Monday, June 2, 2014

City Dog: On Growing up in the City

The other day we were walking our pups when we had some City Kids come up behind us. The mom told her kids that they need to remember to do a good job waiting at the corner and looking both ways just like those two dogs were doing.
While I thought it was funny that our pups were acting as role models for the kids, I realized there are so many habits that both kids and pups both need to learn to successfully navigate a city.

Watching for Streets and Alleys
With so many cars and "creative" drivers, we taught our pups that whenever we approach a curb they need to sit and wait. The idea is that if they were to ever take off on their own they would automatically pause and not just run into the street. I've seen so many kids do the same, run or rush by on scooters and make a sudden stop just before the street.
We also make sure to pause before alleys because many cars just shoot out of alleys without looking and they especially can't see pups (and kids) who might be low to the ground.

Not Eating off the Ground
It has always been a family joke to talk about my sister who used to sneak away at the swimming pool and eat candy from the floor when she was a little kid.
While gross, we've noticed the city has so many more tempting buffet-like opportunities every time we leave our home with many more dangerous things. For our pups, there also seem to be a disproportionate amount of chicken bones every time we head out, especially in a lot of the city parks.
We're always working on our "Leave It's", though for stubborn Miss M it's more about me spying the temptation before she can get to it.

Being Patient
In a city filled with so many people, it's inevitable we will always be waiting for something. We have taught our pups that down-stays mean they need to stay until released and they take it very seriously. It is probably our most-used city-command. We wrote more about it, here.

Any other "must-do rules" for growing up in a city?

Also:
Starting from scratch
What to know when moving your dog to the city
Walking like a city dog
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4 comments:

Two French Bulldogs said...

Mom tries to teach us that every day but we listen only when we want
Lily & Edward

OG said...

I admire your working on and effecting "Leave it" the streets of NYC have a lot of food garbage, especially on the weekends when crews are not out and in the park, where trash cans get very full on the weekends.
Petey has no concept of "disgusting" and I am often reaching into his mouth to get something out

dw said...

We found lots of stuff on the ground this past winter (besides the snow and ice and salt) that the leave it command was always being used. Riley is interested in almost anything on the ground and in most cases is just curious. She did however once walk with a packet of ketchup that I didn't notice...without breaking it.

Karen and Riley

Pocket Pittie in the City said...

Ours have gotten pretty good at leave it outside as well. Awesome pics, hope your pooches are excited for summer. :-)

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