Here is an example of what generally occurs in a dogs day.
3am: Alarm goes of. Weatbix, hot chocolate, gear up ready to ride off at 4am. This is when my Ay-Up lights come in very handy.
5am: Part way around the 75kms of Tour de Redcliffe loop.
6:30am: Visit favourite bakery for post ride carbs.
7:00am: S...S...S
8:00am: Start work
4:00pm: Finish work, pick up one of my boys from Volley ball training, go home, cook dinner, surf internet, catch up with the "So, what happened at school today?" conversation with my boys.
A few domestic duties, share more time with Natalie.
7:30pm: Nearly ready for bed.
8:30pm: Zzzzzz....
When I write it down like that, the day appears so short & simple. Maybe it is, but some days feel long & complicated. Others are as simple as they read.
That was the most understated question of Saturday night.
XPD is creeping up on us. Our team is complete. We were all available for a training session last Saturday night.
We found a 42km walk in Lamington National Park. 21kms between Binna Burra & ORielys.
Rain was forcasted for the weekend. Nobody knew that it was going to be the most rain this area has had in over 100 years!!!
We started our walk at 6:30pm on Saturday night. The first hour was just a few puddles & clouded in. As it got dark we arced up our Ay Up lights. Then it started raining. It got heavier & heavier. Shortly there wasnt any room in the sky for any more rain.
It dumped on our heads non-stop for the next 9 hours! The puddles on the track got deeper & deeper. Then the trail turned into a running creek.
Each of us would have easily had about 20 or so leaches on us at any one time.
The walk took us 11 & a half hours. Lots happened in that time so here is a point summary.
1. Dog is the new team XMO (executive morale officer) 2. Dogs can sing (not) 3. Poetry is awesome on long walks. 4. Walking while sleeping is possible 5. 5 minute power naps do work 6. Goretex renewing conditioner doesnt work 7. Team 145 L-Attitude is awesome 8. Bike nix are not good for long walks 9. A big breakfast, a bacon egg burger, 3 extra strength coffees is the best recovery breakfast 10. Doing something that takes you outside of your comfort zone is very rewarding. 11. Bear Grylls is our team mascot
Gag, choke, cough, tongue hanging out, eyes bulging, no control.....these are a few things that can happen when leashing your dog to a regular buckle dog collar, martingale dog collar, choke chain, prong/pinch collar. You get the idea. Dexter The Dog has been collarless since 2012 & I have not attached a leash to a collar to him since 2010.
As a professional dog behavior consultant, it was pretty easy to teach Dexter The Dog how to walk
politely on a leash. But that didnt change the fact that in the learning stages & even around some distractions, he may pull at the leash for a moment. And each of those moments I felt sure were causing damage & pain to his body such as his neck, eyes & spine. Obviously electric shock collars are not an option (click for reasons why). I began to exclusively leash Dexter to a dog harness at a very early age.
Over the past few years, I have urged my dog training students to switch off of dog collars and transition to dog harnesses. I have started to do some research & have found a variety of sources that confirm my suspicions of the harm a dog collar can do to a dog & the dogs anatomy.
According to Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM, some of these issues can include Hypothyroidism, ear issues, eye issues, excessive paw licking, foreleg lameness & neck injuries including whiplash. A study by Amy M. Pauli, DVM, Ellison Bentley, DVM, Diplomate ACVO, Kathryn A. Diehl, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVO and Paul E. Miller, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVO confirm that "Intraocular pressure increased significantly from baseline when pressure was applied via a collar but not via a harness." Animal chiropractors like Dr. Sherry Fries are against using collars and a leash combos. "I implore people to use harnesses as opposed to any collar,” she says.
So what kind of options do I prefer? Harnesses & headcollars are my personal preference. More specifically I like front clipping harness to help teach a dog not to pull on his leash. The Easy Walk Harness & Freedom No Pull Dog Harness are two that I have personally used and recommended. The Walk In Sync Harness looks interesting too, but I have not tried this one yet. For headcollars, my go to is The Gentle Leader & runner up Halti Headcollar.
That said, they need to be used as directed to keep your dog safe. A headcollar that is tight & if you allow your dog to keep pulling & it keeps his head at an unusual angle is not safe. A front clipping harness that is tight & again pulled to the side is not the correct way to use the tool. So, please work with a qualified professional dog behavior consultant to learn how to correctly & safely use these dog training tools.
So, I hope you reconsider using your dogs collar as a way to control him. There are much easier & safer ways to teach your dog how to walk nicely on a leash without pulling.
I may get some interesting feedback on this one. The reason I havent made this crap public until now is because I had given them the opportunity to fix this crap up.
This is my experience & how I feel as a result of how I was treated.
About 6 months out from the Croc Trophy last year I secured a sponsorship deal with europcar. Quite simply they were going to provide a 4wd vehicle for the period of the race & a couple of days either side.
Once a month leading up to the event & every week for the last 3 weeks up to the event I contacted them to ensure everything was good to go. The feedback was always yes, everything is good to go. Even when picking up the vehicle they were aware of the sponsorship deal as it was typed into the notes on my booking/account.
A few days after I returned the vehicle in immaculate condition (the comment made by the europcar staff in Cairns was "This is clean enough for me to hire out straight away") the farkers charged my credit card for the hire of the vehicle.
When I contacted them to ask WTF is going on, they tapped danced & said that things had changed.
If you are anything like me (and I bet you are if you are reading this post), then you want to travel as
safely as possible with your dog. I am betting that most of you already take precautionary measures to ensure your dogs safety while driving & your safety as well. So just how does Fido travel?
Do you strap your dog into a car harness for dogs? Do you travel with your dog in a car crate? Did you know that for most pet products, manufacturers do not have to test their products? Is your dog harness or dog crate tested for crash protection, or just labeled to stop distracted driving?
So many questions and they can be daunting & confusing & misleading (shame on those trying to mislead us)! Luckily for us there is an independent company doing what is right. They are testing the doggie car seats, car harnesses for dogs, travel crates & are sharing their results. The Center For Pet Safety is a nonprofit organization stepping up to the plate & trying to find us the answers. I applaud them & applaud them again.
Lets start by looking at one of their testing videos which thankfully made headlines & needs to continue to make headlines so they can continue their work. I will warn you, it is a bit disturbing even though the dogs in the video are models (life weighted). Its the thought that this could be one of our precious dogs.
So where are they in their studies & what kind of results have the found so far? Heres the link to the actual 2013 dog harness safety study. Please open it & read their results on the various ways they tested car harnesses, which companies, and their results. I do also want to say, that The Center For Pet Safety has noted a lot of the companies are trying to improve their product safety, so kudos to those companies!
Top results according to their study:
SleepyPod Clickit Utility Harness: "Center for Pet Safety 2013 Harness Study Report Summary Upon completion of scientific testing of pet safety harness products that claim "testing”, "crash testing” or "crash protection” CPS has determined that the SleepyPod Clickit Utility harness is the top performing pet safety harness brand of the 2013 Safety Harness Crashworthiness Study. The innovative three point connection prevents the launch and subsequent rotation of the test dog, thus improving human occupant safety and providing the dog the best possible chance of survival in the case of an accident."
I emailed The Center For Pet Safety to ask a few follow up questions. They were fast (2 hours) to respond. Boy, Im really loving this group! My first question was about the testing, how the dogs were always in a seated position. Knowing Dexter The Dog, he would be snoozing during our travels (he always falls asleep in the car). I was curious to know if this would make the results worse or better. The answer was that they tested "worse case scenario” so if he was laying down, it would not make the crash results worse, they may actually be better. Whew.
My other question was about crate testing. At this moment I have always traveled with Dexter being in a wire crate behind the passengers seat sandwiched between that seat & the back seat to prevent movement. The only video thus far I saw was where a wire crate was what looked like in the back of a SUV & slid around before being crushed. My answer was that they are working on more funding to do extensive testing on crate safety. They have not had the opportunity to extend this study out yet to crate safety. BUT, she did respond, " The only brand we know that has completed ample testing - and they publish their test evidence - is the VarioCage."
I was pretty excited to hear that a crate made the cut, but not so thrilled when I saw the crates started at over $700 Gulp! I love the idea of traveling with Dexter in a crate, so I can run into rest stops without him getting into mischief....he can be a stinker pot. Plus I always like to cover the crate when I do go inside so that its not obvious I have such a great dog inside! So what is a girl to do? Well, I think I will order the SleepyPod Clickit Utility harness & keep our wire crate also set up in the car to pop Dexter in when I run inside to do my business. This should cover our traveling needs for now.
What you can do to help: As I mentioned, The Center For Pet Safety is a non profit organization & can use monetary donations to help fund their studies. Every dollar counts & every dollar is going towards OUR dogs safety & our peace of mind knowing we are doing what is best for them. Please join me in donating to their cause & sharing this information. Not only will it help fund their studies, hopefully, it will increase the likelihood that manufacturers will continue to work up safe & comfortable traveling options for our dogs.
Here is an example of what generally occurs in a dogs day.
