Navigating City Life With a Dog

Your dog can live an enriching and exciting life in an urban area. While there are many new opportunities for your pup to experience in the city, there are just as many challenges. City life with a dog requires careful planning — from the location of your new apartment to its layout.

You must also look for amenities for both you and your four-legged friend. 

Whether your pup is growing up in the city or you plan to make an older dog’s life more cosmopolitan, keeping a city dog prepared for their environment is the best way to protect them from harm’s way. If you are planning to move into a big city with a canine, here are some tips to remember. 

Be Patient With Your Pup as They Adjust 

Dogs can make it in city life pretty well-adjusted, as evidenced by the fact that dog ownership in cities is more common than you may think. Just over half (53%) of urban-dwelling people own a dog, according to Pew Research.

However, if city life is new to your dog, they will need time, space, and support in order to adjust. If your dog isn’t used to living in a metropolitan center, this new environment may take weeks or months to get fully comfortable with. 

When you live in a big city, your dog has to manage smaller spaces, louder noise, and more crowds of people and animals. It isn’t likely for a pet to adjust to their new environment without a learning curve, so allow them ample time to learn about the differences.

Your dog will count on your patience and support to guide them through moving into the city.  

Build a Routine in Your New Environment

Dogs thrive on consistency, so give them a routine to look forward to every day. The best way to help a pup feel comfortable adjusting to urban dog living is to practice exposure, desensitization, and socialization. 

There are a few ways you can instill a routine into your city dog.

Customize Apartment Training 

When you share walls with your neighbors, having your dog be apartment trained is critical. If your dog barks excessively throughout the day — maybe because they miss you or they want to play — then you could be penalized with repeated fines or even eviction. 

Dogs hear four times as well as humans, so they can get distracted or excited by incidental noise in your building. Apartment training is customizable depending on your situation, but one of the most consistent aspects of training a dog to live in an apartment is minimizing barking.

To do this, a trainer can give the dog other ways to communicate their needs so they don’t always feel the need to bark up a storm in order to get the point across. 

Get Comfortable With Nearby Parks

In major cities, asphalt (blacktop) is most common for the roads, and concrete fills the sidewalks. This is great for the cars driving by but can be uncomfortable for pedestrians — especially the four-legged ones. 

Your dog will need soft grass and open space to freely run around and expel some of their canine energy. Major cities will have local parks which offer shade, picnic space, and soft grass for your dog to run through. You don’t necessarily have to go to the same park every day — your pup may appreciate a variety — but making a routine for outdoor time will help you ensure that your dog is getting enough physical activity every day.  

Find Stimulating Routes for Walks 

Another way to incorporate daily time outside is to take your dog on walks with interesting things to interact with along the way. 

Some parks have walking paths for you and your dog to enjoy. For example, if you live near a park path with many trees and plants to smell, they may enjoy the scenery. 

You can get creative and take your dog to walk around places that might intrigue their curiosity: restaurants, public gardens, and pet stores. The smells, sights, and other stimuli can keep them interested while you get them out exercising. 

Make Time for Toilet Breaks 

City living oftentimes means sacrificing outdoor space for the convenience of being in an urban area. Most apartments won’t have personal outdoor relief spaces for your dog, so you’ll have to take your pup to a designated place in your complex or down to a park. 

Getting into the habit of taking your dog to use the bathroom at the same times every day can help them regulate their potty needs. This can make it easier on you, so you don’t feel like you’re caught off guard every time they need to go to the bathroom. 

At the very least, you should give your dog time to relieve themselves after every meal, but most dogs will need to go to the bathroom between three and five times per day.

Give Your Dog Their Own Space 

Even in a more intimate apartment, your dog will need their own place to go when they feel like decompressing from their day. Dogs instinctively look for small, enclosed spaces when they are stressed so giving them this outlet can help them feel more comfortable with the living situation. 

Crate training will provide your pup with an environment in the home that is designated for them, and is an important part of a safe evacuation procedure if you and your family need to leave the building. 

Crate training is a long-term process. As a pet parent, you should be patient while your dog learns to get used to their new space.

Your dog should have a positive association with their crate, so forcing them into it or pushing them into a routine with the crate too early can cause them to develop anxiety around the resource. 

Positive reinforcement training and fun games like fetch can make crate training feel more natural to your pup. Never leave a collar on your dog while they are in the crate, or it may get caught on the metal.

You can also get an indoor pet camera to watch the crate space while you are away. 

Not All City Spaces Are Dog Friendly

Navigating the city with a dog means finding the best hotspots for you and your furry friend. Dogs aren’t welcome in all spaces; it is the pet parent’s responsibility to ensure ahead of time that their dog is allowed to come with them into establishments they frequent. 

Some restaurants, boutiques, cafes, and other businesses may ask you to leave your dog outside while you shop. You can typically find this information on a business’s website or by calling ahead. 

City Hazards That Can Harm Your Dog

• Heat from sidewalks and concrete: Always be sure to check the temperature of the sidewalks and pavement before taking your dogs for a walk during the warmer months. The temperature in the air can dramatically impact the temperature of the ground. When the air is 77°F, the asphalt can be up to 125° — hot enough to burn their sensitive paws. As a result, these burns can blister and scab, leading to open wounds and pain when walking. 

• Cars and traffic: The city center is not always the most pedestrian-friendly. With cars moving at high speeds in all directions, the roads can be a big hazard for city dogs. Having a strong and reliable leash is essential in the city, otherwise a pup could get loose in traffic. The loud horns, bus sounds, and smell of gasoline can also be overwhelming for dogs, so desensitizing them to their new sights and sounds will be an important first step. 

• Broken glass and trash: Dog owners should be observant of hazards like broken glass and food scraps while walking their dogs in big cities. Without any protection, pups are exposed to the dangers of the ground below them. Trash overflow is harder to regulate in urban areas because it requires transport out of the ultra-populated zone. They may be attracted to old, rotted meat or other scraps left in bags on the street. Scavenging through these can lead to gastrointestinal issues, infections, open wounds, and more. 

• Winter ice and grit: Just like how the heat can be dangerous for your dogs, so can the cold. In the winter, cities will use grit and salt to thaw out the slippery paths for drivers to avoid accidents. This sandy material can get caught in between their paws and can even lead to icy burns on their skin. Furthermore, if your dog eats this grit or sand they can experience vomiting or diarrhea. You can reduce the buildup of ice or deicing agents using special dog boots or a slathering of petroleum jelly.

• Leaving your dog unattended: Whether you leave your dog tied outside or in a hot car, keeping them unattended for any period of time can be a risk. If they aren’t going to be with you, then they are safest at home. You never know what could happen when you aren’t there to protect your pup! 

Build The Skills They Need With Canine Training at Greenlin in Camp Hill

Your dog can learn some important life skills when they take dog training classes, but it is up to the pet parent to determine what types of skills they need to master. Dog training programs at Greenlin are completely customizable and can help shape your dog to understand desired behaviors. 

We have multiple programs to tailor to your family’s needs. Our trainers can help your dog prepare for the Canine Good Citizens (CGC) test developed by the American Kennel Club (AKC), which can help your dog become more welcomed in community spaces.

For example, this certification can help a prospecting tenant get pet approval from their landlord. 

Looking to train basic commands and socialize your pup? Consider our Day Play and Train or Lodge and Learn programs to help them reach these milestones.

Want to learn more about our training services at Greenlin in Camp Hill? Call (717) 737-2223, contact us online, or come in for a walkthrough of our facility!