Entertainment

GONE TO THE DOGS

IT’S a dog-eat-dog city, and New York’s newest breed of dog walkers — the recently unemployed — are discovering the business can get downright catty.

As the economy continues to crater, scores of laid-off workers have taken up dog walking to make a quick buck. They are quickly learning this business can bite, and the biggest problems aren’t from the pooches — it’s the hyper-competitive pro dog walkers who rarely throw a bone to outsiders.

“I’ve been yelled at by other dog walkers, I’ve had my fliers ripped down,” says Steve, a former TV ad salesman turned dog walker who lost his job in March. In recent months, he has turned to putting pooches through their paces to help pay the bills. His other sources of income include odd jobs and painting apartments, he says, declining to give his last name, fearing further ostracization from the dog-walking community.

“I’ve even been told that some of the other dog walkers have bad-mouthed me to my clients when I’m not there to defend myself.”

He says many of the insults come behind his back, usually during the weekends when he doesn’t work — a time when other dog walkers are free to approach his clients at an uptown dog run.

“They all know the dogs; it’s not a stretch to find the owners when they bring the dogs to the park themselves.”

Dog walkers are a common sight in New York, where apartment-bound canines can be catered to in a variety of ways. Besides helping mutts, Malteses and malamutes answer the call of nature, some walkers offer additional services, such as grooming, boarding and training.

And dog walking can be big business. An average walker, with a client list of about 20, can snare at least $240 a day, with walks ranging in price from around $12 to $50 for several hours.

The most successful dog walkers in New York stand out — not only for their apparent ease while handling a roiling pack of different size dogs, but also for the girth and weight of their jangling key chains, which provide access to their clients’ apartments.

“Most of these newbies aren’t going to last,” scoffs Ayanna, a downtown dog walker who declined to give her last name.

“People think that because they like dogs they can just get into this kind of business, but the reality is that it’s hard, it’s very competitive.”

Much of the difficulty comes from keeping several dogs under control at once in a town where noise and distractions are the norm.

“The last thing any of us need is to tell a client their dog attacked another dog or someone,” says Carl, who can frequently be seen escorting three to five pups at a time through Central Park. “Someone who is new to this may have a great deal of difficulty controlling the dogs and could give the rest of us a bad name.”

For their part, career walkers are not apologetic about defending their turf — from newbies and veterans alike. Last week at the Leroy Street dog run, pro walker Joseph Reilly clashed with civilian dog-run regular Paul Miller, who says he and his basenji, Buster, were once attacked by one of Reilly’s charges. He was upset Reilly had turned up at the run with 10 dogs in tow, apparently a frequent offense.

Miller said the rules of the dog run were recently changed specifically because Reilly and his large pack of pooches appear at the park daily.

“Three dogs, that’s all you’re allowed to bring in here at a time,” he said.

Reilly skirted the rule by hiring several assistants to help manage the dogs, including actor Jerry Dean and former Limelight manager James Flanagan. He says it’s not only “civilians” who have a problem with his style, but frequently the other dog walkers.

A survey of neighborhood dog walkers reveals issues with Reilly ranging from his attention span to suggestions of bad behavior, but none of his competitors would comment further, out of fear of making a difficult situation worse in the already cramped dog run.

“I’m competition,” he says in a gravelly voice. “They don’t have the kind of business that I have; wherever there’s money, there’s competition and conflict.”

In the long run, Reilly and many of the pros believe the weather will eventually wash away most of the new breed.

“By the time winter rolls around, most of the newbies will be gone,” says Ayanna.