This Town Used To Feel Different There was a time when Hoboken felt like one of the most dog friendly towns in America. Not “dog friendly” in the fake luxury apartment marketing sense where a building puts out a water bowl and calls it a day. I mean genuinely dog friendly. A place where dogs were part of the social fabric of the town. You felt it everywhere. People knew dogs by name before they knew the owners. Neighbors stopped to say hello. Baristas recognized regular dogs

Whenever someone tells me they’re thinking about getting a dog, my reaction is usually a mix of excitement and mild concern. Excitement because dogs genuinely make life better. Concern because I’m not always sure people realize what they’re signing up for anymore. The first thing that usually comes out of my mouth is simple. “Make sure you can afford it. And make sure you actually have the time.” Working with dogs around Hoboken every day gives you a strange kind of front row

If you live in Hoboken, you’ve probably joked at least once that there’s dog poop everywhere in the aftermath of the New Jersey tundra this winter. It’s one of those local lines people say half laughing and half serious. But when you really think about it, that joke points to something real. This town has a huge number of dogs packed into a very small space. A lot of dogs, a lot of owners, a lot of walkers, all sharing the same few miles of sidewalks. That’s part of why the r

When I was a young dog walker, one of my clients brought home a Belgian Malinois puppy. Beautiful dog. Alert. Intense. Wired in a way that demanded engagement. They were cat people. They loved the idea of having a dog. What they were not prepared for was what that particular dog required. Within weeks, the puppy was living behind a baby gate in their bathroom because they did not know what to do with him. He barked. He chewed. He paced. He needed direction, structure, and wor

Hoboken is small enough that you see everything. You’ve seen the calm walkers moving down Garden like it’s second nature. And you’ve seen one person holding six dogs on Washington Street at 12 PM, leashes braided together, trying to navigate lunch traffic like it’s an obstacle course. From far away, it all looks like dog walking. Up close, it’s not. If you’re hiring a dog walker in Hoboken, here are the types to watch for. The Giant Pack Walker Six dogs. One person. Washingto