Why City Dogs Need More Rules (and That’s Okay)!

I spent the Christmas holidays in the Cariboo Region of BC with my parents, and it really got me thinking. I hung up my dogs’ training collars and didn’t touch them again until we returned home to the Lower Mainland.

Here’s the reality: there are different freedoms and rules for country dogs than there are for city dogs. Yes, it is harder to live with a high-drive working dog in the city.

Do you still need obedience in the country? Of course you do. I still want manners and calmness in the house. But do we need to walk down busy streets filled with kids, dogs, electric scooters, cars, and trains? No. Do we need control around wildlife? Absolutely.

I’m writing this for anyone who feels bad about giving their dog so many boundaries. But for city dwellers, that is life in the big city.

So how do you balance it? Take the time to get your dog out of the city—go for runs in the woods, in the mountains. Give them breaks from the hustle and bustle. Enjoy nature. Let your dog be a dog.

And when you come back to the city, don’t feel bad about needing your dog to heel so they don’t lunge at a passerby or eat something poisonous off the ground. That’s not being strict—that’s being responsible.

This is life in the city.