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Positively Hopkinton
Doreen Garner, professional dog-walker "If you don't know how to do it, I'll show you how to walk the dog" ~ Rufus Thomas, song recorded in 1963
by Cheryl
B. Perreault
It is 10:45 a.m. and just another ordinary walk in the woods of Upton State Forest for Doreen Garner of Hopkinton.
Perhaps
what makes her walk seem less ordinary is her choice of
companions as she opens her red Cherokee Jeep door to let
out the five passengers who have been waiting patiently in
their seats.
Their names are Jules, Molly, Libby, Rudy and Zaria and they are dogs. Garner is their official dog walker. In her business called Dog Walkers, she has been professionally walking, home-visiting and otherwise caring for dogs in and around the Hopkinton area for the past seven years.
One of Garner’s special touches for dogs is her offering of unleashed group-walk services and it is obvious the pack of five she is caring for at the moment are loving their opportunity to go free in the woods.
Unleashed and able to bolt from the car as soon as their name is called, these 5 dogs run with wild abandon ahead onto the trails. However, they don’t stray too far without returning for their revered dog-walker. As they turn around to wait for Garner to follow, you can practically see the smiles on their faces. Garner explains that the unleashed group walk is one of the best things a person can do for a dog. “They are not confined to a leash, it’s off-leash exercise for them, and I like to consider myself their personal trainer," she said. Garner also notes that aside from the advantage of giving the dogs a little fun and exercise, the off-leash group walks makes them happier dogs because afterwards they are tired, happy and feel closer to the people who enable them to walk freely — people like Garner.
“I always had a dog. It seems there were always cats and dogs in our house when I was growing up.” After retiring from a career as a telephone company cable splicer, Garner who has 2 dogs of her own, was drawn to post-retirement work with animals. At first, she and a dog-groomer friend tried to start a business with horses, but discontinued after finding it to be a tough business venture to get off the ground. She then decided to shift her focus upon dogs. “My specialty really is dogs,” Garner said. Her days and evenings are largely focused around this specialty.
After a full day of dog-walking and nurturing, Garner is either hitting the books to learn more about the canine world or hitting the road once again to Mount Ida College in Newton, where she is studying canine behaviorism. She will graduate as a certified behaviorist in May from this program and at present, is exploring how she might further utilize her newly acquired education in her business. Presently, Garner not only makes sure the dogs she works for are fed and walked but she also trains them on the job in little ways and offers consultation to her clients when she sees them on the weekends.
“On Saturdays, some of the dog-owners save up their questions about their dogs for me and I give them homework to do with their dogs.”
However, when asked if she could train a dog to say “I love you” as recently featured on the David Letterman show, Garner laughingly declines noting “You have to have a lot of time on your hands to work on something like that”.
Garner is up at the crack of dawn with her first pet-sitting jobs occurring around 7:00 a.m. She notes that pet-sitting involves visiting some of her canine clients at their homes as well as feeding and attending to them.
“I feed and visit their house 2-4 times a day, depending on the age of the dog. I also let the dogs out at different times and give them their last out for the day,” she said, referring to dogs whose owners are working or away on vacation. At 10:00 am she starts the dog-walking and divides her time between giving dogs individual walks and group walks with frequent half-hour or so forays into the wilderness of Hopkinton and Upton State Forests. In the afternoon, there are more individual walks, house visits and group walks. Her work often takes her through the 9-5 work day schedule.
When she does have spare time, Garner seems to share in one of the prime delights of her dog-clients — running.
“In the morning I put my headphones on and just go” Garner says. She has been running for 25 years and although she claims that she is not a competitive runner, she has participated in 10k and 30k races, as well as the Rhode Island Marathon, the Cape Cod Marathon and her own home-based Boston Marathon. Garner is currently training for this year’s Boston Marathon but emphasizes that it isn’t about the winning, it’s about feeling fit and having some time for herself. She also often enjoys the company of a fellow runner and friend who is a veterinarian in Wellesley, noting that “when we run, we pick each other’s brains on behavior and medical issues relating to the dogs we work with”.
While talking in-depth with Garner about her work with dogs, it is obvious that she knows well how to work with the many different behaviors of dogs. Regarding the common complaint new dog-owners often have about the perils of raising a puppy, she states, “Puppies are easy to train, you can shape the behavior of a puppy through training, conditioning and especially by socializing them with other puppies and dogs.”
Garner often helps with early training of puppies and young dogs as part of her dog-care work adding “it is also beneficial to me when I work with them.” She is able to train most dogs to become “fluent upon recall” meaning the dog returns to the trainer whenever his/her name is called, a behavior some dog-owners can only seem to dream of ever happening. “If they only knew how easy it is”. Garner remarks.
When asked about the demeanor of the dogs that she works with, Garner notes “90% of them are friendly…but sometimes one or two don’t want you there; and once a dog even bit me but it was because she was really fearful and biting is always the last resort for a dog in distress.”
According to Garner, some dogs, like children, do in fact experience separation anxiety when feeling distressed about being apart from their owners. In these instances, dogs might pant and drool frequently, urinate or defecate in the house or even become destructive by chewing shoes, clothing or other household possessions. Garner recalls in one extreme case, a dog was in a confined area and expressed his distress by ripping off part of the door frame; another chewed through her wire crate. Garner offers hope for such behaviors by saying, “There are different ways to treat this problem…the regimen is teachable.” She has created a program for this specific behavior, and noted that in extreme situations, dogs can be treated physically by a veterinarian for this problem”.
On the flip side, when asked what makes dogs happiest, Garner says, “Dogs are highly social…they need a sense of family with a leader, because they are used to pack behavior and so they want someone to follow and be near, who cares for them, who gives them food and treats…lots of treats”. The main message that comes across in talking with Garner about dogs is that she loves her work with them and she absolutely believes that walking — and especially off-leash walking — is the best thing a person can do for their dog aside from also loving and feeding them.
Garner’s professional knowledge and keen awareness of dogs and even her love of running seems to help her work and effectively connect with the dogs that she cares for on the job, concluding that dogs indeed are happiest when walking and off their leash. “They get to sniff, smell, run and play. They have fun, I have fun.”
Garner’s Dog Walkers business is insured and bonded. She is also a member of the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters and is a member of the Better Business Bureau. Her business number is 435-5948. |
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