Safety from the Dark

So an incident that happened yesterday has prompted me for today's post.

Safety while walking when it's dark outside. Now that winter is approaching, it's getting darker earlier here in the North East. By 7pm, it's completely dark out. Early in the morning too, I go out between 6:45-7:00am and the sun isn't quite up yet either.

Well, I'm all black, so when it's dark out...you guessed it...I can pretty much disappear! So last night, my human had me out in the back field off leash for a quick run, and I spotted something juicy...a kid left a crackers and cheese snack container in the field. Mmmmm....cheese! So when she saw me grab it, she called me to come over, and of course, I knew she would take it away, so I took off in the other direction. (Bad dog, I know...). The thing is, my human got scared, cause it was pretty dark out and if I continued further away, she wouldn't be able to see me anymore.

Luckily, my recall is pretty good and when my human called me again, I came over. (still not close enough for her to take away my cheesy treat!)

So beside the fact, that she is not going to let me off leash in the dark anymore (boooooo!), I've decided to post about safety in the dark.

Well, the obvious:
Don't go off leash in the dark if your dog's recall is unreliable and get's too far ahead for you to keep track of him. Little noises or people walking through the park can spook your dog if he/she doesn't see them coming. The last thing you want is for your dog to take off.

If you want to give your pup a bit more freedom, use a retractable leash so your dog can roam, but isn't able to get away. I use the Zip Lead from Planet Dog. Flexi leash is also another very popular brand with many colour choices! Just make sure you always maintain control of your dog on the retractable.

What can you do to help visibility? Reflective collars, harnesses or leashes. Such as the ones from Auroralites. You can also purchase little blinking lights to add to your dogs collar, like this one from Dog Gone Good Stuff.

So be safe pups when the lights get low!