inne
Posted : 10/10/2006 3:41:40 AM
I am pulling up this thread even though it's a few days old because it's SO TRUE! I'm in Toronto and I'm so grateful that I'm raising my dog in the city. I think it's made the socialization process much easier, partially because I
need to have a well-socialized dog if I want to avoid being miserable, having a miserable dog and making many others miserable at the same time. We're very lucky here because there is such a variety of environments for dogs - the city, the (huge!) parks and forests, the beach. It is strange to hear people talking about how 'cruel' it is to keep dogs in the city; I'll take hundreds of acres to run in and dozens of dogs to run with over a backyard. And we need to take advantage of these resources, otherwise our dogs would go crazy - I can't just let her out in a yard and forget about it, I need to actively do something with her, whether it's walking around the city or going hiking or playing in the dog park. I think that leads to better behaviour while improving our relationship and also makes me observe her more carefully.
Sometimes we go to a dog park in the suburbs when we visit my in-laws and it's a completely different experience. Most of the time, it's as if the dogs don't know how to play with each other and just stand around. Sometimes we also visit the PetSmart out there and that's the one place Louise can't deal with - she's fine in the small petshops and bookstores and banks in the city, but box stores freak her out.
Another thing about living in the city with a dog is that it's such a yuppie thing to forego having children and getting a dog instead and becoming SO into your dog. A lot of people in my neighbourhood are like that (maybe I am too) and it's usually very sweet and fun to see, but some people do get overbearing with the How To Be The Best Dog Owner Ever stuff. One of the huge benefits to this, however, is that yuppies with dogs and no kids have a lot of money to spend on their dogs, so we get really great shops with wonderful food and other products. On my street, there are 6 dog bakeries/holistic pet stores, a dog training school, 3 veterinary practices, and 3 dog spas/daycares within a 10 minute walk of my apartment. A short streetcar ride away is a physical therapy centre for dogs that has these neat swimming pools.
My favourite thing in the world is taking Louise for late night walks down the boardwalk and meeting up with people and dogs we know who happen to be out at 11pm too. Having that kind of constant community is lovely and pretty much nothing makes me happier than seeing Louise wrestle with her Schnauzer friend, say hello to her sheltie friends and their awesome owners, then 2 minutes later meeting her German Shepherd friend and racing around the beach like a rocket and going home exhausted and happy. This is especially exciting for me because Louise is not a naturally confident puppy at all; she started out quite shy and timid, but the opportunities to develop self-assurance have been constant and she has transformed completely into an awesome, well-adjusted dog who gets along very well with almost all other dogs and can deal with new situations. I imagine that this would have been much harder to achieve living elsewhere.
None of this is because people in the city are better dog owners - it's just that the conditions of many cities make it easier and more imperative for many owners to raise dogs well.