Potential Dangers While Walking Your Dog.

From left to right: Mabel, Pachanga and Coco. Proud pack members of City Dog Pack!

Many New Yorkers like myself enjoy going on long walks around the city with their dog. While walking your dog can have many benefits for you and your dog, there are a few potential hazards that can harm your furry best friend. Most people look out for obvious dangers such as broken glass or street traffic, however there are a few things many people usually don't keep in mind when they are walking their dog in NYC.  Since I'm a dog walker who walks dogs 6 hours a day I've noticed many things that can hurt my dogs during their walks.  Here are a few that you should keep in mind for now on.

Light pole in NYC with exposed wire. Very dangerous for dogs!

1. Exposed wires in light poles and sidewalks.

Dog owners who have dogs who like to mark and pee on several objects during their walks should be especially mindful of this.  I once had a college professor who owned a beautiful 120 pound Cane Corso who was electrocuted while urinating on a light pole with exposed wire.  Unfortunately her dog died from this accident.  It is best to keep your dog away from all light poles and if you see one with exposed wire, contact 311 to have it fixed.

Sidewalk grate. Some dog's legs and paws can get trapped in these causing serious injury.

2. Sidewalk grates and water drains.

These are all over nyc and your dog's legs can get caught in them, causing a serious injury. Sidewalk grates have small openings that can trap the paws of the smaller dog breeds.  Some water drains that are often found along sidewalk curbs have openings large enough to trap dog's legs of any size. Keep an eye out for these and walk around them.

Cooked meat bones on an NYC sidewalk. These are also very dangerous for dogs.

3. Food trash left on the street.

This can be dangerous for dogs especially those dogs who like to scavenge for food during their walks. Some dog owners don't mind if their dog finds a piece of food in the street and most of the time it is harmless but there are foods such as cooked bones that can get caught in your dog's intestinal tract and make your dog ill and it can even be fatal. I once walked a dog who put an entire chicken bone in his mouth and in order to get it out I had to give him a hard tug on the collar to make him drop it. A nearby pedestrian saw me do this and accused me of being cruel to my dog. I explained to her why I jerked his collar the way I did and she replied; "It's just a chicken bone!". Surprisingly most people don't know cooked chicken bones are hazardous for dogs.  That chicken bone could have actually killed him.

My intent isn't for people to be on edge while walking their dogs. Dog walking should be a relaxing experience. I just want people to be aware of things that they otherwise wouldn't be aware of.  Enjoy your dog walks!