Watching Ulrich play with a few dogs in the Stevens dog park, one can only imagine the stories he can share. But when you are surrounded with friends like that, you know things are bound to get interesting!

From 24 years as a former General Motors electrical engineer, to a renown dog-walker of Mile Square City, is quite the interesting career change. When asked about the switch, Ulrich replied that when he was let go from General Motors, some of the ladies he had worked with suggested that he take up dog walking. Initially, dog walking was just a temporary fix, but Ulrich admits he fell in love after the first day.

Ulrich has been dog walking for 10 years, and couldn’t imagine doing much of anything else. If the times were different, he would have loved to stay with General Motors; but spending his time with his four-legged friends heavily outweighs any other profession.

Advertising isn’t something that Ulrich is big into. Most of his clients he has had since the beginning. Newer clients have found Ulrich by word of mouth. And having a lack of clients is something that never even crosses Ulrich’s mind.

A dog walker isn’t a position that is for everyone. The person must be like Ulrich, and “truly truly truly love dogs. Whether it rains or it is cold, it doesn’t matter. You’ve got to love the dogs.”

And when Ulrich meets his knew clients, they can tell that he definitely loves dogs. He’ll talk with the dog, and see how they get along. “I still haven’t come across one dog that doesn’t like me!” Ulrich said. “I guess I just get along better with dogs (than people).”

Ulrich charges $15 for a walk, which typically take over an hour (usually closer to an hour and a half). A majority of his service comes from people that were dissatisfied with their previous dog walkers. And none of his customers have left him, nor are they disappointed and unhappy with his service.

His typical day begins around 7am, and doesn’t end until 6pm; its a full day! Ulrich usually takes 6 groups of dogs for walks. Each group on average has between 1 and 6 dogs, depending on the day and the time. At most, Ulrich has had 8 to 9 dogs in a group. “Other people may have a difficult time controlling that many dogs at once, but not me!”

One of Ulrich’s favorite parts of dog walking is the weekend adventures, or when he has sleepovers with the dogs while customers are out of town. He likes to take the dogs to the mountains, like Bear Mountain or the Catskills. “Just taking the dogs out and letting them enjoy nature, its the best part!”

Ulrich has some tips he wanted to leave you Mile Square city-goers with:

Be responsible!

Please Please Please pick up after your dog.

Don’t approach a dog without asking. Can’t expect a certain reaction from a dog, so be cautious.

Please don’t try to distract the dogs while they are being walked. This can be a hazard to the dogs, the dog walker, yourself, and other residents.