Winter months are here and that means nighttime runs for the dogs and I. There aren't sidewalks in our neighborhood and I'm fine with that because the asphalt is definitely friendlier to human and canine joints and feet, but it does pose an additional safety issue for us, especially at night. We are more intimately sharing the road with vehicles than if a sidewalk were readily available.
I run for the benefit of my health and the health of my dogs, so naturally safety is a big concern for me. Sharing the road at night with drivers you cannot see can be dangerous and stressful. The number of people driving these days who are not focused on the task at hand, but rather a phone, or conversation or some other distraction has caused us to hop into a yard, or driveway on more occasions than I care to recall. In an effort to make us more visible, I run with a headlamp and reflective vest. The dogs have a blinking light on their collars which is very visible on the Siberian coat.
All my Siberians have had white legs, feet and most of their faces have been white with darker outlines. I have always been able to find my dogs in the yard at night without flipping on the patio light; until Stetson. He is as black as night with most of his white hidden on his underside. His long hair absorbs the blinking collar light and you hardly even notice it is there unless I can manage to keep it around the side near is ear. He is easy to miss in the yard and I often turn the light on to see where he is.
In an effort to make us more visible and hopefully safer, I purchased a reflective vest for him. During our first run with the vest on it seemed that cars began to move toward the middle of the road before getting too close, which was a welcome change. I still stopped in a couple of driveways to let people go by that either weren't paying attention, or they just weren't willing to give up enough space on the road for me to be comfortable with the remaining road. Overall it was a better run than several we have had of late with fewer stops to let traffic pass. I think the vehicle headlights are picking up the reflective vest on him before they catch my headlamp and moving over sooner. That is a good thing indeed.
Both of these items were purchased at PetSmart. The blinking collar lights were purchased from REI.
I believe life is what you make it to be, and although I'm not particularly creative, I thoroughly enjoy carving out my little piece of heaven where I find it. It doesn't matter if I'm on the road or on a trail, if I have a dog next to me for the run, life just can't get better than that!
I run for the benefit of my health and the health of my dogs, so naturally safety is a big concern for me. Sharing the road at night with drivers you cannot see can be dangerous and stressful. The number of people driving these days who are not focused on the task at hand, but rather a phone, or conversation or some other distraction has caused us to hop into a yard, or driveway on more occasions than I care to recall. In an effort to make us more visible, I run with a headlamp and reflective vest. The dogs have a blinking light on their collars which is very visible on the Siberian coat.
All my Siberians have had white legs, feet and most of their faces have been white with darker outlines. I have always been able to find my dogs in the yard at night without flipping on the patio light; until Stetson. He is as black as night with most of his white hidden on his underside. His long hair absorbs the blinking collar light and you hardly even notice it is there unless I can manage to keep it around the side near is ear. He is easy to miss in the yard and I often turn the light on to see where he is.
In an effort to make us more visible and hopefully safer, I purchased a reflective vest for him. During our first run with the vest on it seemed that cars began to move toward the middle of the road before getting too close, which was a welcome change. I still stopped in a couple of driveways to let people go by that either weren't paying attention, or they just weren't willing to give up enough space on the road for me to be comfortable with the remaining road. Overall it was a better run than several we have had of late with fewer stops to let traffic pass. I think the vehicle headlights are picking up the reflective vest on him before they catch my headlamp and moving over sooner. That is a good thing indeed.
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| New Vest |
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| Reflective properties work |
The vest is lightweight and unlined, so it shouldn't heat him up. Since we work pretty hard on the road, I didn't want to have anything that was going to add much heat to his body. It's weather resistant, so it should work okay for us on drizzly nights too.
I've noticed that Madison's coat isn't as thick as it was when she was younger. Her lack of undercoat coupled with aging joints and spine made me think she might benefit from a coat that had some fleece for extra warmth. I found a pink coat with a reflective stripe on it and I hope she'll benefit from it on cold walks.
We always have called Madison "The Princess". Her collars, leash and harness are in the purple/lavender family, so I was happy to find a Princess Pink color for her. She's such a doll.
Both of these items were purchased at PetSmart. The blinking collar lights were purchased from REI.
I believe life is what you make it to be, and although I'm not particularly creative, I thoroughly enjoy carving out my little piece of heaven where I find it. It doesn't matter if I'm on the road or on a trail, if I have a dog next to me for the run, life just can't get better than that!
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