Hi All Autumn is on its way and in England the evenings are already getting darker. This is our first winter with our Lab and I’ve started wondering about equipment (lights, reflective kit) and advice for off lead walking in the dark. We are near the downs and the beach and have familiar paths we think we’ll walk off lead but it is likely to be pitch black by the time we can walk him there both evening and morning on the week days. Any tried and tested advice on preferred equipment so I and others can see him? Really interested to hear anyone else’s off lead walking in the dark tips? We have well lit roads for lead walking but as anyone with an adolescent Lab here will know, that doesn’t really take the edge off like an off lead run around Thanks Jess
I'm now retired (hooray!) but for much of my working life I walked previous dogs in the dark (mornings and evenings - someone else walked them during the day). I also live near the South Downs and the beach and as long as I was in an area I knew was safe away from the road I used to let my dog off lead. I didn't use a torch because then my eyes adjusted to the dark and actually you'd be amazed how much you can see at night by the light of moon and stars - and in the morning the sky lightens long before sunrise. (It's not true that it's darkest before the dawn ). Although I never used them I know other people who have had collars with blinking lights and head-torches.
Thanks Joy, appreciate you sharing your experience. Jealous of your retirement I must confess! Ive looked at an array of blinking light up thinks and not sure where to start. I think I’d like something on him rather than nothing so I can see him as he really does sprint back and forth some distance, checking in, then charging off again and as he’s a little bolder with his teenage confidence his distance can get a little further than I’d like but that’s an issue for another day!
Check out a company called Nit Ize They make a number of LED lights that work well for dogs and humans. We use a small blinking light on the collar, or a lighted ring that goes on like a collar and can be seen from all sides. A reflective vest works well to, especially if you are using a headlamp. I sometimes use a ball or frisbee with a light, so the dog can see it at night. Seeing a dog run towards you with a lighted ball in her mouth and a lighted collar, makes you think of the Hound of the Baskervilles.
We had that problem last year - especially as Cassie is a chocolate lab she all but disappeared in low light ! The solution we went for was an illuminated dog collar - not sure if it's OK to post links to products here, but if you go to amazon uk and search for "led dog collar" it's the first result that comes up. We kept it loose and left her normal collar on underneath (so we didn't have to keep swapping over her ID tag) but it worked really well. I do quite like the idea of something on a harness/vest as well though, I may investigate myself for this winter
Nit Ize makes an LED collar that is quite bright, and you can see it from a lot of directions. One model is rechargeable, and changes color if you want. You can't use it as a collar because it would open up and also has no leash loop. You just slip it on over the dogs head.
