Pet Friendly Cities

corbinam

corbinam

Moderator
My DH and I are planning on moving from Charleston in May, when he graduates from Dental School. We're looking at several different cities, and of course, the dog-friendliness of the city is a factor!

So that got me to thinking...how dog friendly is your city/area? (I'll start a new post with my reply)
 
Charleston, SC

In my opinion, Charleston is a pretty dog-friendly place. I wouldn't say super dog-friendly, but pretty good. Here's why it IS dog friendly:

1. The beaches are a great place to take your dog to run and get some exercise. There are leash laws, and during the high tourist season, there are certain time restrictions (before 9 after 5 type stuff).

2. There are several great dog clubs. Agility, conformation (AKC), Rally, Obedience, etc...There are also many options for behavioral trainers.

3. There are a handful of dog friendly restaurants. Of course you have to eat outside, but still, it's nice to be able to bring the pups with us.

4. There are at least 5 dog parks within 20 minutes of each other that I can think of. One of them has a lake where many dogs like to swim.

5. Availability of premium foods/treats/toys is great. Lots of different options. Pricey (the whole city is), but available.

Why it's NOT super dog friendly:

1. The temperature. From April to October it is ridiculously hot and humid. It's hard to take advantage of all the things Charleston has to offer when the heat index is over 100 for several months in a row.

2. Old school mentality. Hard to describe, but there are many people who still believe in old school training methods, so you have to be judicious about where you go.

3. Gang activity. Certain areas in North Charleston have a lot of gang activity. Increased crime (including dog fighting) can be found.

4. Cost. Everything is expensive. Food, vet care, etc...On a recent trip I realized that treats that were $15 in Charleston, were $7 elsewhere.

All in all, I would say it's a pretty dog-friendly place.
 
I think Baltimore is really per friendly. We have several parks in the city some specifically for dogs Canton dog Park,Locust point,Patterson Park Dog park coming soon..this is a really large park where several people meet daily for dog play now but they will be adding an enclosed area. I live right on riverside park where peolple also get together for dog play,Federal Hill park is also similar.
Some really nice pet stores Doggie Style it also offers Grooming or Dogma are the most popular Dogma also has grooming and Yappy Hours they are expensive though,Doggie Style is really nice and will beat anyone's prices. An old aquaintance who now lives in Charleston owns Baltimore dog Magazine. You can research it at baltimoredogmag.com you'll be able to search old editions there and find plenty of info about the city or you can have the magazine sent to you to research it. There is a Doggie Day care 3 blocks from my home with vet facilities and grooming,my vet is 2 blks away,there are several vets in the downtown/Inner harbor area. A group that does flyball meets at my park and of course there is Clantresheltie of greater baltimore shetland sheepdog club. I hope I got the club name correct.
The things I have told you about are in the more desirable parts of the city.
The surrounding counties also have alot to offer. Parks where the dogs are able to swim. great vet facilities. Emergency vet facilities etc.
I hope this helps.
 
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I heard that Bar Harbor is great for dogs :biggrin2:

In my personal experience, things are so different in the western states versus the eastern states. Places that I have gone such as Colorado and California were so much more dog friendly than places on the east coast. Just my observation.
 
Tampa, FL

Pros:
-Many outdoor malls let you bring your dogs
-Nice dog parks
-Fort DeSoto dog beach
-Lots of clubs for agility, flyball, etc
-Many restaurants (especially near the beach) will let your dog on the patio

Cons:
-Very hot and humid! Just as bad or worse than Charleston
-Large, sprawling area so there aren't too many places to actually take your dog
-Many people have IMHO backward mentalities about dogs

The plan for my DH and I is that when he finishes school (he's actually switched from English teacher to architecture and it ecstatic about it... but that means 5 more years here), we are moving to the Asheville area. It is EXTREMELY dog friendly. Yay! There aren't a ton of dog training facilities. I've decided to start a Flyball team there if they don't have one near enough.
 
Lovely said:
The plan for my DH and I is that when he finishes school (he's actually switched from English teacher to architecture and it ecstatic about it... but that means 5 more years here), we are moving to the Asheville area. It is EXTREMELY dog friendly. Yay! There aren't a ton of dog training facilities. I've decided to start a Flyball team there if they don't have one near enough.
Click to expand...

We are looking at Asheville, too! We were there this weekend with the dogs...there were a lot of pet friendly places.

My only concern is what you stated--not a lot of dog training clubs. They have agility trials, but no training club.
 
Chicago as usual offers anything you want... tons of pet stores from regular pet supply to expensive boutiques, dog bakeries and in between for any taste...
tons of training, lots of competition matches, almost no regulated public beach park, regulated beach parks, many regulated pooch parks. The one that we go is suburb, nice, 2,7 acres with small dog area, agility area and large common area. On average I would say it is pretty dog friendly, several stores around me allow dogs to come in with owner and at 7 pm on Sun eve every second house has a dog walking by...
cons- it is not cheap place to live and there are plenty of dentists around....
 
Almost anyplace out west is great. I've had experience with Ginger in California and Colorado--both great places to raise a dog.
 
Not Too Happy With the City I Live In

I've been VERY unhappy with St. Catharines as of late. Seems like their giving more rights to chicken owners (they're considering making urban chicken farming legal) than dog owners.

The Pros:

- Some good dog stores
- 2 dog parks (which will also been in cons)
- 2 Beaches that allow dogs
- many hiking trails throughout the region

The Cons:

-The locations of the dog parks are those that were literally good for nothing else. One is a swamp and the other is on contaminated soil that also does not drain properly and may be unsafe. The swamp one is often vandalized because of its remote location.
-Leash laws are strict to the point of fanatical. Humane society officials regularly bully and threaten dog owners (from my experience and a few of my neighbors), even the ones who are complying to the bylaws. Dog owners are targeted and heavily penalized.
-Dogs cannot enjoy the available beaches because of the strict leash laws.
-The local humane society, (fanatical harassers) operate a kill shelter. On more than one occasion I've questioned the animals they've deemed too sick to help and euthanized.

So while the city has tried to appease dog owners, I would not consider the city dog friendly.
 
Well, I would say Portland and places in CA. However, it's hard to choose when you list all your criteria. LOL. Dog clubs. Please! :P

Come move to Cali, help us broaden the Sheltie owner craze out here. lol.

Pros:
WEATHER. Think about it. Year round trialing w/o having to suffer in the heat nor the cold (okay, for the most part)
We have the same issue with beaches, except for 2 (in 2 diff counties).
I'm sure we have lots of clubs. No clue about them though. :(
You could probably eat outside all year round with your pups.
6 dog parks within 20 mins (that I can think of, there may be more), including one beach
premium stuff available all over the county, some very frou-frou and expensive, some down and dirty but cheaper
lots of behaviorists, psychics, chiropractors, etc, etc, etc. It is LA.

Cons:
It's darn expensive. Not sure how much you pay, but for agility training, we pay about $20 per class and that's about average

Is that really the only con? Okay, I'm biased. Never lived anywhere else, so what do I know. However, I have thought of moving to Portland, OR. VERY dog friendly there, but not sure about training and stuff like that. I did a search and San Diego pops up everywhere for dog friendly. It also has the most moderate temps in the US (average 71 year round). I'd still move to OR, even though my husband said, "Miko would hate you, we all know how he is in rain" (he hates it and think I'm torturing him).

Good luck with wherever you move. Sadly, I would look for an agility club/training facility that I like first. LOL.
 
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