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Dear Nanny Fran,
What is the most dangerous part of pet
sitting?
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photo for Tropical Breeze courtesy of Francene Mattucci
Nanny Fran’s clients Bailey and Angel Smith are ready for their walk.
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Well, one might immediately assume that
the most dangerous part of pet sitting is being a lone individual,
especially at night, driving into a strange neighborhood and then
pulling into a driveway to a home that is vacant except for the fur
children awaiting your arrival. Well, that certainly takes a
certain amount of intestinal fortitude. Most people won't venture
past their own front yard after dark and that is in a neighborhood
in which they are well acquainted.
Actually, the most dangerous part of a pet
sitter's life is dog walking. Yep, good old fashioned dog walking.
You must be thinking that this pet sitter is totally daft at this
juncture. Most people think, "Geesh, ANYONE can walk a dog!" What
is she thinking?
The most dangerous part of dog walking is
not the sweetheart you are walking. The most dangerous part of dog
walking is "the outside world over which you have no control."
Over the years I have acquired exemplary
hearing through diligent training. Every noise and every movement
whether those noises or movements come from the canine you are
walking or from a 360 degree radius around you and your dog.
Always, pay attention to the dog you are walking. He or she will
know of danger light years before you. His ears and his nose
register everything instantly from a mile away to immediately under
your six feet!
I have found that if a dog does not want
to go down a certain street... don't go down that street. You will
rue the moment you did! How do I know? Because I have insisted on
certain paths when the fellow I was walking really balked. Each
time I learned that I should have listened to my buddy and not been
so headstrong.
Beyond monitoring your buddy you also need
to monitor with your ears and eyes all the homes, sidewalks, trees,
bushes, etc. I can tell what is happening in an instant by sound.
The instant a garage door starts to rise I am on "high alert." That
can easily mean that one or several dogs can come charging down the
driveway, off leash or ON leash and can pull away from the owner.
Then a nasty altercation can ensue. Sometimes these occasions occur
without incident and everyone walks away smiling and happy that
they have made a new friend. However, remember I am walking your
dog. Not mine. Remember, I am in your neighborhood. Not mine.
I do not know who is friend or who is foe! I have to be on high
alert for protection. You also need to understand that a dog that
is leashed will feel quite threatened by a dog or dogs rushing
toward him or her who are OFF leash!
Walk down any street and take your keys
from your pocket. Make the keys clink and tinkle melodiously and
then watch who pops up from out of thin air to investigate. Any
loose dog within earshot will be there in an instant. So, put a
rubber band around your dogs six dog tags that tinkle merrily or
you will have a pack walking with you.
Assuredly, whenever a dog runs and attacks
your dog within full view of the owner, you will hear the
following: "He or she has never done that before!" Yeah, and
the dog biscuits I have in my pocket are 18 karat gold!
Dog walking is not the time to have your
ears plugged into either your Itunes or yourself engrossed in a
conversation on your cell phone. Living in the NOW is all there
is!
© 2008 Francene Mattucci. All Rights
Reserved.
Francene Mattucci founded Never Say Good
Bye Pet Sitting Service in 1994. Call 727-512-3206, visit
www.TampaBayPetCare.com or email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
with
questions for this column.
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