have time to take to Mr. Tilo to Hillside daily (it’s an hour walk round trip) and suspecting Tilo would probably want to stay at least an hour (at least mom!!), I decided we would go on Sundays. This past Sunday was our third week and Tilo’s already made friends, fallen in love a few times and immediately realizes when we turn the corner down Flushing Avenue, we’re heading to Hillside. Now,...

. a blogumn by Shante Paradigm Dogs eat the strangest things. Maybe I should qualify that: MY dog, seems to like to eat the strangest things. Tilo’s hit list: Bananas Apples Pears Acai Juice Really, anything in a bottle, including bottled water when his dog bowl is filled with fresh water. Apple Cider Potato Chips Peanut anything Creamy soups (I guess it’s the dairy?) Of course, being my dog, he’s on a raw diet, which he loves, but my food is always very appetizing to him. And it’s not Mr. Tilopa’s food quirks I’ve been noticing; he’s absolutely obsessed with my younger brother, Philip. Now Phil, is a great guy, and a total dog lover, clearly Tilo knows this. So Phil comes over and Tilo’s big brown eyes are wide, round and full of…love??? I mean, I can’t really say for sure if his heart was going pitter-patter, but he was positively vibrating with delight. Anyway, he’d hold onto his training for a few minutes, sitting at Phil’s feet and then suddenly he’d SPRING UP and shove his tongue down my brother’s throat..ahhh, teenage dog love. We busted out laughing while Tilo happily licked my brother’s face. But the obsessions don’t always end with saliva and laughs. Tuesday we had a great morning in Fort Greene Park , and Tilo was playing with the dogs, running around, sniffing…good times being had by all. Well, Tilo loves to play with an unneutered male potbelly named Luciano. Kali, the 90 lbs. female King Corso also loves Luchie…fiercely. Needless to say, yours truly had to break up a fight between the two with the help of Kali’s owner. I ended up getting bit, which really is the hazard of breaking up a fight between two snarling, possessive...

. a blogumn by Shante Paradigm I’ve always loved dogs. Even after being bitten and chased by a few growing up. I love their energy, their enthusiasm, their athleticism, the sheer power they have to constantly amaze me. I’m also a cat lover and would have one, if I had more space so the cat could hide from my dog, Mr. Tilo. I saw an adorable puppy on the Q train the other day. His owner had just adopted him and had him in a cloth green earth bag (generous and earth-friendly). The owner was a young brown man of African-Latin descent, boyishly handsome and quietly enduring me and a number of other women cooing over his sweet pup. The puppy was a Rottweiler mix, who whimpered, whined, peeked his head out of the bag, and played grrr-tug with the bag’s handles. My heart simply melted. I , of course, thought of my own beautiful baby boy at home and how I missed seeing him grow up. I know I missed out on a lot more late nights, potty training and so forth, but I also missed out on being able to give him a stable diet of love, affection, discipline and care. Instead, Tilo, from what I can cobble together from his records, the opinion of the vet and my trainer, was abandoned and abused (and possible used as a fighting dog) as a youngster. However, he is somehow still a genuine love-muffin. He definitely has serious triggers that I am addressing with the help of professionals, but he also has a strong sense of boundaries that I continue to enforce with consistent correction. I also had to come to a place where I felt comfortable with the method of training and correction...

. A blogumn by Shante Paradigm 2008 has been quite an enjoyable ride. At the end of 2007, I was so relieved to go to the New Year, I didn’t really contemplate much except I wanted to be fully-engaged in 2008. Well. One way to do that is to adopt/rescue a puppy. Oh Tilopa! He really is the joy of my life, and like any other child, also a great source of pain. Tilo’s one of those dogs who is totally filled with life and personality. He, like his mom, is totally strong-willed and terribly sensitive. Sometimes this combination makes him volatile, although not violent. I have a dog who barks and then realizes, “no wait, I like you!” He’s learning, just like me. I have the good books that talk to me about what I do and how I can help him even more, he has an incredible trainer (who trains both of us), and a great deal of love, affection and discipline form me. When I look at how far this dog has come in the almost-five months we’ve been a team, I do tear up and my heart wells. Tilo (pronounced TEE-LOW, full name, TEE-LOW-PAH), has aided me in finding creative and patient solutions to chewing, incessant barking, lunging (at dogs, joggers, bikers, and the dreaded skateboarders), his fixation and fear of brown men, and his love of waiting until I am asleep to get into my bed. T isn’t perfect, but he sleeps in his bed inside of his crate with the door open!!! He’s there right how. Or, he’ll lay on his blankets which are near my desk (and the heater). Although I still harbor some sadness for the murderous destruction of my cute, defenseless Ugg flip-flops, my little...