New York City's Corcoran Group real estate brokerage has taken the innovative
step of referring dog-owning clients to a special animal training expert who
helps make sure the pets (and their owners) pass co-op and condo board
interviews to be allowed to reside in some of the nation's most upscale real
estate.
Historically, canine citizenship has been a problem in high-rise buildings,
leading to animosity between tenants, warnings and occasionally even forcing
owners to chose between their dogs and their apartments.
Dogs bark when their owners are gone, driving other tenants crazy. Some dogs
have a tendency to leap up (if they're hyper) on other people when traveling
in elevators; or growl and bark (if they're unfriendly). Sudden, loud
confrontations between even leashed dogs in the lobby of plush apartment
buildings can be unsettling. And, of course, dog waste is a constant irritant.
As a result, co-op and condo boards have become more strict than ever about
the dogs of prospective buyers. Some buildings prohibit canines out-right,
while many more require interviews and even letters-of-reference from friends
or prior neighbors.
Enter Bash Dibra, a 30-year dog trainer whose current clientele includes
Hollywood stars and the business elite.
"A lot of people think one day, 'Let's get a dog,' and they go off to the
shelter to get one," says Dibra. "They don't realize that when they adopt a
dog, they're getting all its baggage too. If the dog has been dumped, maybe
it's because it barked whenever it was left alone. Maybe it makes 'mistakes.'
(Defecting in the wrong places.)
"That's where training comes in."
Dibra charges $300 per hour to train a dog - but emphasizes he usually needs
to train the owner, as well.
"You have to show the dog that the owner is in charge, but you have to train
the owner to be the one in charge," Dibra says. "The owner has to be the
captain of the ship.
"The owners has to know how to interpret signals. He has to think like a dog.
You'd be surprised at the number of owners who expect a dog to think like a
human.
"At times, the dog may regress. But if you train the owner, he'll know what
to do to fine-tune the animal."
Dibra has had good luck working with Corcoran clients seeking homes in
high-rise New York.
A typical co-op board interview with owner and dog will last anywhere from 15
to 30 minutes, and occasionally as long as an hour. What boards are looking
for are dogs that do not lunge at strangers, lay down properly, and never
make "mistakes" either in the home or in an elevator. "They want dogs that
are impeccably house broken," says Dibra.
Dibra's clients include Henry Kissinger, Mariah Carey, Ronald Perelman, Sarah
Jessica Parker and a host of others.
Dibra primarily works in the New York area, but says there are not many
trainers anywhere who work on the specific problems of urban dog owners.
Dibra has written several books on dog and owner training. For more
information see: www.pawsacrossamerica.com.
Published: August 2, 2000
Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
