Safety For Your Fury Kiddos

          So, I am not sure about you all, but I am pretty picky when it comes to what type of equipment I use, in any circumstance. When it comes to my fury kids, I want to make sure that they will be able to be seen easily if they ever get out (which they have) or at night on walks, even during a sunny day. I did some looking, I tried a few different brands, and ultimately decided on one.

This is a collar that I purchased off Amazon, from CollarDirect Store. They come in a variety of collars, and sizes to fit almost any dog. I can’t tell you how thankful we were when our dogs got out and it was just after dusk. All we had to do was drive slowly down our road flashing a light around houses and bushes, then BAM! Their collars lit up like a Christmas tree! Popped the door open, called them and everything was good to go. I love the fact that not only are these reflective and a good width for large dogs, but that the buckle also has a locking mechanism in it, with the slide-up button it is locked and unlocked quite easily. I have purchased one of these for all 4 of our dogs and even got one for the cat. Although, he is not a fan, so it sits in a drawer 95% of the time. For durability, I do not use this to hook up the lead, my black lab likes to pull occasionally and I’m just not a fan of yanking on his throat to control him. They have been chewed up, yanked off by one another, stuck in bushes, wet and dried multiple times, and are all still holding up strong.

Speaking of walks, I love this harness offered by Phoepet Store! It can easily be adjusted, and again they offer a variety of sizes for almost every dog. I say almost because I can’t speak for “toy” size dogs. The smallest we own is a Collie mix. It still meets my reflective preference, around the neck, chest, and handle on the back so if you were to have to grab them and keep them close, you are not fumbling around looking for the handle. It comes with two connecting points depending on what you are doing, there is one on the back just above the handle and one on the chest. The harnesses also come with the locking mechanism that I have come to love on the collars, one simple slide of the button and it is locked/unlocked and easily slides on or off your dog. We store ours in a hall closet with the leads attached, when they are taken out, the kiddos know what time it is and are eager to get them on.

Now on to the final part of the puzzle. This braided lead offered by BaaPet, is tough as can be. It offers a thick, padded loop for the handle, and is offered in different lengths, as well as different colors! It is by far one of the MOST comfortable leads I have utilized. The clicker that it comes with, can be an effective tool, but my personal opinion is that it is unreliable. Anyone can get a clicker with their leads or on their own and they will almost all sound alike. I personally use different sounds and different commands for our dogs. This way, confusion is less likely, and while anyone CAN use the same commands, the important ones are only responded to by myself of my wife. This is a valuable training technique that is used in the military and in law enforcement so not just anyone can command their service animals and cause harm. This will take some training though, primarily on YOUR part. Once you get it down, the dog will pick it up a lot quicker. The lead can be shortened by tying it into a loop at your desired length. For my black lab, to get him trained, I shorted it just under mid-length and have NO issues taking the knot out when we were finished training.

          This is just one person’s opinion on what tools I utilize for MY fury kiddos, everyone else will vary. It will boil down to you, your training methods, and ability to lead your dogs or have them lead you. What ever the case though, do know that these listed above WILL offer superb safety when it comes to being seen, all except the lead, unfortunately that is not reflective. You wanted a dog, hopefully you have realized that they need more than just food and water. These options aren’t expensive, and if they would not have worked, I would not have kept them around (the equipment) and I would definitely NOT be recommending them. I would have gladly paid 40-50 bucks for these same things if the more affordable options had not worked so well. But since they did, I was able to save that money and spend it on treats, another good thing to have when training. I hope this was able to help some one you out and point the rest of you in the correct direction.