Is Toronto going to the dogs?

It is according to Dog Dazed, a CBC-aired documentary that looks at the environmental and social impact of dogs. According to the flick by filmmaker Helen Slinger, there are now more North American households with dogs than kids. Urban areas across the continent are, apparently, imperiled by poop and by the temptation of owners to value their dogs more than the environment or their neighbours, as fights over off-leash parks and “canine profiling” come nearly to blows.

Wait, what? Aren’t dogs supposed to lower blood pressure? Scientists, they say, have proven that we get a hormone rush from looking into our dog’s eyes similar to looking at a human baby.

And yet, like anyone — or anydog — can attest, when there are a lot of us in small spaces, challenges over territory naturally arise. It’s the way we cope with our desire to live in close-packed urban environments for the excitement, the culture, the shopping, whatever you’re into, versus being out in nature with elbow room. We have to, mentally at least, create our own elbow room. We want to be part of a community, but within a bubble of our own space. Especially if you’re experiencing some of life’s stresses at the time, it can be a delicate balance.

Being a considerate owner, and remembering that, like children, while your life may revolve around your dog, those who don’t have one aren’t going to be as enchanted.

Builders are increasingly realizing that pets, dogs specifically, are a vital part of a satisfying urban life. They’re responding with amenities that make life easier for the owners, more pleasant for the dogs, and more considerate of non-dog-loving neighbours.

CHAZ.Yorkville, for example, has among its amenities a pet spa off their West Lobby, which features stainless steel tub and blow dryer. Sounds like a simple thing, but if you own a dog in Toronto, you know what havoc the weather can wreak. In smaller spaces, like condos, you sometimes don’t have a vestibule suitable for cleaning off your dirty dog — it’s straight into the living room, muddy paws and all. It’s considerate of neighbours too, who don’t have to share an elevator with a dog who smells like a flock of wet sheep. And as dog-lovers know, any dog with rain or snow on his coat in is a threat for a windmill-quality, muck-flinging shake at any given moment.

Another way urban dwellers are doing the right thing by their canine companions is with the help of outfits like Urban Dog in Toronto, whose 7,500-square-foot space adjacent to the Distillery District offers doggie daycare for less than $40. When you’re out working all day, you can leave your pooch in the company of other dogs, in a stimulating environment, where he won’t get up to any monkey business like eating your new sofa. Plus, you can check in anytime you like via webcam.

It may sound a little indulgent, but if the dog in your life is helping keep you stay sane, going a few extra steps to keep everyone happy makes perfect sense. While builders are increasingly including retail and commercial spaces in their well-rounded community plans, it looks like savvy entrepreneurs should start figuring out ways to serve the dog-lovers — Toronto’s new urban density is going to be not only vertical, but four-footed.

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Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation seems to be saying we’re trending in a non-trending direction this month. Or something. “Housing starts in Canada were trending at 189,742 units in March,” says the newest release. Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist for CMHC says, “As expected, the trend in total housing starts continued to moderate in March. Builders are adjusting to lower housing demand and as a result, completed and unoccupied units per capita remain close to their historical average.”

Cutting through the verbage, it seems that we’re down in Ontario and Quebec, and up in the West and the Maritimes, but not by much.

One of the points that came out of BILD High-Rise Forum (see blog post) was that the industry needs to do a better job educating and informing the public about the state of the market. Putting these press releases in plain language might be a good place to start.