As I load my daughter in the Ergobaby carrier on my chest, she coos like a giggling dove about to take flight in anticipation of our coming adventure out into the neighborhood. Legs kicking into the air as if that will expedite our odyssey into the unexplored reaches of Beachwood Canyon. Next I slide Rocco the rat dog’s harness over his head and buckle him in as well. He’s hesitant because he’s lazy yet enthused because he’s a dog. The expedition has begun. 5pm on Beachwood Canyon is a flavorful brew of babies and dogs. Rescues commingle with designer dogs, an inordinate amount of 3 legged dogs per capita and babies and strollers galore.
Now, since having our daughter, our dog, Rocco, has become measurably more… how do I say… ummmm… of an asshole toward other dogs. It’s endearing on one hand because he’s merely putting himself in between any potential threat and his baby sister (we ALL had a daughter last October, if you know what I mean) and super annoying on the other hand because he growls, lunges or barks at 50% of the dogs that come into his rat dog radar. Whenever one of these doggy dust ups occur, I tell Rocco to “chill” and the other pet owner usually tells their pet to “leave it”. For those non-dog owners, “leave it” is the phrase most dog trainers suggest you use when training your dog to not act like Rocco. I hear “leave it” more than I’d like.
The other day it hit me though… “Leave It”! We’re asking our dogs to practice one of the most advanced forms of mindfulness. We’re asking our quadruped friends to accomplish what we are all looking to do on a daily basis… to move on from a negative encounter, to drop a fight in the middle of it and choose reconciliation, to choose peaceful presence over conflict and to move on after being offended or confronted. And we expect it from them IMMEDIATELY! I’ve done it to Rocco before. When he won’t chill out about another dog, I’ll get all frustrated at him and annoyed but when I get in a disagreement with my wife, I’ll pout about it all day. What a hypocrite! We expect our dogs to accomplish it when we can’t. And, by the way, they CAN! They shake it off (literally) and move the hell on, never to look back again. They can truly “leave it”.
Our canine family members live in the present waaaayyyy better than we do. Watch a dog and learn mindfulness. There is zero “what’s next?” in the eyes of a dog and there is a whole bunch of “what are we doing NOW!?”. Can we practice the simple act of leaving it? That argument, that grudge, that anticipation or that regret? The Furry Buddha has spoken. It’s now our turn to “leave it”.
