Mr. Bear the Wheaten Terrier

This is Mr. Bear.  He is a 1 and a half year old Wheaten Terrier.  I have been walking and training Bear since he was about 6 months.  He is the most athletic member of City Dog Pack and he is very smart.  He is also the goofiest member we have.  Every day I walk him he does something that makes me laugh.  Many mornings when I show up to walk him, he greets me with one of his owner's shoes (he never brings the same shoe two days in a row, very funny).  Bear and I have developed a true bond with each other within the year we have spent together.  He sometimes even anticipates what I want him to do before I even tell him.  I love all of the dogs I work with but Bear and I have a connection that usually only occurs between dog and owner.  I am proud to have him with us.

Training session with Mango

This is Mango.  She is an adorable 11 month old French Bulldog.  Yesterday she had her first training session with City Dog Pack and she was wonderful.  Mango is super motivated and she has a great owner so I predict she will accomplish a lot with her obedience training.  Before yesterday she was a leash puller, but after a simple change of equipment and a small amount of guidance for her owner, Mango was walking like a Westminster show dog!  She and her owner make a dynamic duo and we look forward to working with them much more in the future.   

Is it O.K. to have a big dog in a small N.Y.C. apartment?

Many people ask me if I think it is O.K. to have a big dog in a small N.Y.C. apartment.  I think it depends on the owners more than the dog.  Big dogs usually require much more exercise than smaller dogs and it is the owners responsibility to provide that exercise, whether they do it their selves or if they hire a dog walker to help them.  Also, big dogs obviously take up more space so if you have a small studio apartment they might be in the way and they might knock over things more than a small dog would.  Lets be real here, dogs are awesome but they can be a bit clumsy.  People often tell me; "I want a big dog but I have no room in my apartment for it to run around".  If you're using your home to provide most of your dog's exercise, you might want to rethink your strategy.  Your home is the place where your dog should be calm and relaxed.  Take your dog on daily long walks.  If you can't, get help from a dog walker (from City Dog Pack of course), or take your dog to the dog park.  If you do this everyday, your dog will not need to run around at home.  Also, dogs of all sizes and breeds like to dwell in small spaces.  Farm dogs who have a lot a land to run around most of the day, often return to a small space to lay down and relax.  So as long as you provide sufficient exercise and you don't mind sharing your space, having a big dog in a small apartment can work out just fine.  If you're wondering if these pictures are real, yes they are.  This is Hercules, a 282 pound English Mastiff.  He holds the record for the biggest dog in the world.  Imagine him in your studio!   

Brady the Dachshund

This is Brady.  He is the kindest and most gentle Dachshund I have ever met.  He is the perfect dog to help other dogs with fear issues.  The dogs and I love when Brady joins us on our walks.  He enjoys munching on chicken jerky treats and going on trots around the neighborhood with his best bud Brutus the Boston terrier.  He also likes to play hide and seek when I pick him up for his walks.  His owners are lucky to have him and as you can see in this picture, he has a killer smile!

Riley the cockapoo

This is Riley.  She is the cutest 7 month old cockapoo you'll ever see.  I've been training and walking Riley since she was about 4 months.  She is super smart and a fast learner.  Riley likes to go on nice strolls with her best friend Lola the toy poodle.  She loves attention from people but she is still a little shy around other dogs.  Her owners and I socialize her as much as possible and the hard work has been paying off.  In the top picture she is in the dog park getting ready to play with an Italian Greyhound she met.  The bottom picture shows what she does when I pick her up for her walks.  She sometimes passes out from excitement.  So funny!

Dog Agility and cart pulling class 5/22/11

Finally, a day without rain!  I had to cancel last week's dog agility class due to the weather so I was eager to get things going again today.  It was a bit cloudy so the class was a small one today.  However we did have some dogs come out to show off their skills.  The picture on top is a beautiful  five year old Italian Greyhound named Nyla.  She was very shy at first and all of the excitement of the people and dogs participating in the class scared her a bit but once she ran through some of the obstacles, she gained a big boost of confidence.  Nyla has a world of potential and she'll get better and better as she continues training. 

Another dog star today was Sophie.  Sophie is an electric furball of energy!  Sophie is new to agility but she is definitely a natural.  In one day she was able to complete almost every obstacle on the course.  If she keeps up this pace, she can participate in one of our future competitions.  We'll be there again next Sunday for our free dog agility and cart pulling classes.  Check out our rates and services page for more info.  Call or e-mail us to reserve a spot and show us what your dog is made of!

Dog park etiquette (For Dog Owners)

Many people ask me if I take the dogs I work with to dog parks.  The answer to that question depends on a few things.  Do the owners want me to takes their dogs to the dog park, are the dogs that I have with me at social, how are the dogs already in the park behaving and most importantly, how are the dog owners behaving.  First, before you even enter the dog park with your dog you should have already burned off some of the dog's energy, especially if you have a high energy dog.  If your dog enters the park with too much pent up energy, it might cause a fight.  Second, observe the dogs in the park. See if they appear to be friendly and make sure they are socializing in a way that matches up with your dog's personality.  Third, observe what the dog owners are doing.  If they are sipping coffee and gossiping and not paying attention to what their dogs are doing, it is probably a good idea to come back some other time.  If coast is clear, enter the first gate and have your dog wait patiently until he is calm.  Once he is calm, enter the park before your dog and immediately remove the leash.  Sometimes if you keep your dog on the leash while other dogs are loose, it makes him either feel protective of you or it might make him feel vulnerable and he might respond aggressively.  Once you are in the park with your dog, do not crowd him but put yourself in a position where you can react to any situation.  Most importantly, you want to remain calm and relax.  Once you see your dog and the other dogs are getting along well, you can have a seat and maybe have some coffee and gossip with other dog owners but always keep an eye on your dog.  Some things you don't want to do is bring food.  Make sure you do not eat in the park and do not give the dogs treats.  Other than protecting a mate, food is the biggest cause for fights with dogs.  Do not allow your dog to mount other dogs.  This is also a big cause of dog fights.  Most of the time mounting isn't an indication of sexual drive.  It is a way dogs try to dominate each other.  People often allow their dogs to do this and they consider it playing.  The truth is, it is not playing and it is disrespectful in the dog world so if you see a dog mounting your dog, ask their owner to stop it and if not, stop it yourself and leave.  Mounting often triggers fights with dogs that are not even involved.  One last thing you should consider before visiting the dog park with your dog is that dogs are naturally pack animals that can sometimes become uncharacteristically territorial when they are with their pack.  Sometimes when the same dogs visit the same park everyday they become a pack without even knowing it.  When an unfamiliar dog enters the dog park some members of the pack may feel like they have to protect the territory and the pack.  So remember, the next time you visit the dog park, relax and enjoy yourself but always keep an eye on your dog.
 

City Dog Pack's first furry member

This is Brutus.  He is the first dog I walked when I started City Dog Pack a year ago.  He is a very handsome 4 year old Boston Terrier.  We have gotten to know each other very well and we have established a very good bond.  Brutus enjoys window shopping during our walks, visiting the Petco in Union Square and he loves peeing on every tree, fire hydrant and pole we come across.  In this picture he is giving me a look that I learned means (take me back home) because he hates walking in the rain (very funny).  

Why I started City Dog Pack

I started City Dog Pack in April 2010 because dogs have always been my passion.  Growing up in Brooklyn dogs were always in my life.  While most of my friends were playing sports and video games I was feeding local stray dogs food I would buy with whatever money I could scrape up at the time.  I started to develop a reputation in my neighborhood as the "Dog Boy" because at times I would have a pack of stray dogs walk me to school in the mornings off leash.  I started getting into dog training and dog behavior at the age of 12.  There was a guy in my neighborhood that did protection training with pitbulls and I would sit in on his on his training sessions to learn the basics of dog obedience.  When I was in high school I read every piece of literature I could get my hands on that had to do with dogs.  After high school I joined the Marines and while stationed in California I started to further my knowledge in dog training and behavior by volunteering in animal shelters and attending dog training schools and seminars.  While serving a tour in overseas in 2007 I patrolled the streets of Iraq with bomb detection dogs to find road side bombs.  It was during this time I discovered first hand, the amazing potential of dogs.  After I was done with my enlistment, I decided to return home to New York and study criminal justice to become a K9 bomb and narcotics detection handler.  While attending school I thought it would be a good idea to become an independent dog walker and trainer.  While walking dogs I became appalled by some of the service dog walking companies were providing.  Some of the things I observed was dogs being walked in extremely large packs, which was way too much for the walker to handle, dogs were being tied up to a poles outside (sometimes unattended) while their walkers picked up other dogs,  some dog walkers were just hanging out talking on their cell phones and smoking cigarettes while the dogs sat their not getting exercise and worst of all many of these dog walkers didn't even seem like they were interested in what they were doing.  Another observation I made was that many dog owners did not have control of their dogs.  Also many of these dogs were high energy dogs that were cooped up in their small Manhattan apartments all day with no activities to give them any sense of achievement or fulfillment.  This made me realize that New York City needed a dog service company that would provide dog walking from handlers that are skilled, knowledgeable and passionate about dogs, dog training from true professionals that can help dog owners form a true bonds with their dogs and dog activities like dog agility to give dogs a sense of fulfillment.  This is what City Dog Pack is all about.  My goal with City Dog Pack is not to maximize profits like some of these other companies.  My goal is to make City Dog Pack an exclusive dog owner community in NYC where we can provide dog owners everything they need to truly make their dogs happy.