Walking Your Dogs at Night Safely: What You MUST Do

pooch walkingWalking your dog is a great way to increase the quality of your best friends life. You can keep them healthy and happy with just a short daily walk.

Most people take their dog for a walk during the day, but for some people, the only time they have is at night. Should you still take your dog for a walk at night? Absolutely! However, it can be dangerous if you’re not careful.

There are many different hazards out there that could hurt you and your dog. The main one would be passing vehicles. The drivers can’t always see very well, so it’s essential to make both you and your canine visible at night to prevent a potential accident. Keep reading while we go over what you must do to keep you and your pet safe while walking at night…

Do Night Safety Tips

Don’t wear dark clothes

This is kind of an obvious one, yet I see it all the time in my neighborhood. Anything is better than black or brown. Look at the bright side, now you’ll finally have a use for all those ugly Hawaiian shirts or Christmas sweaters. The best part is that if it’s dark nobody will see!

Use a leash

Dogs have better night visioncanine at dusk than humans do. They can see all kinds of distractions that can make them bolt off without warning. Things like a passing squirrel or simply a noise in the nearby bush can be triggers.

This is why it’s so important to use a high-quality dog leash when you take Fido for his walk at night time.

Also, don’t use a flexi-lead because they can be quite dangerous. The reason for this is that they are so difficult to see. People walking by could potentially trip over them, as well as people driving by not being able to see it and potentially causing an accident.

Walk in lighted areas

Sadly there are a lot of bad people out there and it’s always safe to stick to the lighted roads at night whenever you can.

Bring a friend

If possible don’t take your dog for a walk at night alone. As they say, there is strength in numbers.

Stay alert

This mainly means no headphones. Also, make sure to walk against traffic so you can see oncoming vehicles.

Necessary Products

If you’re going to walk your dog at night then we highly recommend investing in some products that will help to keep you and your pet safe.

LED Collars

This is my number one recommendation for what you should buy to stay safe at night. They are cheap and highly effective. What more could you want? View some of them here.

Reflective Leashes

Another solid recommendation would be to use a reflective leash. I recommend using both but one would be better than nothing.

Pepper Spray

This one is something that could potentially save your life. You can pick up some pepper spray on Amazon to help stay safe.