Better dog services?
Just wondering if people thought Park Slope needed more/better dog services, specifically dog training and walking (and also more unique retail). And where in the Slope (North, Central or South) you think the service is most needed. And if you think Park Slope is serviced appropriately, is there another neighborhood that isn't?
Comments
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if youre offering to walk my dog, I will accept the offer. pro bono, of course.
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I wish we had doggie day care in Boerum Hill. I would definitely sign up Louie if there were a good place near my house.
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If there wasn't a good day care would you do dog walking instead?
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i think park slope has plenty of dog walkers, doggie days cares and dog/pet stores.
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You only have a cat/cats, though, don't you, LTS?
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I need a cat walker, someone with thick skin --- literally
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Maybe I should add that if there really are those who are in need of better dog walking and dog training, that if they speak up, they might actually find themselves with such a possibility in the future??
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Nope, I have a dog also (and had other dogs before this one). The cat comes up in conversation a lot due to his recent health problems.
On another note mama, I am seriously thinking about walking my cat come spring. he needs to lose weight and I think he would take to it, am I totally out of my mind? -
haha, as long as your cat doesn't act like these kitties LTS
http://www.flickr.com/groups/worldsheaviestharness/ -
LOL, I am going to give it a shot, what do I have to lose? The cost of a kitty harness and leash? MaYBE HE WILL LOVE IT
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Maybe we could offer kitty walking lessons too
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antigone
PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 8:50 pm Subject:
I wish we had doggie day care in Boerum Hill. I would definitely sign up Louie if there were a good place near my house.
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Agreed, Boerum Hill needs a doggie daycare (especially one that opens before 8am)...and a dog run too for that matter. Ever since the little guy got attacked, the dog run (just under a mile away) has been good therapy for him...but I can only get there on the weekends. Just my slightly off-topic 2 cents... -
I live on the edge of PLG and Crown Heights. Do a google maps search of the corner of Washington Ave and Sullivan and you will see how close I am to Prospect Park. I recently had a really difficult time finding a dog walker in this area. I did talk to some great people who just didn't have room to take on another dog in the mid-day time slot that I wanted, and one person that had ridiculous prices ($20 for 15 minutes. Really!?!?!). I've since found someone in my building to walk our dog, but if you're looking for an area that needs services such as dog walking, I would suggest mine.
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canyontothesky wrote: If there wasn't a good day care would you do dog walking instead?
Probably not. I considered it for awhile, but Louie is not a particularly active breed (he's an English bulldog). He's generally alone 7-8 hours a day, 4 days a week. He can "hold it" all day, so I don't think a mid-day walk would do that much for him, but he is very sociable and enjoys company (human and canine). If there were a doggie day care place in my neighborhood, I would sign him up for a couple of days a week. -
LongTimeSloper wrote: i think park slope has plenty of dog walkers, doggie days cares and dog/pet stores.
there's lots of pet stores, but i've only heard awful things about any of the day care/boarding places in this neighborhood. i haven't heard a single good thing about boarding my dog anywhere, so we take our dog to eva's in williamsburg. we'd be happy to take her somewhere in the neighborhood if there was somewhere reputable. -
I think it depends on the dog. I know people who take their dogs to Dog's Den almost daily and are just fine with the service they get. I stop in Paws in Paradise often the few dogs they board seem wonderfully relaxed and happy. My dog does not do well at daycare (he is terrified of it), but I think it might have been better if we had different daycare options around here. There are plenty of small indoor places, but the ones in other nabes that have lots of outdoor space (and large indoor space at that) seem far superior to me for a couple of reasons:
-*very* housetrained dogs like mine will not pee inside, which they are expected to do at the PS places. They are miserable after while inside like this. The outdoor space makes all the difference for these dogs.
-the larger space just gives the dogs room to deal with each other better which leads to fewer bad encounters and less time/fewer dogs put into kennels b/c they are bullying or being bullied in t]he run.
-staff. From what I've read and heard from other dog owners, the staff at some of the other facilities are more attentive and the dogs are never left alone together in the runs as they are at most of the places here.
As for walkers, I feel like there is an abundance of walkers around here but not a ton I might use. Some walk too many dogs at once, some are too off for me to give my key to, some are too expensive, some just take dogs to JJ Byrne dog run (I can do that myself) and some don't have the time slots I want.
JoeHill, I don't know about her boarding facility but I would never let Eva take a dog (except the tiny ones, which she seems to handle well) to off-leash. I've seen many improper to horrible behaviors from her and some of her staff with dogs. -
OpossumQueen wrote: As for walkers, I feel like there is an abundance of walkers around here but not a ton I might use. Some walk too many dogs at once, some are too off for me to give my key to, some are too expensive, some just take dogs to JJ Byrne dog run (I can do that myself) and some don't have the time slots I want.
Thanks, OQ. This is the kind of opinion I'm looking for. While on one hand, if you do a google maps search of dog walking and daycare, it appears that the market is relatively saturated, but the reality is that a lot of the places might exist, but they may not be any good, and it's good to hear some of the complaints that people are having about the current offerings. If you don't mind my asking, what would you say is too expensive for a walk (say, 30 minutes and 60 minutes with just your dog, no others)? -
I have one walker who is $12 per 1/2 hour and one who is $15/half. I think that $12 is a good deal around here, while $15 is on the high end. Where they really differ is on an hour walk (which is harder to find than 1/2 hour slots). The cheaper one is $18 while the other is $30/hr. I would not use the latter for an hour unless it was an emergency.
I think average 1/2 hour prices are around $13, but hopefully some others here will chime in.
Dog walkers find clients a lot at the dog runs and off-leash, it seems, so if you're trying to go into business, I suggest taking your card to those places. -
If I can interject a professional opinion (before I head off to work!) I actually agree with a lot of what's been said above. There are a lot of dogwalkers around, but not many who've lasted through even one winter. The companies tend to hire anyone who comes in, since they have insurance and bonding they don't have to worry much. Individual dogwalkers proliferate in the spring but get faint hearts in the winter. I've gone six years now without the need for a business card, and don't go to dog runs (can't trust a lot of the people who do) but do go to the park.
Among veterans, many of us do individual or small group walks (like myself) and many do van pick-ups and dog run trips. Both methods work well for different kinds of dogs (I prefer more "difficult" dogs), and the walkers ourselves all know each other and work well together (cover each other, etc).
(and btw, I have insurance too, though I doubt I'll ever need to use it)
Oh, and I do boarding out of my home, but not daycare (since I'm going to your homes during the day!).
As for daycare, I've seen too many dogs come back sick to recommend any of them. And I strongly dissapporove of boarding facilities who leave dogs unsupervised overnight in individual crates. I think many may know who I'm referring to here, and shame on them. One should take these things seriously. -
joehill wrote: [quote=LongTimeSloper]i think park slope has plenty of dog walkers, doggie days cares and dog/pet stores.
there's lots of pet stores, but i've only heard awful things about any of the day care/boarding places in this neighborhood. i haven't heard a single good thing about boarding my dog anywhere, so we take our dog to eva's in williamsburg. we'd be happy to take her somewhere in the neighborhood if there was somewhere reputable.
Did I miss something terrible about Brooklyn Dog House? I had to do an emergency overnight there for my dogs once, and they came back untraumatized...although smelly. (We had to produce a vet certificate proving kennel cough vaccine etc - what's the sick factor?) I've always avoided overnights at the vet too -- they're in a crate for too long and it sucks. The options are not good.
In general, I rely on begging friends to stay overnight at my place if we can't take the dog(s) with us - the basic setup of dumping a dog at a place not his/her home doesn't make any of us happy. -
I'll be getting a puppy soon so I'm very curious about how to find a good dogwalker, etc. I live in Prospect Heights.
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Other dog services that could do well here:
bathroom walks (ie just a trip around the block or to the corner or something like that) for fairly cheap. I've been in this situation and know others have as well. We can walk the dog plenty ourselves and the is fine alone for long periods (ie does not need boarding) but could use a pee trip while we're gone to work for very long periods of time. Something cheap like $5 for pee breaks might go over well.
boarding/sitting. If you can board dogs in your home or stay in their home (I prefer one at a time but some sitters keep several dogs) that could do pretty well around here. We take our dog to a sitter in Windsor Terrace, but I book her as many months in advance as I can b/c it's hard to find that. She does it on top of walking during the day. -
doublediamond wrote: I'll be getting a puppy soon so I'm very curious about how to find a good dogwalker, etc. I live in Prospect Heights.
If you're in her zone, Susie of Susie's Pet Care in PH (her website seems to be down now) is wonderful. I used her when we lived over there--she's professional, reliable and great with dogs. -
OpossumQueen wrote: [quote=doublediamond]I'll be getting a puppy soon so I'm very curious about how to find a good dogwalker, etc. I live in Prospect Heights.
If you're in her zone, Susie of Susie's Pet Care in PH (her website seems to be down now) is wonderful. I used her when we lived over there--she's professional, reliable and great with dogs.
Cool, thanks. I'll check her out when the time comes. -
OpossumQueen wrote: Other dog services that could do well here:
The problem with bathroom walks is that from a business perspective they would be difficult to profit from, for both the company and the walker (assuming it wasn't just an individual walker). If the walker gets $2.50 for, I don't know, at least 5 minutes, if not 10-15 coming and going, how many can they really get in an hour, if they're scattered around PS? It could work, however, if you had a larger building with a few dogs in it, but I'd be surprised if someone could get in 4 dogs in an hour and it's hardly worth the time then. If you have a different perspective on that I'd love to hear!
bathroom walks (ie just a trip around the block or to the corner or something like that) for fairly cheap. I've been in this situation and know others have as well. We can walk the dog plenty ourselves and the is fine alone for long periods (ie does not need boarding) but could use a pee trip while we're gone to work for very long periods of time. Something cheap like $5 for pee breaks might go over well.
It's funny you say that hour walks are hard to come by. Perhaps its because when you deal with individuals versus a company, they literally may have no time, but if you were dealing with a dog walking company that had several walkers, they usually always have time or will get to the point where they hire another walker. Hour walks are the most profitable for the walker, though.
I wouldn't be surprised if the beef a lot of people have with dog walking is the quality of the walker that is offered, am I close? That, as hunter.gatherer said, companies tend to hire anyone and have high turnover. But if a company had great, friendly, qualified walkers, then I wonder if more people wouldn't be interested.
Pet sitting is also a potentially huge market. A lot of walkers are really willing to stay overnight at someone's apartment. I know a gal who stayed at someone's house for 18 days!
Anyway, OQ and to those who wondering, obviously I asked because we are currently in the biz in another part of the city but are just looking into, not yet seriously considering, opening up shop here in Brooklyn, but that would probably not come so quickly I would assume...! Anyone with business/store ownership experience is welcome to interject. -
Canyon is right about 5 minute walks being unfeasible: we have to factor in travel time. Hour walks otoh are something I always try to get, especially if they can walk with one or two other dogs. In those cases I often wind up doing an hour and 15 minutes or 1.5 hours For no extra charge of course.
Susie, if she's who I'm thinking of (rides a motorcycle or scooter or something?) is great.
I board only one dog (or one household's dogs) at a time, in my home (which is on a ground floor and has a backyard). I used to do petsits, but then my home became just another place I slept sometimes. So I don't do it anymore, but if anyone needs reccommendations for someone to stay in your home with your dog, I'd be glad to give you phone numbers. -
I'd rather have an individual walker than a company. I want to know exactly who has access to my home and my dog. A friend who use's a big company has finally quit them b/c he said they rotated the walkers a lot (both b/c of people quitting and they didn't want walkers to get too close to a client and go outside the company).
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OpossumQueen wrote: I'd rather have an individual walker than a company. I want to know exactly who has access to my home and my dog. A friend who use's a big company has finally quit them b/c he said they rotated the walkers a lot (both b/c of people quitting and they didn't want walkers to get too close to a client and go outside the company).
Again, I think it depends on the company. Some may have a lot of walkers, but each walker has their own route, their own dogs that they walk. Some companies aren't paranoid like that! And some companies care more about their relationship with their clients, they aren't just dollar signs. And what do you do if your individual walker decides to go out of business or even just goes on vacation?
Personally I have a hard time trusting an individual. If a store does me wrong, I can march right in their and speak to the owner. The entire company isn't going to skip town, they have much more to lose. Also I would never use a walker that wasn't bonded and insured. -
In my experience, solo dog walkers will make sure that when they are unavailable there is someone they trust to walk your dog.
It is a business where you need to network to find someone in a pinch.. Sure if another dog walker fills in for you, then you might like like them better and switch permanently. The reason your dog walker is it is taking that chance is because if they are not providing reliability they are worthless to you anyway.
I have a close friend who is a dog walker. If anyone one wants a solo act that is 100% reliable PM me. -
Veets: There are all sorts of reasons why solo dogwalkers don't worry about asking each other for coverage.
The first and foremost, believe it or not (and I'm sure you do - but some won't) is that we actually love and care about your dogs. We're with them nearly every day, year after year, and develop very strong bonds. I want to be sure that I entrust my dogs to good people if I can't walk them, just as I do with my own animals.
Another reason is that we reciprocate. I know that the person I'm covering today, I'll need to cover me down the road. It's a small community too, and I've never heard of a walker "stealing" another walker's work. The fact is that if a client isn't happy, they're going to find someone else one way or the other.
If a walker is unreliable, they're not going to get referrals or backup work from other walkers. After all, who I choose to back me up is a reflection of my judgment, just as much as other parts of the job, and a poor choice would be bad for me.
I've always thought interdependent was a better word than independent. And a better way to live.
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