Safety First

I've realized lately that lots of our training, and lots of our equipment, has to do with safety.

Elka is on a collar and leash when we go outside, to make sure she's safe. She can't decide to run into the road, or chase something and get off our property, anything like that. On our walks, she's on a harness and collar, with liberty's attachment to make sure more than one thing will have to fail to put her in danger; not that I'm sure she'd just hare off somewhere the instant she had a chance, but better safe than sorry. See, there it is again.

In the car, she has a harness which hooks to the built-in child seat anchor vehicles have. In the case of an accident, it will hopefully protect her, and also the humans in the car, preventing the 75 pound dog in the back seat from becoming a missile within the vehicle. It also keeps her from just jumping out when a door is opened, so her exit can be controlled to a safe place and situation.

Things to do if you've found a lost dog

I'm sure it's happened to many of us at least once. We find a dog we don't recognize, with no tags. Friendly, but no humans apparent.

It's a dog owner's nightmare, really. Their dog gets loose, gets stolen, wanders. It happened just last week, with the dog my coworker found. Apparently she was a very very old dog, and had been through medical treatments lately. So, not mistreated. Just old and ill and with doggie dementia, and wandered off as her family cleaned the cellar of a Sunday. They were very grateful and happy to have her back, though I don't know what her real name is; I don't think the vet told my coworker when she called.

It's one reason I have all the tags I do on Elka's collar, on two separate rings. If one dangling rings gets lost, maybe the other will still be there. Plus her microchip. Some breeders tattoo their dogs (under anesthesia, I believe), inside the ear, or inside the inner thigh. That's a visible identifier that cannot be lost. It's why, on our car trip, Elka was on a harness attached to her leash, and with the dogIDs collar on separately, with its name plate.

dogIDs bison leather collar and leash: product review

I was approached by dogIDs.com to do a product review, and after having a look at their offerings, I just had to say yes! I selected a deep red bison leather collar, which was personalized with an engraved nameplate, and a matching deep red bison leather leash. I told Elka what I'd done (she listened, anyway) and we eagerly awaited the delivery.

Wordless Wednesday March 27 2013

Ebay Fundraiser for the Doberman Assistance Network (ends January 12)

Auction ends tomorrow, January 12: it's a customized Cerberus Designs collar, with the proceeds from the eBay auction going to help save Dobermans! 

Cut and pasted from the auction site:

You read that right.  Not only are we auctioning off another gorgeous leather collar donated by Cerberus Designs (thank you!), but it is a jaw-dropping Princess Collar with rhinestones and hand-made quality to boot.  The goodness doesn't stop there!  Win this auction and you get to CUSTOMIZE this collar!  Pick the exact size that best suits your Doberprincess AND have her name stamped on the collar.  Wow, simply wow.  
Your size choices are as follows:
Width: 1.5", 2.0" or 2.5"
Length: 14", 15", 16", 17", 18", 19", 20", 21", 22", 23" or 24"
Feminine yet sophisticated, the Princess Collar closely resembles a crown.  A high-quality handmade piece of art which is as durable as it is beautiful, this collar would meet the expectations of even the most demanding of Doberprincesses.  So do Her Highness proud by biding high and often - she demands nothing less!
Your winning bid will help Doberman Assistance Network (D.A.N.) raise money to save our beloved Dobermans in need.  Without your support, D.A.N. could not have the nationwide reach that it does.  All the proceeds raised from this auction (minus EBAY fees) will go toward the costs associated with vetting, boarding, transporting and caring for the Dobermans who find themselves in urgent need of rescue.  Shipping for this collar is FREE in the United States and Canada.  For all other locations shipping costs will be applied.
Show your pride and support for our magnificent Dobes.  Bid high and bid often.  The Dobes thank you with wiggly nubs and loving nose pokies.  

Lost Angel in Michigan, a sad update

On Tuesday, I posted about a lost dog in Cheboygan, Michigan. The unfortunate update from 24 Paws of Love is that Angel's owners found her body by the side of the road.

I can only imagine how very heartbroken Angel's people are, in addition to the writers of 24 Paws of Love (who were Angel's breeder, if I understand correctly). 

Angel's owners did a lot of things right as soon as she was missing. They got the word out, and they searched for her tirelessly. Equipment failures happen; if Angel had never before slipped her collar, there was no reason to anticipate that she would at that time. There are any number of things that startle a dog into running. It's a sad fact, and my heart hurts for them.

"Collar security" as such didn't initially occur to me as a beginner dog owner. Elka in fact slipped her collar once, but it seemed more like it was for fun than any other reason. I talked about an equipment epiphany when I got Elka's new collar, and also Liberty's Attachment, and an EzyDog Harness. I self deprecate myself a bit, calling myself paranoid and a crazy dog lady, but stories like this make me want to wrap Elka in cotton wool and never leave the house ever again. There's just no anticipating what can happen in a day.

My thoughts are with Angel's family, and I hope they heal well and soon.

Bid on a Handmade collar, Help the Doberman Assistance Network

As I understand it, some people are collar junkies. Really, I only have one collar at a time for Elka, two right now because I got the waterproof collar for our beach vacation. Not that I think there's anything wrong with being a collar junkie; it's just not me. I do what I can to facilitate those folks, though, and so I bring you a beautiful and slightly over the top collar handmade by Cerberus Designs.

I've talked about the Doberman Assistance Network before, but I can't overstate the importance that DAN has for Dobermans in shelters and rescues in this country. I'm given to understand that the 13 Dobermans in Broome County Humane Society have had an interest taken in them (one might assume) by DAN, and if the Broome County Humane Society should choose to give those dogs over to rescue, they could hardly be in better hands.

The eBay auction is running until July 11, so if you want your big ol' dog to look like a total badass, go ahead and bid, and see if you win! I'll want to see pictures.

Collared!

So, last Friday I posted about collarless dogs; today, I'm going to talk about collars. As I mentioned in the previous post, Elka has worn a collar since she came home to us.  Well, I've noticed lately that her collar, though leather and probably meant to last quite a good while longer, has seemed stiff and worn.  There isn't any cracking, though we did have to re-glue the liner (which is what precipitated the naked dog pictures).

Party Naked

Lately, the topic of dog nakedness has come up in a few places I've looked.

By "naked", I mean whether your dog wears her collar at all times, or only wears a collar when going out.  So, no collar when crated, no collar around the house, no collar at bedtime.

Really, before I started reading forums and blogs written by hardcore dog people, I had no idea that peoples' dogs went collarless.