ON CLICKER TRAINING

 The How of Bow Wow: Foundation Skills for all Dogs (an award-winning DVD)

 Don’t Shoot the Dog, a classic, by Karen Pryor

 GENERAL

 Culture Clash, a classic, by Jean Donaldson

 ON DOG LANGUAGE

 The Language of Dogs, by Sarah Kalnajs  (6 hours worth of dog behavior)   DVD    

 What is My Dog Saying: Canine Comunication 101.  A short little power-point on dog language.  DVD

 On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals, by Turid Rugaas – a classic book.

 ON REACTIVE DOGS

 Chill Out Fido!  by Nan Kene Arthur

 Click to Calm, by Emma Parsons

 Stress in Dogs  by Martina Scholz & Clarissa von Reinhardt

 ON RESOURCE GUARDING

 Mine! By Jean Donaldson

 ON DOG FEAR & AGGRESSION

 Canine Fear, Aggression and Play, by Jean Donaldson, DVD (about 8 hours)

 If you get any of these books and/or dvds, I’d love to hear what you have to say about them.  And I’d also love to hear about any other resources, experiments, and people that you find helpful as you work with your dog.

Finding the right dog walker is challenging. What do you look for? How do you start? Two words should guide your search: Safety and Fun. Budget is another word you have to think about. Ideally, you are looking to give your dog the best experience for the best price. But look out! If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Here are some things to consider:

• Dogwalking is an unlicensed profession. There are no standards except your own. What are your standards?

• You are giving your house key to a stranger. Have you checked their references carefully? Are they insured for liability? Are they bonded for theft?

• You are entrusting your dog’s well-being to someone on faith. Do they know how to handle the special challenges of urban dog walking? Will they be attentive to your dog’s interests and to changes in his behavior? Will they show up on time?

• Walking a dog in an urban environment has special hazards, such as sidewalk traffic, street traffic and extreme weather compounded by city living. Please take a look at our companion article “Walking Your Dog In New York City” for more detail.

Weigh the importance of a walker who thinks pre-emptively and acts accordingly. Such a walker not only steers your dog clear, but is able after-the-fact to link a certain behavior with a subsequent effect.

You want your walker to have eyes out for the child who may want to run up to your dog, spooking him, or the inattentive owner whose dog is making ready to lunge at yours. You want her ears to be attuned to the roar of skateboarders or the whirr of bicycles on the sidewalk, particularly if your dog is a chaser or a herder. And then you want her to know how to react quickly.

In bad weather, you want your walker to size up the wind threat before bringing your dog into a dog run with heavy branches flailing overhead and to know how your dog may react in the build-up to a thunderstorm. You want your walker to be mindful of standing too near utility boxes lest the electrical lines are not securely grounded. Or be on guard against dogs drinking standing water in puddles.

• Pack walks, group walks or solo walks – which is better? Pack walks generally walk up to a dozen dogs together. Group walks usually involve two to five dogs. Here’s where budget kicks in and safety concerns mount. Experts agree dogs need socialization to be well-adjusted. If your means are limited and you have an active dog, a 2-hour-long pack walk might be just the thing for your dog. But be aware: a pack walker cannot guarantee the individual safety of nor attention to all the dogs as well as a group or solo walker can. As for solo walks, they may be just the ticket for your recent rescue dog, a senior canine or a dog who is in training, but our concern with many of them is that dogs don’t have opportunities to socialize.

• The pros and cons of engaging a company or an individual. Some companies are great and some are . . . not. Likewise, individuals. Assuming solid experience and professionalism, what matters is: will the same person be walking my dog from day to day? will there be back-up when the person is away? will the walker show up on time and walk the contracted amount of time? is the walker insured for liability? is the walker bonded? will the walker be responsive to my concerns? Will the charges be clear and accurate? Will payment methods be easy? Will you be bound by a contract? Does my dog love his walker?

• Generally speaking, a company’s strengths are in providing oversight, back-up, insurance/bonding and accountability when things go wrong. An individual, by definition, will guarantee your dog the same walker every day and she is likely be very responsive to any issues you bring up. Ideally, you want the best of both.

• Different dogs have different requirements. Their breed, their age and their socialization experience should be taken into account. It’s common sense, but sometimes you have to stop and think about it. A toy dog can be hurt in the company of large dogs, no matter how happy the little guy is to be there. Breeds with the so-called pushed-in faces — like boston terriers, boxers, bulldogs — cannot tolerate heat or too much exercise without risk of dangerous overheating. A greyhound needs a short sprint a day – at 40 miles an hour – but care must be taken that other dogs aren’t provoked into stopping him with their teeth. Lap dogs and seniors want to smell the roses. Think about who will be taking your dog out and what the conditions will be.

The following check-list may help guide your thoughts:

What follows is taken from The Dog House NYC training manual for our dog-walkers. We hope it will help all people walking their dogs in New York City.

Street Behavior – For you and your dog(s)

Safety first!

Make sure the collar is tight enough. It is a great shock, and a great danger, to have a dog slip its head out of a collar. Of course, you don’t want a collar that is too tight. You should be able to place two fingers flat between the collar and the dog’s neck.

Wait for the light at intersections. Don’t take the chance of crossing against the light.

Sometimes children or teenage boys or weird adults think it’s funny to scream, howl or bark at dogs, and often your dog will startle or even bolt. Just ignore the howlers, but speak reassuringly to your dog and keep a firm hand on the leash.

Other things that startle dogs include sudden loud noises, sudden movements, odd-acting people, skate boards and wheelchairs. Some dogs move to “attack” or “herd” people on bicycles or skate boards or even joggers. Keep all these things in mind until you know your dog well. Walking down the sidewalk is not a ho-hum activity with a dog.

Good Manners, Always

There are plenty of people out there who are truly afraid of dogs, many who just plain don’t like them, and some with legitimate concerns for their safety and that of small children. Go out of your way to placate them.

Hold your dog on a short leash. Don’t allow him to weave all over the sidewalk. Pull him back from other pedestrians. Apologize if he brushes up against someone or sniffs too intimately at their packages.

Children And Dogs

Children are usually fascinated by your dog(s), and many zoom up to you to pet them. Discourage any child from approaching your dog without asking you first. Tell them (and their parents) they have to ask first because not every dog likes children and you don’t want anyone to get hurt. If your dog cannot be trusted with a child (or if you’re not sure), say so. If your dog can be trusted with children, teach them to come up slowly and offer the back of their hand for the dog to sniff. Then they can pet the dog gently. Always in the back of your mind is (a) good public relations and (b) the consequences if your dog should nip a child.

The Leash Differential

If you have never experienced this phenomenon, you will soon enough. There is something about leashes that triggers something in some dogs. Some perfectly nice dogs go into an aggressive mode when encountering another dog, whether one or both is on a leash. Just don’t assume you can walk your dog up to another dog to say “hi” without being aware of this potential. Hold your leash firmly until you know which way the wind blows and be prepared to pull your dog back.

Apartment Behavior

When people are coming out the apartment building you are planning to enter, stand back and politely give them full right of way.

When waiting with a dog outside an apartment building, stand to one side of the entrance. It is mighty embarrassing to be caught in front of the entrance with a peeing dog.

When you are waiting for an elevator and other people come along to ride also, politely ask them if they mind riding with the dogs. If they say they do, or if they even look like they do, invite them to go up ahead of you. If you have been waiting for a long time already, make a judgment call about whether you can afford to wait any longer, and if not, say something to that effect to the later comers.

Be aware of the building management’s attitude toward dogs. Some buildings are so dog friendly, their doormen hand out bones. At the other extreme are buildings that post “No Dog” signs. As a general rule, do not go in and out of buildings with more than two dogs at a time.

What follows is taken from The Dog House NYC training manual for our dog-walkers. We hope it will help all people walking their dogs in New York City.

Dog Run Behavior

Safety Again!

When entering the dog run be careful about closing the gate behind you. At each of the dog runs on the Upper West Side, there are two consecutive gates at each entrance. The best approach is to enter the first gate, close it, unleash your dog(s), open the inner gate, let the dog(s) through and then slide yourself through. These precautions are admittedly excessive for most occasions, but they should be observed for the sake of the exceptional dog who is intent (for whatever reason) to escape the run. It only takes one dog slithering through the gate hell-bent for home for you to regret ever being born.

If your dog wears a prong collar, take it off along with the leash upon entering the run. There have been tragic instances of dogs spearing one another through the nose or lip with one of the prongs when they engage in mouth-wrestling, a common play activity. Also, if your dog should get involved in a fracas, it is almost impossible for you to grab him by the collar if he is wearing a prong collar.

Yep, Good Manners Here Too

Never get into a fight. You’ll be tempted. But under no circumstances give in.

Everything in Moderation

If your dog is a digger, don’t let him dig a hole to China. Distract him with some other activity. Sometimes he digs because he’s thirsty. Offer him water. Fill in the hole he dug.

If your dog is a humper, pull him off if he is obsessional. Otherwise, be aware humping between unneutered dogs is not usually about sex. It is about dominance. A little bit of “king of the mountain” stuff is fun for them.

If your dog is a barker, try to find a way to quiet him – maybe throw a ball, maybe stroke his neck. Sometimes you just have to move yourself to the other side of the run. Your dog will follow (usually).

If your dog likes to chase balls, indulge him for a while. But keep in mind that many dogs who chase too many balls over several years tear or sever their knee ligaments (“anterior cruciate ligaments” or “ACLs”) by midlife and will likely require surgery to reattach them. If he is possessive to the point of fighting over his ball (or if you notice that another dog is possessive about the ball you are throwing), put the ball away.

Food in the Run

Generally not a good idea, since dogs gather around you and sometimes fight.

Pack Mentality

If you are participating in a playgroup, be mindful of pack potential. While the up-side is the obvious enjoyment your playgroup gets from its members, something to watch out for is the way they may encircle a non-pack dog in a way that can get threatening or even out of hand. When you see this start to happen, simply break up your group by wooing it to a different part of the run or if necessary leashing one or two of them for a short while.

Unneutered Males

The Dog House does not accept unneutered males. We have nothing against these guys, but we have found that, in a close community like ours where many dogs socialize, nine times out of ten a “doggie incident” comes about as a result of an intact male. Always check when a new dog enters the run whether or not he has his balls. If so, be on alert. Watch his behavior with the others and if you see any heightened attitude remove yourself and your dog to a different part of the ring. If necessary, leave the run. Heightened attitude includes strutting, tail up high, immediate sniffing of other dog’s hind quarters. But it can also surface in an instant over possession of a ball or other toy. It is also worth noting that the unneutered dog himself may be perfectly friendly and comfortable in the run, and it is other dogs – ie, neutered males and females – who take exception. Just be careful.

Dog Fights

This matter gets its own section. Please see Part 3: “Walking an Urban Dog: When Fights Break Out”.

Dog Runs on the Upper West Side

Inside Riverside Park at 72d Street.

Inside Riverside Park at 87th Street.

Inside Riverside Park at 105th Street.

Theodore Roosevelt Park (behind the Museum of Natural History) at West 81st & Columbus Avenue.

Morningside Park at 113th St.

For a detailed list describing all dog runs in New York City, click on this link

www.urbanhound.com/houndPlay/dogRuns.html

What follows is taken from The Dog House NYC training manual for our dog-walkers. We hope it will help all people walking their dogs in New York City.

Dog Fights

Though we sometimes forget it, dogs are animals. And much as we may wish it weren’t so, they occasionally fight. Things dogs fight over frequently include: food; unneutered males; possession of a ball or toy; or territory (as in “this is my hole in the ground”). Dogs also fight because, like overstimulated children, they have played to the point of being too wound up.

It is usually possible to monitor dog interactions so that fights are prevented. A practiced ear can hear a change in dog pitch when dogs are getting riled up. And an experienced dog watcher can anticipate potential for conflict, such as those mentioned above, and steer her charges away.

But sometimes, not often, a fight breaks out in an instant and you need to be prepared. Be aware that, at the sound of a skirmish, dogs will come from far and wide to participate. Some primitive instinct tells them to be in on a ‘kill’. A bold dog might want to seek a piece of the action, but timid dogs are almost worse: they encircle the protagonists barking furiously, as if egging them on. If you hear or see a dog fight involving other dogs in other places, the first thing you do is get your own dog.

If your dog does get into a fight, try to stop it as soon as possible. It gets harder as other dogs get into it. If you are able to grab the back of your own dog’s collar, fine. Otherwise, pull your dog back by grabbing its hind legs and pulling it way. Some people discourage the method of grabbing by the collar because of the danger you will get in the middle, but I encourage it because it gives you the most control. Also, unfortunately, sometimes the other owner is slow to react and there will be times you will need your other hand free to grab the other dog’s collar, too. At the least, if you have your dog firmly by the collar, it is easier to call to the other owner, “Get your dog!” Whatever you do, don’t get in the middle of a fight.

After a fight, calm your dog, check for any wounds, and ask if the other dog is all right. Fights are upsetting. And they’re usually no one’s fault. Try to keep calm yourself, and if possible be reassuring to the other person as well. Exchange contact information with the other party.

Unlike people, dogs rarely hold grudges after a fight. If the other owner is willing, and the dogs have calmed down, it is often a good idea to let the dogs sniff each other and make friends again. Often the fight was over possession of something and the cause is now forgotten. That said, be sure to wait long enough for the dogs to be calm again. Sometimes, re-introducing the protagonists too early merely picks the altercation back up where it left off.

If There’s an Injury

If a dog has been hurt, and no specific blame can be assigned, dog run etiquette says both parties share the vet bill. However, if one dog caused injury to another without provocation, then the owner of the provocateur should pay for the injured dog.

Also, if by the bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, a human gets bitten, be sure to confirm the biting dog has a current rabies vaccination.