About Friends of Otis

Friends of Otis is a fully insured, Brooklyn-based dog walking, training and pet care provider working in the Park Slope area. It is run by Sam, described as a lifelong Park Sloper who returned to the city after years living abroad, during which he worked at a boarding kennel in Croatia.

The training

Training packages are customizable and the site publishes what they usually include: leash etiquette, standard obedience and socialization work. The stated purpose is encouraging good behavior and correcting bad habits both on leash and at home, drawing on experience with dogs of all sizes and temperaments.

Otis

The business is named after a Malinois and Great Pyrenees cross that Sam has cared for since puppyhood, and the site says his calm, steady demeanour is a helpful addition when working with dogs with anxiety or other behavioral issues. Using a settled dog as a training aid is a legitimate and under-used technique – an anxious dog often takes more from a calm dog's example than from a person's reassurance – and it is stated here as part of the method rather than as a pet biography.

Small groups by policy

All walks are small-group or solo, never more than three dogs at a time. For a dog being socialized or worked on for leash reactivity, that cap is the difference between a controlled exposure and a scrum.

Rates

A standard thirty-minute walk is $30 and an extended hour is $50, with a weekly package of five standard walks for $120. In-home overnight care is $100 a night with $20 for an additional dog and $20 extra a night for puppies under a year due to the supervision needed. Cat or small-pet visits are $30. Training packages are quoted individually.

What clients describe

Reviews describe him as thoughtful about which behaviors need support and generous with time, with one owner recommending making him part of the dog's village.