Walter F.
Tulsa, OK
Sitter-Psychologist for Dogs
Pet care experience
Experience with socializing and training stray dogs and helping people learn to have a better relationship with their dogs. I am a psychologist for people, but I also have studied dog psychology. I stress the importance of daily exercise, the dog-walk in particular, especially the bonding benefits for dog and owner. I have helped train puppies & mature dogs on leashes through positive-reinforcement methods, such as those taught by Spirit Ranch in Tulsa. II can visit 3 times a day, if needed, but at least twice a day. I also offer house-sitting. Special Note on Boarding: Dogs need to comfortable with cats. We're (my wife & I) are boarding cats & smaller dogs. Also, we can only take care of one pet at a time. We have 3 cats of our own, including a 9-year male cat (Nucky) & 18-month old Maine Coons male (Lionel) who are very sociable, & 13-year female (Nosey). If your cat is warm & friendly, we can slowly introduce them to our male cats to each other & see if they become friendly. Nucky has had experience befriending adult cats & kittens who have stayed with us. Alternatively, if you don't consider your cat to be overly sociable, we can keep the cats separated. If your dog is lower energy, our male cats would be interested in getting to know him or her. They find higher energy dogs to be intimidating. However, like with cats, we can keep them separated.
Reviews
Walter did amazing with with Max! Very happy with his services!!
1st time visit with our puppy. Very pleased! Will definitely use again!
Walter is great! Super reliable and my dog Aspen loves him!
Walter is great with the dogs. They immediately took to him! Thank you so much for helping on short notice!
About Walter F.
Communication
Skills
Safety, trust & environment
We treat pets in our home like they were ours. We reinforce any behaviour & routines that pet-owner's request. I do correct for behavior like jumping on people. For instance, I typically use a firm voice command or finger-snapping to disrupt the behavior. I combine this with positive reinforcement, whether that's treats, petting, or praise.
Home
Information Walter F. would like to know about your pet
If your dog is not leash-trained (e.g., leads the walk, pulls on the leash), then I would need to work with the dog before the scheduled time. This may take only an hour of training ($24/hour). I highly recommend the "Easy Walk" harness as that helps curb pulling, and if your dog does lunge or pull, the harness redirects the dog toward the person without choking or causing the dog any distress. I have used the Easy Walk harness to train both puppies & mature dogs. I am familiar with the methods taught by Spirit Ranch in Tulsa. More generally, I use positive reinforcement methods. I have 3 sizes of the Easy Walk harness, which I can bring for training & scheduled walks, if that is more convenient.
A typical day
I would take the time to learn about the dogs, their habits and routines, establish a trusting and respectful relationship with them, and exercise them daily. I'm a fan of dog-walks. If your dog loves fetch, I am patient. I will wait for them to drop their toy, even if it requires a few toys to alternate between throws.
Services
Walter can host
Walter can watch in your home
Availability
Pet care is my main line of work. I walk dogs daily. Weekends I'm usually doing drop-ins. Pets in our home are never left alone longer than 4 hours.
About Walter F.
Communication
Skills
Safety, trust & environment
We treat pets in our home like they were ours. We reinforce any behaviour & routines that pet-owner's request. I do correct for behavior like jumping on people. For instance, I typically use a firm voice command or finger-snapping to disrupt the behavior. I combine this with positive reinforcement, whether that's treats, petting, or praise.
Home
Information Walter F. would like to know about your pet
If your dog is not leash-trained (e.g., leads the walk, pulls on the leash), then I would need to work with the dog before the scheduled time. This may take only an hour of training ($24/hour). I highly recommend the "Easy Walk" harness as that helps curb pulling, and if your dog does lunge or pull, the harness redirects the dog toward the person without choking or causing the dog any distress. I have used the Easy Walk harness to train both puppies & mature dogs. I am familiar with the methods taught by Spirit Ranch in Tulsa. More generally, I use positive reinforcement methods. I have 3 sizes of the Easy Walk harness, which I can bring for training & scheduled walks, if that is more convenient.
A typical day
I would take the time to learn about the dogs, their habits and routines, establish a trusting and respectful relationship with them, and exercise them daily. I'm a fan of dog-walks. If your dog loves fetch, I am patient. I will wait for them to drop their toy, even if it requires a few toys to alternate between throws.
Location
Tulsa, OK
Pets
Walter F.
Tulsa, OK