The Basics
The Basics are what I consider collars and leashes and poop bags. These are the essentials for a general walk. There are a kajillion kinds of collars and leashes with labels for various needs and sizes of dogs. We are a basic kind of family. We have slide buckle collars (I get the collars that can be embroidered with my dogs' names and my phone numbers) with a ring for tags, and cloth leashes. Santa brought us new leashes with special features - embroidery and reflection!
I'm frequently asked about what kind of collar and what kind of leash I use. I can't believe how much of an opinion I have about them!
Collars - As I already typed, I like the collars that can be embroidered with my dogs' information. Tags can fall off or the information can wear away, but if a collar is properly sized, it should remain on your dog through jaunts through woods and rivers and swamps and alleys... My dogs have tags also; license, microchip company number, proof of rabies vaccination.
Prong, Buckle, Martingale, Cloth Choker, Slide Buckle (Luna's actual collar)
Leashes - I do not like Flexi-style leashes. Their extension and retraction features don't fit with my walking philosophy, but it's really their user un-friendliness and how they compromise my ability to protect my dog if necessary that has me using the basic loop handle leash. With the loop handle, I can easily walk multiple dogs by inserting my arm through the loop. Also, when I need to pick up dog poop, being able to rest the loop up my arm provides me with the use of both of my hands. For dogs without leash manners and/or with a lot of strength, loop handles can easily be turned into a waist leash for more stability and less length to help with reducing criss-crossing and pulling.
We received all three of these as Christmas gifts this year!
Here's how I use the loop handle leash for shortening the leash and increasing my stability, as well as my ability to be hands free.
Poop bags - There are all kinds and I try not to beat myself up about environmental harm. I reuse plastic shopping bags when I have them, but clients often give me rolls of plastic bags or boxes of handled plastic bags. They all work, we always have extra in my pockets because someone will try to say he or she forgot one as if that would make it acceptable to not pick up after his or her dog...What. Ever.
I still can't believe how many people don't bring any of these with them on a walk.
Extras - We have backpacks and dog poop bag carriers too. Backpacks add to the fun for my dogs, giving them a job. We've received the bone-shaped poop bag carriers as gifts and they give a good supply for a while.
The top one is for daily walks. The bottom one is for our days in the woods. We need lunch, lots of water and maybe even a book!
Harnesses, etc. - Some people are concerned about their dogs' necks due to how much pulling the dogs do on a walk. There are products like the "Easy Walker" or "Halti" that are designed to prevent pulling. I worked a long time with Satchel (our almost 16-yr-old Yellow Lab who died in 2010) on how hard he pulled and learned a lot about Haltis and harnesses and prong collars. The Halti strengthened his neck and he kept pulling. The harness created a sled-dog type experience allowing him to pull even harder. The prong collar worked fantastically - one trainer I met called it "power steering for dogs" - but I noticed people reacting negatively to him while wearing it, as if he was a menace and needed a menacing type collar. After reading a few books, working on leadership, and making Satchel nearly dizzy with the "This Way" approach (ask me if you really want to know what it is), Satchel and I became the models of the neighborhood. I would hear, "Hey! He used to walk you!" While I didn't love that people had noticed us so much, I did appreciate that they noticed our improvement!
These are examples of harnesses. They are actually seat belt or walking harnesses. We use them as seatbelts. And the flashers are for our dark walks.
With my experiences with Satchel, to walk, I now only use the slide buckle collar, the basic loop handled leash, and I remember to bring poop bags just in case. Here is Foster modeling the leash accommodation I use for dogs who pull. The loop leash is great for so many things!
My job does not provide the same schedule every day, but we still follow the same schedule every day. We get up, I get dressed, we walk. I don't think I would walk just because it's good for me and I enjoy it. I think I'm disciplined about it because it's good for my dogs. A few days each week we have to get up really early to get our morning walk in. Foster does not enjoy the 5:45am alarm, but he does stretch out of bed and find his way to the mudroom where Luna is wagging her tail and ready to go. Because we do it every day, even when it's what I call "Dark O'clock," the dogs know it's time to go, and once we're out there, everything feels right. We also walk in the evening, though this time is never the same. Still, the dogs know it's time for our evening walk and they follow me into the mudroom to get suited up!
My Suits
I have warm weather gear and cold weather gear and wet weather gear.
I have coats and jackets and vests for all weather, but these are for the extremes when people think it's too cold or wet.
Down Jacket & Snow Pants, Triple C Full Length Down Coat, Gortex Rain Gear Jacket & Pants
The Best Ever - The Shugga Suit
Waterproof Bogs, Tested to keep my feet warm to -40F Baffins, Waterproof Slip-on Bogs
Their Gear
A Selection
Full Body Fleece, Sweaters, Waterproof Fleece handed down to Foster from Satchel and Hooded Sweatshirt
I can never keep those bootie things on their feet, but we have those too.
Time
I know tired and cold and overworked and overstressed, but for me, I'm "off" if we don't walk. It's like a cure for anything that's bugging us. We get up at "Dark O'Clock" a few times each week, and on those mornings, our walk might only be 20 minutes, but because we walk every day, multiple times per day, my dogs are not resisting when it's time to head home. They know we'll be out again, walking together, later.
I've had the flu or mouth surgery or a migraine or something that has kept me from walking with my dogs. They may seem a little "off" - maybe it's confused, maybe it's waiting with anticipation of when - but because that need to get outside and explore is met so frequently, my dogs don't chew up a shoe or get into the garbage to occupy their minds and bodies. Thank You God! And my dogs are socially strong. Their skills are in great part due to the daily exposure to multiple people, but I think their skills are also due to the variations in environment they experience. We explore a different route and encounter different smells and sounds every day. I wouldn't walk just for myself, but I'll do it for my dogs and I think their wonderfulness is like a Thank You.
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