Metrodog: The Essential Guide to Raising Your Dog in the City (Paperback)

~ (Author), (Author) "Are small dogs the only choice?..." (more)
Key Phrases: head halter, midday walk, fearful dog, New York City, Step One Goal, German Shepherd Dog (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

They wag their tails, slobber, and romp just as enthusiastically as their suburban and country cousins, but city dogs are a breed apart. They live in high-rises, trot along bustling sidewalks, and play in crowded dog runs, so good manners with both canines and humans is imperative. In this thorough guide, Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson tell urban dog owners how to do everything from housetraining a puppy-when the sidewalk is 40 floors away and she has to go now-to preventing Rover from barking in a thin-walled studio apartment. Loaded with an arsenal of proven training tips, METRODOG is the book every dog owner in every metropolis must have-because bringing up a dog in the city should be a walk in the park!

About the Author

Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson live in Gardiner, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446679186
• ISBN-13: 978-0446679183
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #512,842 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Metrodog: Not Just For City Folk, October 10, 2003

By	"sparkies_mom" (Maplewood, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

But particularly helpful for those of us who take on the highly rewarding challenge of sharing our busy city lives with a canine companion. It may just make you want to grab your dog and move to the big city! Useful for ALL dog owners and a NECESSITY for urban dog owners. Great photographs. Accessible to the average dog owner but with interesting, unique information for seasoned dog-lovers.

I am a HUGE MetroDog fan. There's advice in there that I've NEVER seen anywhere else, and I have 2+ shelves worth of dog books in my house. Nowhere else discusses how to secure your dog safely while you grab a cup of coffee, or how to hail a cab with your dog, for example. One of the most *practical* books - and not just for city dwellers. Suburbanites without fenced yards or even just full-time workers will find much useful info.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dogs in the city? Who'd a-thunk it?, May 30, 2003

By	Mailey McLaughlin (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson, of course! OK, well, they didn't invent the idea of dogs living happily in urban areas, but they can show you how to raise your pup into a confident, social, well-exercised and happy pet in a teeming Metropolis. They do it by drawing on a combined thirty years of experience training dogs and their people. Much like their previous all-around dog-training book "Good Owners, Great Dogs," "Metrodog" offers tons of how-to know-how from dog trainers who (surprise!) can actually write! The book is a helpful compendium of training tips, photographs and anecdotal information. From solid content on how to select a dog for the city to things to teach it and simple instructions for doing them, this book is unlike most any you will have probably read about dog training. The authors focus on city life for dogs, and their positive, fun approach to training make it a must for city-dwelling canine-lovers. How on earth do you housetrain a dog when you live on the 35th floor? How hard is it to exercise a dog on busy sidewalks? What if I need to hail a cab (or take the subway) and I have a dog with me? These questions and more are concretely answered with several dashes of Sarah and Brian's trademark humor thrown in. They also cover selecting a trainer, destructive behaviors, the older dog, dealing with dog parks, dealing with different dog temperaments, and proofing your city canine to all manner of things you and he will encounter on the street. Even folks who live in suburbia will find much of interest here, for the behaviors covered are good for ALL dogs to know, even if you never plan on living on the 35th floor of anywhere. Just like on their website called GreatPets, Brian and Sarah share the best of their knowledge with us because they love dogs and what dogs bring to our lives. I highly recommend "Metrodog."

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kilcommons and Wilson have done it again., August 5, 2003

By A Customer

I thought I would like this book, and I did. I've read all of the authors' other books about dogs, and this one was right up to par. There was no resting on laurels!

Metrodog is invaluable for dog-owning city dwellers, but it's equally useful for dog owners in any location. The book begins with how to find the right dog, and ends with how to say good-bye to a faithful old friend. In between it covers housebreaking, food, manners, training, socialization, exercise, and health care, with hundreds of useful details discussed with the authors' customary savvy and humor.

For readers who are interested in learning how to successfully and happily share their lives with a dog, this is the book to read.