Product Comparisons: Hands Free Leashes

Product Comparisons: Hands Free Leashes

Outward Hound Hands Free Hipster Dog Leash Storage Accessory 5ft Leash Included

When I first got this Hands Free Hipster, I found it to be quite useful for walks, but as I started to take Thornwald out to stores, I found that I did need something that was not as uncomfortable. The product's pockets are hard to use and with clicker training, the pockets weren't in the right location nor were they the right size for treats. The leash that was included was an average leash, but with a larger dog, it was not a very strong leash. I liked that the leash was a dual clip leash that allowed me to clip it to any belt. I used the leash more than I actually used the hipster.

Ruffwear Roamer Leash

This was my most recent product and I wish I would have know that they also sell ones that do not extend. I found this in a hiking/outdoors store so the product was stronger than the other two options. At the bottom of the leash is a traffic handle so that I can walk Cash into a crowded area without worrying about him running off. With him training in public, I wish there was a D-Clip to keep the traffic leash short if I need to hold something at the same time as needing the leash shorter. I've been considering some options, but it would have been a nice feature. 

PetSafe Pet Hands Free Leash, Black

This was the first option that I had found and bought. I had connected my treat bag to the belt and used this for quite a while. It's a basic product that does what it says it is supposed to, but it is not an extremely strong product--If your dog does not stay nearby you through training, he might try to run off and you will most likely go with the leash. If it's a larger dog, he might be able to break the leash if he tried hard enough. For dog leashes, it's rather flimsy. It did work for Thornwald when he was a young service dog in training, but a larger dog might require a sturdier option. 

Overall, I found that each of these options did what they were supposed to do--free up your hands when walking your dog (or in my case, when I was shopping), but I find that the Ruffwear product is far superior to any other hands-free product that I have seen. The actually leash part is strong and durable--and multipurpose! The clasps on the hip clips and also for the dog clip are far sturdier than most that I see at pet stores. If you are looking for quality, durability, and longevity, I'd suggest their leash over the two other choices.

I bought the product at Eastern Mountain Sports, but they have the entire range of leashes on Amazon. I definitely suggest looking at the flat ones as well and looking at the many colors they have for each leash!

Cash's Diet So Far... And How Shelter Life Failed Him

When we first picked Cash up at the Lancaster SPCA, I knew he was underweight, but I did not realize how underweight. The next day, when we took him to see the vet, they weighed him at 50 lbs. If you do not know the average weights of labrador retrievers, the average female labs is between 55 lbs and 70 lbs and for, males between 60 lbs -80 lbs. You could see the entirety of his rib cage sticking out. When they adopted him to me, I was told to fill out some paperwork, that he should get some good food, and that the weird yellows scabs on his back would just come off with a good bath.

My experience with the Lancaster SPCA? Not very good. When he came home with me, I realized that he was not really eating. We tried everything until we decided to purée some chicken and heat it in the microwave. He loved it. I started to add different food with the chicken. I bought a dog food only food processor to grind up his dog food to add to the mixture and then finally Pedialyte. He would eat this meal up. After almost a week, I had finally moved him up to eating solid dog food. There were a few times he did throw up, but most of the time it was not food, just digestive enzymes.

Food Cash Would Eat The First Week*

Puréed Chicken (to a liquid) and warmed up

Ground Purina Pro Plan Focus Sensitive Skin and Stomach Formula

Pidalyte (Rite Aid Brand Equivalent) 

*It is important to note that I am not veterinarian, but I did consult with professionals and I did adapt what I was told to what Cash would eat. In addition, just like a human with an eating disorder, dogs that are/had been starving should be introduced to meals slowly. They should have small meals throughout the day so that their bodies are not trying to digest too much at once. 

Days went by and Cash would be more and more eager to eat so I decided to slowly introduce solid food into his diet and it worked. He does take longer to eat it, but it worked. He is now back on a solid diet and even though it takes him a while, he seems to be enjoying it. When he went back to the vet due to his digestion system being a little off (mostly his #2 schedule), they put him on I/D dog food for a healthy digestion system. I'm not sure if it is working since he's only been on it for a little while, but only time will tell

Now how much did he weigh at this visit? 58.7 lbs. That is a huge difference in a little more than a week. I was so excited that all the work that it was making a difference. His entire attitude had changed and you could see it in his face. When I saw him, I knew I needed him and I didn't know why, but now I know, he needed me just as I need him. 

And now for the official weigh in/weight gain photo:

Let's Go Out to the Dog Park!

I love the local dog park and Cash needed to go on a walk. I don't walk him every day, but he had been eating consistently and we had a lot of time to get there and back. 

We went to Beau's dream park and at first he was a little shy, but after a while he was running around and playing with all the other dogs. It was cute to see him interacting with everyone. I could not believe how easily he adapted to the park. 

It was so funny because he kept trying to catch tennis balls. At one point he captured one and layed down to guard it. 

He didn't like the sprinkler area when it was on, but people weren't turning it on anyways. The other dogs got him to drink a good amount of water, which pleased me since he was exercising. He was trying to mark quite a few things, but I'm not a fan of that particular behavior. Other than that, I got a lot of great advice and saw a lot of people I had not seen in a while. It was definitely wonderful. 

We will definitely go again this week sometime. Hopefully, he will have some more meat on his bones then.