Articles | Dog Gear Review

Dog Treadmill - Why would a dog need a treadmill?

October 20, 2022

What is a dog treadmill? How does it work? Treadmills provide a way to exercise the dog when the weather doesn’t allow it to do that safely outdoors. There are motorized and non-motorized dog treadmills. The motorized ones are similar to the human treadmills, with a few crucial differences that we address in a separate article. The non-motorized versions work by the dog powering them and pushing back the “carpet/belt” or slats in case of a slatmill.

Canicross Belt Comparison

October 12, 2022

What is canicross? Canicross is a sport where people and dogs run together. Sometimes the dog runs by their person, but most of the time, they run up front, pulling on a bungee leash while taking verbal cues for direction. What do I need to start running with my dog? You don’t need specific equipment if your dog jogs next to you without pulling on the leash, but you want to invest in proper, well-fitting gear if your dog pulls you.

What's new in the Non-Stop Dogwear Freemotion 5.0?

October 5, 2022

Have you heard about the new Non-Stop Dogwear Freemotion 5.0 harness? We loved the original Freemotion harness, and we were excited to test the new one! The photo below shows the original version that we reviewed in 2019. The most obvious difference is that the original harness only came in black, while the 5.0 has bright orange sections. They also added a small reflective loop to the top (above the shoulders), an existing feature of the Nansen nome harness 5.

What is a Coyote Vest? How does it protect a dog?

September 1, 2022

Coyotes vs. Dogs Typically coyotes are shy and avoid people whenever possible, so most people don’t need to worry about them. Unfortunately, we are having severe coyote problems in our town. These coyotes were born in town; they are not afraid of people, cars, or sounds. They attacked on-leash dogs and even killed and took dogs from a leash over the summer. They are mixed with wolves and dogs in our area, so most of them are Mia’s size.

Checkpup Dog Wellness Test - What Did It Tell Us?

August 31, 2022

Thank you to all the vets who discussed the results with us and gave their input to the article! Especially thankful for the long brainstorming with Sylvia Efa, a vet student at Liverpool University! :) What is Checkpup? The Checkpup wellness test kit gives you input on the dogs’ health just by sending in some hair! They analyze insights about 20 essential areas of the dog’s health, including metabolism, energy levels, sugar and carbohydrate tolerance, stage of stress, immune system functioning, glandular activity, and toxic metal exposure.

Pros and Cons of Using a Long Line for Dog Training

July 12, 2022

I never liked the clumsiness of handling long lines, and since Mia had a pretty good recall since she was a puppy, I never used one with her. Zulu is a lot more independent, and she grew up outside of a city environment, so I ended up heavily utilizing a dragline with her for the first months. There were situations when it was great, and some when I ended up removing it to keep everyone safe, and this made me realize that there are many more pros and cons to using long lines than I imagined.