Meet the man schooling Parisians on the etiquette of city living with a dog
The founder of Le Chien du Citoyen, Alain Lambert, has been teaching manners to the city’s dog owners for nearly three decades. We tag along on his cargo-bike circuit around the city’s dog parks.
It’s 07.00 and Monocle is following Alain Lambert on a cargo bike along Paris’s Canal Saint-Martin as he makes his daily dog-park-hopping circuit. The founder of Le Chien du Citoyen (The Citizen’s Dog) has been teaching Parisians the etiquette of dog ownership since 1999. He’s currently supported by the French capital’s town hall and Maison de l’Animal en Ville, a municipal resource that promotes the coexistence of animals and humans in urban spaces.
Le Chien du Citoyen’s name neatly captures Lambert’s philosophy: dog ownership in Paris is not only a private matter but also one of civic responsibility. Lambert has dedicated himself to navigating a very real problem: how do two million residents and about 100,000 dogs share this congested landscape? An off-leash dog, an owner distracted by their phone or a small “present” left on the pavement can quickly escalate into a dispute.
“The problem with Paris is density,” says Lambert. “Whoever the mayor is, left or right, it’s always the same challenge.” He has become the town hall’s endorsed voice on canine concerns, with a team of pet-psychology specialists supporting his work behind the scenes. Today, Lambert wears a fluorescent yellow vest as he pedals ahead of Monocle. “Hideous,” he admits – but it’s somehow fitting attire for a man who’s more concerned with the mechanics of his role than looking stylish. Two dogs in his care for the day, Hermès and Igor, ride in his bike basket.
Lambert talks Monocle through his route. First up: Parc de la Villette, where Lambert also leads dog-training workshops, and Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, where bobos (bourgeois-bohemians) stroll with their mongrels. Towards Square Georges Cain and Square Nadar, the breeds become chicer: pomskies, labradoodles and cockapoos. At Parc Monceau and Jardin du Luxembourg, we meet pedigree dogs and their “rebellious bourgeois” owners who never put their pets on a lead. “The freedom of their dog comes first,” says Lambert, disapprovingly. “Doesn’t it bother you when he runs off like that?” he asks one owner. The next time that he sees her, he will bring it up again.
The clock strikes 12.00 as we meet the well-bred hunting dogs of the 16th arrondissement. The area might be wealthy, says Lambert, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into good manners. “Even more than 20 years after the motocrottes [the municipal scooters used to clean up dog mess] stopped operating, people still expect them to pick up after their dogs.” Today, one owner claims that they have run out of dog-mess bags. “Did you know that you can buy 1,000 for €10 on the internet?” replies Lambert.
He also collaborates with the town hall on the development of public canine spaces, advises owners on everything from vaccinations to where dogs can roam and visits schools and care centres to teach owners about living harmoniously alongside their pets. These workshops are funded by La Fondation Adrienne et Pierre Sommer, a non-profit that teaches domestic-animal ownership.
The new mayor of Paris put dogs at the centre of his election push, using a social-media campaign called “Hot Dogs with Emmanuel Grégoire” to share his canine policies, including extending access to parks for dogs on leads.
But solving the issues also requires someone on the ground. As Lambert puts it, “My job is to educate dog owners about respecting the rules of the city.”
chiencitoyen.com
Comment
Paris’s pooch population now outnumbers young children but urban-planning policies are still catching up. While dogs are welcome in department stores such as Galeries Lafayette, most of the city’s manicured parks and gardens only offer compact off-leash areas. Le Chien du Citoyen is filling the gaps by mediating between owners and municipalities to ensure that nobody goes barking mad.
