Lessons from Archie

I just got back from a walk with my 110 lb. Bull Mastiff, Archie. It is glorious outside and I couldn't resist getting a little hike in at the greenbelt.

First, a little background on Archie. Archie and I found each other when I moved into my house in October of 2005. He was 3 yrs. old, un-neutered, skinny, aggressive, but amazingly sweet and I was really ready for a canine companion. Archie had been abandoned by his previous owner, and before that, he had spent many hours tied to a tree in the back yard. The combo created an imbalance in Archie which caused fear-based aggressiveness towards other dogs, particularly other imbalanced dogs. When we met, I wasn't very assertive, but I learned quickly (thanks to some trainers and the Dog Whisperer's book) that I had to learn to be Alpha in Archie's life so that he could feel more balanced. So Archie taught me to hold my ground and to be kind, but assertive.

Part of my dream of having a dog was to take said canine friend to the dog parks and to go hiking with him. I was even hoping I'd be able to train a dog to run with me while I biked around town. After some particularly terrifying encounters with seemingly unprovoked dog fights involving Archie, I realized that dog parks were out. He also has an uncanny habit of biting at rotating wheels, so biking with him was also out. But I didn't want to give up on hiking, even though it risked him being in contact with other dogs.

Over the years, I've done a lot of training with Archie and have gotten to know what makes him tick (food and balls). I'm able to take him with me hiking, but we avoid populated areas in favor of regions where less dogs may be around. If I see a dog coming, I can prepare by having Archie sit on the side of the trail and diverting his attention until the dog passes. Unfortunately, there have still been the times when an off-leash dog will come at Archie and he will out-power my leash-holding and go full out at the other dog. Because he's HUGE, and dark brendle, and FAST, I'm pretty sure he scares dog owners more than he scares other dogs. The energy of fear from me and from the other dog owner is sensed by the dogs and fight ensues. Yelling at the dogs is unheard and uneffective so you don't know when the brawl will work itself out. Believe me, if you've seen two big dogs (or even an uneven match) go at it, it's fairly terrifying.

Today, for some brave reason, I decided to take Arch to the Spyglass entrance of the greenbelt, instead of our usual unpopulated part of the trail. There certainly were more dogs around and off leash even though it was clearly marked that this was a leash-area. We did pretty well in the beginning---I would just get Arch off the trail and get him to sit while other dogs passed by.

Then, up yonder, I spied 3 dogs off leash meandering towards us. I quickly moved Archie off the trail and up a little hill to wait for them to pass. Unfortunatlely, one after the other, the dogs caught Archie's scent and headed towards him. He started pulling, as usual, and I held him as best as I could until he managed to break away from my grip. He went charging at the dogs and more than anything, I was worried about one of the women who must have been a dog owner. She nearly screamed and kept repeating "Oh my God, Oh my God,...etc. " She was freaking out, with good reason, but I knew that that fear energy wasn't helping the dogs get over their bustle. After seeing this happen a few times, I was able to stay calm and to coach the girl to breathe and relax. And as quickly as it had started, Archie walked away, looking like, "what? what's the big deal?" I asked if everyone was okay, but the people with the dogs just turned and headed one way (a bit shaken, I might add) and I went the other.

As I walked away I felt the adrenaline rush from the incident, but I also felt deeply calm. After my Vipassana Meditation Retreat, I learned, at a sensory level, how to feel sensations in the body objectively. In both my meditation and in yoga, I've learned that everything is constantly changing, so it is ridiculous to react. After taking a few deep breaths and considering this, a wave of profound gratitude washed over me. I am so thankful to be on a spiritual path, and I am so thankful for my teachers who have helped me along the way, including Archie, who, after all, is a dog---the perfect model of living in the present moment.