Hey everyone,
There are a lot of us who take hand walks with our dogs very seriously. Myself included.
I know everyone has their own philosophy on just what to bring on these walks and reasons why. The purpose of this thread isn't to judge, but to come with an open mind and understand or even learn about different essentials people like for hand walking.
I thought it would be really nice to have a thread where everyone can show their different essentials for their normal hand walks, long or short.
Tips, links to where to possibly purchase things, etc all welcome!
Here's my day-to-day minimum essentials for hand walks:
Random notes:
- I like to keep my cell phone on video mode as you never know when you'll need to document something.
- I'm always scanning ahead at least as far as my eyes can go, never looking down for too long. I know it SHOULD be common sense, but I've seen way too many dog owners around my area just glued to their cell phones or just looking down when walking their dogs.
- Always be on the look out for broken glass on the ground! For you city/suburb people, this is also important!
There are a lot of us who take hand walks with our dogs very seriously. Myself included.
I know everyone has their own philosophy on just what to bring on these walks and reasons why. The purpose of this thread isn't to judge, but to come with an open mind and understand or even learn about different essentials people like for hand walking.
I thought it would be really nice to have a thread where everyone can show their different essentials for their normal hand walks, long or short.
Tips, links to where to possibly purchase things, etc all welcome!
Here's my day-to-day minimum essentials for hand walks:
- hip pack: I like having this to free up my pockets and hands. Helps when I go on a light jog as well. I place my cell phone/wallet/keys inside.
- poop bag dispenser: (attached to hip pack strap) I like this one in particular made by Emanuele Bianchi called the "Looper Scooper." It doesn't rattle around like the plastic poop bag dispensers and works well. Found on Amazon.
- high visibility hat: for the city/suburb people, I think this is a MUST.
- break stick: depending on where you live, your local laws, this may or may not be classified under illegal "paraphernalia." My opinion: the best time to have a break stick is when you don't need it---very much like insurance. One of these can be very unsightly to other people, I keep mine on a lanyard around my neck under my shirt. TIP: if you feel uneasy carrying one around or it is prohibited by your local laws, a plastic tent stake will do the trick just fine. You can find stakes at Home Depot for dirt cheap. Regardless, knowing how to use one(either break stick or tent stake) can be the difference between walking away from an incident or having 1 or 2 dead dogs.
- pepper spray/animal deterrent spray: I've always liked the brand "HALT!" & I've had to use it on a good size rottweiler that charged at me and one of my past dogs about 7 years ago with great success. It's nice and small with a clip and easily attaches to a pocket securely.
Random notes:
- I like to keep my cell phone on video mode as you never know when you'll need to document something.
- I'm always scanning ahead at least as far as my eyes can go, never looking down for too long. I know it SHOULD be common sense, but I've seen way too many dog owners around my area just glued to their cell phones or just looking down when walking their dogs.
- Always be on the look out for broken glass on the ground! For you city/suburb people, this is also important!