A few weeks ago, I shared a post with tips and gear for running in the dark. Those tips are even more important now that we have crossed into Daylight Savings Time. There will be a lot of dark running in our near future!
One of my safety tips for running in the dark is actually running with my dog. Now, if you’ve met Matilda, you know that she is not very intimidating. If fact, she’s kind of a wimp! But don’t tell the crazies that. Her bark can be pretty menacing and I feel safer with her by my side.
It’s important when she’s running with me in the dark that we can see her as well. There is plenty of gear available for your dog to stay visible in the dark, just like there is for you!
Here are few products that you might want to try.
- Our Stunt Puppy leash has reflective material all along it. It’s the Go Dog Glo
- There are high-visibility reflective jackets for dogs, just like humans. Here’s one by Ruffware that looks pretty good:
- Flashing Collars: There are also a lot of light-up collars out on the market. We recently purchased this Nite Ize attachment for Tilda’s collar. I can quickly velcro it right onto her collar before I head out for a run in the dark, and she doesn’t even seem to notice it. I bought hers at Chuck n Don’s, but you can find a similar one HERE. Its lightweight and durable. It has an “on-off” button so it won’t die on you too quickly though it is powered by an easily replaceable battery. It has two settings, flash and steady glow. It’s literally a “brilliant” way to keep your dog safely visible to you and to other people!
This is a picture of Matilda in her Nite Ize attachment in our kitchen with the lights off. It’s really bright isn’t it?
I hope you find this list helpful for your and your dog for staying safe in the dark. Please share if you have any other tips for keeping your pup “brilliant” in the dark!
Talk about coincidence– I just picked up the very same Nite Ize attachment for Harvey at the local feed and farm store over the weekend! Haven’t tried it out yet. Have you used yours on a walk or run with Tilda? What do you think? What does she think of wearing it?
Too funny! I have used mine a few times already, both on runs and on walks/dog park trips. She doesn’t seem to notice it at all! Let me know how it goes with Harvey!
We used Harvey’s Nite Ize tonight on our evening jog and it worked great! He was a little skeptical of it at first, but once we got outside he didn’t seem to notice it was there. We pretty much always run off-leash on our gravel roads out here in the country, so I really appreciated being able to see where he was in the twilight.