Open Letter to Professional Dog Walkers on the Seacoast

Regarding the dog situation at Wagon Hill Farm in Durham

Dear Seacoast Professional Dog Walker:

I would like to send out an open letter regarding the situation that is happening at Wagon Hill Farm in Durham. I have seen posts about it in the “Facebook groups” and now an article has been published in Foster’s Daily Democrat. 

It seems as though professional dog walking companies are being blamed for taking groups of dogs there off leash, scrolling on their phones, and ignoring the dogs. They're also “forgetting” to pick up the dog's waste. 

The Land Stewardship Subcommittee now wants to consider changing off-leash rules and banning professional dog walkers from using the property. 

As a professional dog walker who has been working with pets for nearly 30 years (11+ years here on the Seacoast),  I'm sincerely disappointed to hear this. 

This is how we do things at Nature Calls:

• My team members very occasionally bring dogs to Wagon Hill for walks. I personally rarely visit Wagon Hill, and would never consider bringing an off-leash pack of dogs there. 

• We do not visit Wagon Hill during off-leash hours, because I do not want to put my clients’ dogs at higher risk from encounters with out-of-control off-leash dogs. 

• My team is supplied with unlimited poop bags, and are required to pick up after the dogs that they walk.

• My team is instructed not to play with their phones while they are walking dogs. 

• My team does not allow any of our clients' dogs to come into contact with other members of the public or their dogs (unless they are using our group services).

Although I sincerely doubt that only “professional dog walkers” are contributing to the problem at Wagon Hill, I am putting out the call to all other dog walkers in the area to step up their game! 

Our access to the beautiful public lands in our area will be taken away permanently if this behavior does not change. 

Here are my pleas to other dog walkers in the Seacoast:

1.Clean up after the dogs. 

I am so disappointed that every walking trail I go to is just covered in piles of dog poop from lazy dog walkers. It’s like we’ve stepped back into the middle ages when people just threw their trash out the windows onto the streets!

Truly disgusting!

This is not a problem local to the Seacoast, or even New Hampshire at large. This is happening everywhere. Check out this video of “poopmageddon” in NYC as the snow on the sidewalks is melting (if you haven’t recently eaten). Ew! 

No one wants to look at poop. 

No one wants to step in poop. 

Not only is it gross, but the EPA classifies dog poop as a hazardous substance because it damages wildlife and the environment. It changes the pH of the soil, and contributes to bacterial/algal blooms in our water supply, killing aquatic plants and fish.  Dog feces can also contain parasites and/or bacteria that can be directly spread to humans - usually children - making them very sick.

I cannot say that in 20 years of doing this, I have never forgotten to bring a poop bag, but I at least get the poop off the trail with a stick so that no one else steps in it (or has to look at it). 

If you love animals, you should be concerned about dogs’ impact on the environment, and their impact on the well-being of the public.

Please help keep our beautiful outdoor spaces clean and sanitary. 

2.Get off of your phone.

I am sadly not surprised to hear about other “professional” dog walkers scrolling on their phones and ignoring their dogs. I have witnessed other dog walkers in the area who are either talking on their phone or scrolling on their phone and completely ignoring their dog - and I see them doing it on a regular basis. 

We do take pictures of the dogs during our walks, but most of our time is spent providing enrichment, engagement, and training reinforcement while we are walking the dogs we care for. We are not ignoring them and mindlessly scrolling on our Facebook feed like zombies.  We are watching them to make sure they don't pick up contraband (like chicken bones or dead animals) off the side of the road, that they don’t get too close to another pedestrian or dog walker, that they don’t dart out into the street, etc. 

Our goal is to keep dogs safe and engage them. This cannot be done whilst staring at a screen. Dog walking is not the time to multitask. 

Your clients' dogs deserve your attention and protection. They are literally paying you for it. 

Please interact with the dogs you are being paid to serve. 

3. Take your responsibility of respecting and protecting the public seriously!

A problem that is happening more often is off-leash dogs running up to me with no one in sight - whether I am with a client’s dog or hiking on my own. 

Please practice good etiquette! 

Do not let dogs that you're taking off-leash run up to strangers or their dogs - especially if they are going to charge and bark aggressively at them. It is rude and uncalled for. 

Keep in mind that not everyone likes dogs! They might be afraid of dogs, or they could be allergic. They could be just trying to enjoy a peaceful woods walk without a random dog running up to them and jumping on them. Please be respectful of other people’s personal space.

My other issue is with other dog walkers coming directly towards me with their dog, assuming that it's ok for their dog to interact with mine, without asking for permission.  If you are out walking a dog on a dog-friendly trail, please keep in mind that “dog-friendly trail” does not make it a dog park. Other dog owners could be working on training, or just want to be left alone. 

Keep the dogs that you're walking away from other dogs and other people unless you have directly asked the person if it is ok for your dogs to interact. Better yet - like we do - avoid all contact with other people and dogs. There is just too much that might go wrong. 

On-leash greetings can be very stressful for some dogs and can lead to fights quickly. Even if you have skills reading dog body language - the situation can change suddenly, leading to bites. You have no idea what kind of training that other person’s dog has (or hasn’t) received. You have no idea whether this other dog owner can accurately assess their dog’s body language or how the dog really feels about other dogs. They may even be lying about their bite history or how friendly they are. 

The other person could try to pet your client’s dog in an aggressive or inappropriate way or even purposely hurt your dog and cause your (normally very friendly) dog to bite. This creates a bite history for your client’s dog, which could put the dog’s life in jeopardy.

Dogs have teeth, they are animals, and things happen! 

Keeping the dogs you walk away from other people and dogs will certainly prevent dog bites, insurance claims, lawsuits and bad publicity for your company. 

As professionals, please take your duty to protect other members of the public and their pets seriously. 

I am calling on my fellow dog walkers to do better! 

I am so grateful to live in an area with so much protected land accessible to the public and our dogs - not just Wagon Hill. 

Please take this privilege seriously. Don’t ruin it for those of us who go out of our way to protect it!

Sincerely, 

Christine Campbell

Owner & Canine Adventure Specialist @ Nature Calls Dog Walking and Hiking

Do you have any suggestions or comments to add? Just want to vent? Join the conversation below!