Teach pets good manners

Charlotte Reed was a corporate lawyer on Wall Street when she decided she preferred four-legged clients to two-legged ones. She left the world of law to open a full-service pet care company in New York and the Hamptons. She called it Two Dogs & a Goat — the dogs were her own; she was the goat, falling under the Capricorn symbol of the Zodiac.

It being New York and all, Reed soon found herself not only taking care of pets but also answering all kinds of pet-related questions: An owner of a poodle wanted Reed to teach the dog how to eat at a favorite cafe on Madison Avenue. Another dog owner wanted to learn how to run errands with his dog. She's been asked to help prepare a dog for a condo or co-op interview and been asked for help in dealing with difficult nonpet-owning neighbors.

More than a decade later, Reed's realized a couple of things — pets are increasingly being treated like family members and are moving into all kinds of situations; and good manners have to be practiced on both sides of the leash.

Reed has put some of her experience and expertise into a book called "The Miss Fido Manners Complete Book of Dog Etiquette" (Adams Media, $12.95) and recently did a telephone interview from her home in New York City.

"Pet etiquette goes beyond training," she said. "Pet etiquette is the art of understanding and behaving properly with your companion. Pet etiquette is about taking the basic skills and becoming a successful dog owner, a good neighbor, a good customer."

As she has traveled around the country, Reed has paid attention to how dogs are being accepted in more and more places: not only on the street but at baseball games, weddings, hotels, outdoor restaurants. "Sharing favorite activities is the latest pet trend for dogs and owners," she said.

More and more companies sponsor bring-a-dog-to-work days or include having dogs in the office as a basic employment perk. Most baseball teams now have a "bark-in-park" night.

In New York, it is trendy and popular to hold doggy high teas (the dogs get some type of chicken or beef broth as their tea and doggy Spam sandwiches); pet-allowed art shows, with dogs allowed to stroll about on leashes and even attend art auctions to raise money for animal shelters; pet fashion shows, where dogs also get to wear the latest fashions; and "yappy hours" that also include doggy treats and costumes at favorite watering holes.