SAFETY - The Basics

When I first thought about our most important safety item, I thought "leash," but then I thought, "No. Training my dogs is what keeps us most safe," and then I thought, "No. My energy, how I react to our surroundings and their behavior, and my ability to think ahead are really the most important ways I can keep us safe."

Leashes are really important though. Whether they are reflective or not, long or short, they don't just keep my dogs from running after deer. Leashes help me protect my dogs from other dogs that may be off leash. With my dogs attached to me, I can address an off-leash dog directly and block its approach to my dog.



Their collars and attaching flashers keep us safe too. Their collars have their identifying information so even if their tags fall off, a kind person could call us. The red flashers keep us safe during our early morning and nighttime walks highlighting our presence on the roads of our neighborhood.



Training my dogs to have leash manners, manners for meeting people and other dogs, as well as knowing the boundaries of their yard are all good ways to keep us safe outside and enjoy the time. Our neighborhood does not allow fences and I didn't want to utilize an electric fence so my dogs' learning the boundaries of our yard and not going into the road were, and are, essential to their safety. We're still working with Foster on not crossing the boundary into the wetlands because he has seen a family of deer.

I think my energy is the most important safety feature in our relationship. How I react to surprising sounds when we're outside, or how I react to Luna digging for acorns around the trees, or how I react to Foster darting off into the woods needs to communicate how I feel about it. I act like it's not a big deal when we hear gunfire from the shooting club. It would be terrible to have a dog that runs for cover any time there is an event at the club. When Luna digs for potentially toxic acorns, I need to react strongly to let her know I'm serious, and when Foster darts off to the woods, I need to be SERIOUSLY serious that running out of his yard is unacceptable.

Even better for my dogs' safety is my ability to think ahead. I can block Luna from digging for acorns to begin with by distracting her from the activity. I can direct her to another area or throw a tennis ball for a few rounds of fetch. I can keep Foster on a leash during the early morning and dusk to dark hours of our outside time so that he can't run into the woods after deer. These are just a few ways to keep us safely together because I love our outside time and want it to be smooth and stress free!