Your walking along enjoying a beautiful spring day with your dog and
BAM!
Your dog sees a squirrel, blasts off and your prong explodes all over the sidewalk
or
A loud truck comes by and your dog is suddenly Houdini and ninjas out of their harness
You watch (or run) helplessly after your naked dog scampering down the street
Anecdotes aside, we are super serious about safety, especially if you're struggling with a reactive or aggressive dog and the reality is
TOOLS FAIL
Whether tools fail, we fail to fasten something correctly, or Mercury is in retrograde...
Y'all Sh*t Happens
and when it does I plan to still be attached to my dog.
Commonly carabiners or straps with bolt snap hooks on one or both sides,
most backup options are easy to procure and budget friendly.
Attach your backup from your prong collar's "dead" ring or directly from your leash to a collar your dog cannot back out of.
* Clip around collars that function like a slip lead are a great option.
The best option is the one that keeps your training tool functioning effectively.
We use backups for EVERYTHING from prong collars and head halters to our leashes and even slip leads.
Harnesses tend to give us a false sense of control and safety - unfortunately they are not escape proof.
I've mentioned this in blogs before - cringeworthy and scary true story -
I know what it's like to have a dog back out of a harness then chase folks around the park 😳!
Learn from my mistake and back up your harness too!!
Stay safe and back up those tools!
xo
-J