The Dog House NYC

Follow the action here. Zoo climbs in bed with Cagney (They do this, from time to time). Then Goober leans in: “Hey! my turn.” Zooey turns to include him. Then Sunny wants in. A real cuddle here. Lila? and Frisbee? Not far. The sun comes in. A lovely afternoon. Frisbee has been paying attention and a little later he says to Zoo: Is there some for me? Happy Palentine’s Day!!

Not bad for an old point-and-shoot, eh? Won't you share your portraits? We love to see them!

Anyone else bothered by the ear-splitting ambulance sirens around the 'hood? Complaints can be directed to NYFD - 718 999-2646 (Ask for Peter Desmedt).

Olympic dog ball toss.
(Lila, Odie, Lucy, Sanga).

Central Park Conservancy Thank you on behalf of ourselves and all our delighted dogs for creating and maintaining this extraordinary space. Never appreciated more than in SPRING!

Cagney this April morning.

Ben needs a place to stay. He's adorable and sweet-tempered. Do you know someone who might like to foster him? Maybe provide him with a new home?

We're calling him Ben for now. He came our way a couple of weeks ago when a social service agency contacted us about providing dog walks. But Ben needed more than walks!

His two elderly owners had been removed from their UWS address to a nursing home and he had been left behind. Days passed, we're not sure how many. And he was a stinky mess, with intestinal infection and a cough.

Several parties interceded to get him medical care and proper boarding, and then others stepped in to foster short-term.

Unfortunately, they cannot continue to foster him after April 8th.

During the last couple of weeks, we've gotten to know him some. He's 9 years old (we were able to trace medical records up to 2012), very friendly and social. He has very long toe nails and very tender pads, suggesting he hasn't been outside much for walks in recent years. But he is housebroken. (And he has been on walks in the last couple of weeks and his pads are toughening.)

At first when the foster family took him in, he was a little hyper (as can only be expected), but in a matter a just a few days he calmed down considerably.

When I visited yesterday, I saw him lying next to his foster person on the couch while that person used the laptop. I also saw him camping out voluntarily in his new crate, enjoying the company of the family's other dog, and saying hi to the toddler next door. He loves his toys.

Finally, full disclosure: in cases such as these where the owners are still alive but severely disabled and money is tight, the social service agency will need a judge's order to legally remove Ben from his home and the agency is working on this.

As Zooey and I became more informed about this case, we learned that there is a great gap in care for animals caught in this horrible predicament. A great non-profit named PAWS helps some people but it has income requirements that leave others out. And funding for the Mayor's Alliance has been cut back.

So we'd like to make an additional appeal for money, even if you can't foster. We would deliver the money directly to the Social Service Agency person and careful receipts would be kept.

Part 3: When Fights Break Out in the Dog Run 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”). [ 535 more words ]

http://www.thedoghousenyc.com/walking-an-urban-dog-part-3-dog-fights/

Walking an Urban Dog — Part 3 — Dog Fights Part 3: When Fights Break Out in the Dog Run 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. D…

Part 2: Dog Runs 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. [ 732 more words ]

http://www.thedoghousenyc.com/walking-an-urban-dog-part-2-dog-runs/

Walking an Urban Dog — part 2 — Dog Runs Part 2: Dog Runs 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…

Part 1: On the street and in the apartment building 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. [ 637 more words ]

http://www.thedoghousenyc.com/walking-an-urban-dog-part-1/

Walking an Urban Dog — Part 1 Part 1: On the street and in the apartment building 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 …

That blammity-blam salt again! Time for some more paw talk. I want to suggest Heal My Paws (Please). No, that’s the name of the product! I picked ours up over at Gotham Veterinary Center. Hand Cream for Dogs! What I like about it (besides the name) is that it says “All natural formula is not harmful if licked and ingested.” It’s ingredients include such things as beeswax, almond butter, sunflower oil, tea tree and rosemary. [ 243 more words ]

http://www.thedoghousenyc.com/paw-talk-2/

PAW TALK That blammity-blam salt again!  Time for some more paw talk.  I want to suggest Heal My Paws (Please). No, that’s the name of the product! I picked ours up over at Gotham Veterinary Center. Hand Cr…