Miss Fido Manners Offers Dog Etiquette Tips For A Cool Summer In Or Out Of The City

Charlotte Reed (pet care expert, magazine columnist and radio and television pet care personality) offers canine etiquette tips to urban dog owners. Penning the name Miss Fido Manners for Fido Friendly Magazine, she gives the scoop on practicing good doggy manners during the summer months.

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 9, 2004 -- Miss Fido Manners is a firm believer in practicing pet etiquette all year around, especially in the summer when urban pet owners are spending more time with their pets on the streets and traveling to weekend retreats.

Summer with its sunny skies and early Fridays, is the best time of the year to spend more time with your dog. Whether you are taking your urban pooch for a long walk to explore a new neighborhood or visiting a weekend retreat, though, being out and about more means being mindful of your manners", says Miss Fido Manners.    Remember that you and your pet are goodwill ambassadors for dogs and their owners. Make a favorable impression by obeying local health ordinances (i.e. pooper scooper, licensing and leash laws) and having a clean, well mannered pet."

Miss Fido Manners offers up eight tips to polish up your pet performance in the summers heat, when manners have a tendency to get lost in the pack.

1. Walking the Dog Walk. With the hot weather, the city is an urban jungle thick with tourists. Dont create chaos on city streets with a frolicking dog. Use a four or six foot leash for control walking on crowded sidewalks. Use a retractable leash in the park so that your pet can romp and run ahead.

2. Doggy Doos. Be kind to others city dwellers by always picking up after your dog using a plastic bag that can be tied or sealed to contain the unpleasant odor. Deposit in appropriate waste receptacles.

3. Help Keep Your Neighborhood Beautiful. Volunteers spend many hours and dollars to our neighborhoods looking good. Give em a break. Keep your canine out of neighborhood tree pits. Their tramping can destroy delicate flowers, and their fertilizer is not the kind that residents wish to see or smell!

4. Meet and Greet. Although it is always fun to meet and greet new pet parents and their charges, do so politely and carefully. Ask other dog owners if their dog is friendly before allowing the canines to approach and sniff each other.

5. Make friends not enemies. Be on your best behavior by bringing a healthy, parasite-free and social dog to the dog run. While at the dog park, never reprimand or give food to another persons canine. Most importantly, dont bring toys to the dog park unless you want to share them or dont mind them being destroyed.

6. Eating out. We all love to eat outside when the weather gets warmer, so why shouldn't your dog? Show consideration for others; take your dog to a restaurant only if she is not going to bark for attention, beg for food, and generally annoy other patrons. And don't expect your waiter to service your pet. Bring your pet's own accoutrements like portable feeing bowls. Leave at least a 20% tip for those waiters who provide excellent, pet-friendly service to you.

7. Be a Good Guest. When visiting family and friends or a fashionable weekend retreats, dont assume a weekend invitation is for you and your dog. Call and confirm that your four-legged friend is a welcome addition and that she can enjoy herself without creating stress for you, your hosts or their other invited guests. Travel with a housebroken dog, bring all pet supplies necessary, and take care that nothing in your hosts home is destroyed, broken or covered in fur during your stay. Also, just in case, find out the name of a local pet sitter or dog kennel by visiting the websites of the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (www.petsitters.org) or Pet Sitters International (www. petsit.com) or the American Boarding Kennel Association (www.abka.com). Within 24 hours of your departure, send a thank you card from both of you.

8. Travel with social graces. When staying at a B&B or a hotel, make cleaning up after your pet as easy as possible for yourself, your pet and the housekeeping staff. Feed your pooch in the bathroom so that messes can be easily wiped off the tile floor, and carry some moist towelettes in your luggage to wipe up the crumbs or slobber. Keep your pet in the crate when housekeeping is cleaning up your room. If your dog likes to sleep with you in bed, bring an extra sheet or blanket to prevent shedding or soiling on the linens. Most importantly, when you check out make sure you leave your room like you found it when you arrived -- intact!

Charlotte Reed is a pet expert and columnist for several magazines including Fido Friendly Magazine where she pens the Dear Miss Fido Manners column. She is a firm believer that well-behaved pets are more pleasant to be around; are treated better by everyone get invited to more places including restaurants and parties. "

To schedule an interview with Miss Fido Manners, telephone Two Dogs & A Goat Incorporated at 212-966-5225.