SAFETY
Between winter and the time change, a certain amount of dog walking inevitably takes place when it's darker than we'd like. While not every dog needs a winter coat, EVERY dog needs some sort of reflective gear for safety. Here are some of my picks.
High visibility dog vest:
You want a vest that will be easy to put on repeatedly, and lightweight so it's good for all seasons. As with any dog clothing, proper measurements are crucial, so get out that flexible measuring tape, or some string and a ruler. If your dog is fluffy, then go for a size that will be snug enough without being absurd.
However, if your dog wears a harness, a vest might not work well in conjunction. In which case, a reflective leash would be a good step in the right direction.
Reflective dog leash:
The best leashes have reflective material woven into it, as opposed to a strip sewn on. I personally prefer a 4' leash.
Reflective dog collars:
These are good for dogs that are short-coated enough where the collar will be visible. If you get the kind where you can have name & contact info embroidered on, that's even better.
Visibility is important for the human half of the team as well. I recommend a pinney type vest that will fit over your winter coat. You'll never know you're wearing it, except for that you won't get hit by a car. And is it dorky? Maybe, but not so dorky as ending up in a coffin because of the aforementioned car. Many sporting goods stores will carry what you want.
One last piece of the safety puzzle: identification. If your dog wears a collar all the time and has tags on that collar, take it off right now. Go outside, under the uncertain street lights, and see if you can read your dog's identifying information. If you cannot, then you need to get new tags. The ones from the machine in Petco are fine, as long as you inspect them regularly. If you don't like your dog wearing a collar with tags, you can get a collar (reflective or not) with the dog's name and your phone number embroidered on it. There's a story behind this exhortation: I was walking a set of dogs during dusk. With my high vis jacket and their high vis vests, we were extremely visible, but the loose dog who came upon us was not. The mouse grey pitbull was extremely difficult to see but thankfully he was a sweet dog, so I was able to check out his tags. (By the way, it can be very difficult and potentially dangerous to take an unknown dog by the collar, making the Orvis embroidered collar an even better idea, because the numbers are easy to see from a distance.) He had tags, but they were so worn as to be completely illegible. Luckily, his human came along shortly thereafter, but what if he hadn't? It could have gotten very complicated.
While we're on identification, it is a good idea to have your dog microchipped and registered. However, a collar with legible contact information is the best way to get your dog home quickly. If you would like to put my name and number on the tag as a more local contact when you're at work, that's fine.
WARMTH:
If your dog does need a winter coat, I really like the coats that Chilly Dogs makes. They're based in Canada, so they know from cold weather. These are easy to put on and easy to care for. The Chilly Sweater is probably sufficient for most New Jersey dogs, and the Safety Orange is really extremely orange. It doesn't have much reflective piping, but it's very bright nonetheless. www.chillydogs.ca
Between winter and the time change, a certain amount of dog walking inevitably takes place when it's darker than we'd like. While not every dog needs a winter coat, EVERY dog needs some sort of reflective gear for safety. Here are some of my picks.
High visibility dog vest:
You want a vest that will be easy to put on repeatedly, and lightweight so it's good for all seasons. As with any dog clothing, proper measurements are crucial, so get out that flexible measuring tape, or some string and a ruler. If your dog is fluffy, then go for a size that will be snug enough without being absurd.
However, if your dog wears a harness, a vest might not work well in conjunction. In which case, a reflective leash would be a good step in the right direction.
Reflective dog leash:
The best leashes have reflective material woven into it, as opposed to a strip sewn on. I personally prefer a 4' leash.
Reflective dog collars:
These are good for dogs that are short-coated enough where the collar will be visible. If you get the kind where you can have name & contact info embroidered on, that's even better.
Visibility is important for the human half of the team as well. I recommend a pinney type vest that will fit over your winter coat. You'll never know you're wearing it, except for that you won't get hit by a car. And is it dorky? Maybe, but not so dorky as ending up in a coffin because of the aforementioned car. Many sporting goods stores will carry what you want.
One last piece of the safety puzzle: identification. If your dog wears a collar all the time and has tags on that collar, take it off right now. Go outside, under the uncertain street lights, and see if you can read your dog's identifying information. If you cannot, then you need to get new tags. The ones from the machine in Petco are fine, as long as you inspect them regularly. If you don't like your dog wearing a collar with tags, you can get a collar (reflective or not) with the dog's name and your phone number embroidered on it. There's a story behind this exhortation: I was walking a set of dogs during dusk. With my high vis jacket and their high vis vests, we were extremely visible, but the loose dog who came upon us was not. The mouse grey pitbull was extremely difficult to see but thankfully he was a sweet dog, so I was able to check out his tags. (By the way, it can be very difficult and potentially dangerous to take an unknown dog by the collar, making the Orvis embroidered collar an even better idea, because the numbers are easy to see from a distance.) He had tags, but they were so worn as to be completely illegible. Luckily, his human came along shortly thereafter, but what if he hadn't? It could have gotten very complicated.
While we're on identification, it is a good idea to have your dog microchipped and registered. However, a collar with legible contact information is the best way to get your dog home quickly. If you would like to put my name and number on the tag as a more local contact when you're at work, that's fine.
WARMTH:
If your dog does need a winter coat, I really like the coats that Chilly Dogs makes. They're based in Canada, so they know from cold weather. These are easy to put on and easy to care for. The Chilly Sweater is probably sufficient for most New Jersey dogs, and the Safety Orange is really extremely orange. It doesn't have much reflective piping, but it's very bright nonetheless. www.chillydogs.ca