Field Notes with Alia Carponter-Walker: How to raise a small dog
The Brooklyn-based dean on preparing for Ziggy, puppy training, and the realities of owning small dogs.
Like so many others, Alia Carpenter-Walker was moving a mile a minute before the pandemic hit. Then life came to a winding halt, a handful of monumental life decisions were made, and Carpenter-Walker — like so many of us — found herself at the exact right moment to get the puppy she’d always wanted.
Ziggy, her now one and a half year old Cavalier/Pomeranian mix, weighs in at a whopping seven pounds (technically six and a half, but only his mom’s counting). He’s a small dog in the biggest city; on any given New York sidewalk you can imagine he’s at least three times smaller than the next.
Owning a small dog in New York City, of all places, is a wonderfully particular experience — one that Alia knows all too well. While her students (bravely, she’s a middle school dean) moved through passing period, we asked Alia about her transition from pre-Ziggy to puppy to small dog life.
Maev: What do you do for work?
ACW: I'm a middle school dean at a school out in Dyker Heights! Our school divides the students amongst four deans, including me, so we can really give individualized attention to the kids in terms of academic, social, and emotional needs. We take care of the kids, and we’re policy makers too.
Maev: That’s a big job.
ACW: Yeah, it is. But I love my kids. As long as you love the kids you work with, it’s great.
Maev: Tell me about your adorable puppy.
ACW: His name is Ziggy. We call him rigatoni. He’s half Cavalier, half Pomeranian and just about a year and, let’s see, four or five months old. We live in Brooklyn Heights now, but I got him in the summer of 2020 while I was still in Williamsburg.
Maev: So you’re in the middle of the pandemic. In Brooklyn. What goes through your head that tells you it’s time to get a dog?
ACW: I’ve always really wanted a dog and growing up my building only allowed cats. (I literally founded a petition when I was eight to change the rules.) But I knew it was a huge commitment, and it wasn’t until 2020 that I felt like I was in a place to finally make it.
I was planning for grad school that fall and knew I wanted a therapy animal to keep me grounded during that experience. In the process of researching and trying to get a dog, I ended up deferring for a year. And then the pandemic slowed my life down enough for me to commit to raising a puppy.
Maev: What was the process like from there?
ACW: I started applying for different adoption agencies, but as a single woman in her twenties, it was really hard to beat out the couples and families who were also in line. Eventually, I came across a woman in Delaware who bred dogs. I was waiting to adopt, but she called us within a week saying she had one puppy left — the runt of a very large litter. And then it was just happening.
“There’s a lot to be said about wanting to be and do all these things as a dog parent. But you’re still a working professional, trying to take care of yourself, trying to figure it all out. So you realize...it’s okay if we just cannot master ‘roll over.’”
Maev: How did you get ready to meet him?
ACW: Well, first I got really nervous and ordered a bunch of stuff from Chewy. But when we went to pick him up, immediately none of it mattered. You can prepare yourself so much, but it doesn't click until you and this little creature are attached.
Maev: Does Ziggy have any “runt of the litter” quirks?
ACW: Ziggy’s tiny, a solid six and a half pounds. But he very much has big dog energy; his best friend’s 140 pounds. And he loves to tease people because he’s so small. He’ll get someone to chase him and then run into the smallest hole.
Maev: That’s hilarious. What were the early days like with such a small dog?
ACW: I know owning a dog is not the same responsibility as having a kid, but it’s funny how much it mirrors the experience. At the beginning, you literally can’t leave them alone. You're potty training him, and keeping paws off the ground for so long —
Maev: — wait, paws off the ground. What’s that?
ACW: It’s when they're too young to get their vaccines, so you have to hold them everywhere. Especially if you live in a place like New York City, you can't put them on the ground until they're vaccinated because of the germs.
Maev: So you just carried him everywhere?
ACW: Yep! Every time we went out, I was holding him or he was in my bag. And he wasn’t allowed to meet other dogs that I didn't know. Eventually you start putting them down in specific places like backyards, but that's so few and far in New York. It’s this huge safety issue with very small puppies that you’re not usually prepared for.
Maev: A little bit of an expectation versus reality moment.
ACW: Yes! Which is every bit of owning a dog. I grew up around people whose dogs were not well-behaved, so I was like my dog is never going to have accidents and he’s going to know all the tricks. And then you start teaching them and you realize, I just want you to not fight people and play and know how to socialize.
Maev: You’re right, it is similar to raising kids. At the end of the day, you just want them to be good and decent.
ACW: 100%. There’s a lot to be said about wanting to be and do all these things as a dog parent. But you’re still a working professional, trying to take care of yourself, trying to figure it all out. So you realize, it’s okay if we just cannot get ‘roll over.’
Maev: What’s it like now, living in a city with a small dog?
ACW: I still get nervous all the time, but I think it’s just because we’ve kept him safe for so long. And now we take walks where he’s way ahead of us and he goes biking with my partner, but he’s still a full-size dog that’s six and a half pounds.
Maev: Is there a difference between pre-Ziggy Alia and now?
ACW: Definitely. I think I’m getting my life back now, but between the ages of two to seven months, I was a dog owner and that’s all. But now I feel like I’m back to the best version of myself, because I can go out until two or three o’clock, and also go home and snuggle with my puppy.
Maev: Ziggy sounds like such a good dog.
ACW: He really is. The best decision of my life. My family lost someone in October last year. Ziggy saw my grandma upset when we were all together and just sat with her for a whole day. He was four months old. Had more energy than anything in the world. But he just sat with her all day because she was clearly upset.
Maev: Dogs are really so special.
ACW: They are beautiful creatures. They give you so much.
