Dog walks in the cold and dark

[JessUK98]

Any tips?
Dog is settling in well, it’s like she has been here forever and not just 4 months or so. We’ve got a nice routine going and have several walking routes. However yesterday we faced our first potential set back with the clocks going back. Thankfully I had the forsight to carry a torch and LED flasher. One of our walks is through the forest. It gets dark awfully quick. If I hadn’t the torch we’d probably still be wandering around up there now. One of our other walks in in the quarry. So that’s 2walks we can’t do anymore safely which is a shame as they were the only 2 walks where she could go for a few miles completely off the lead.
Soon we’ll all be going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark!
How do people deal with this? I have several other routes but on the roads. Pitch black in parts of course but less likely to fall down the side of a cliff. Unfortunately as they are on the road, I have to keep her mostly on the lead apart from the less frequented little side roads. I feel quite shady that Monday to Friday she won’t be able to run around freely and expend her energy (she’s still an energetic little thing even though she’s about 9). I guess we could run a few of the routes, that would help tire her out, and she’s really good at running on a lead with me.

Also what about paws with the salt when the gritters come out? Anything to help protect her pads or should I not worry?
Also how cold is too cold? I can wrap up warm in several layers, but the dog can’t. Is it worth getting a coat for her? She doesn’t seem to care about the rain, but it hasn’t got that cold yet. She wasn’t impressed when we went out for a quick blast around the block during Storm Ophelia though, she practically made us run back to the house.

Thanks, i’m still a bit of a noob dog owner, and want to make sure we survive the winter!

[redsturgeon]

I am lucky enough to be able to walk during daylight hours so really don't have any experience of dark dog walking.

I guess a light for the dog collar would be handy.

John

[UncleIan]

Dogs have good night vision. Much better than ours. Maybe put an LED/hi vis collar on the dog so you can see it. Otherwise carry on. It probably won't run around the woods so much, but it'll still be more than happy to be off the lead. Do you have any parkland near you?

Actually, you will find that if you turn your torch off, your eyes should adjust in a few minutes and you should be able to see a surprising amount. I mean, I wouldn't go stumbling around in the woods, but you should be able to walk along paths in open areas no problem.

As for cold, depends on the dog. I'd be guided by it. Ours never seemed too bothered, but then it was a big labrador sized dog. Smaller dogs may be more affected, especially very small dogs. Not sure how much it's a real problem, or an excuse to turn a dog into a dolly and play dress up.

[JessUK98]

I am lucky enough to be able to walk during daylight hours so really don't have any experience of dark dog walking.

I guess a light for the dog collar would be handy.

John

Very, I asked on TLF previously and picked up one a couple of these from ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122619692645

Definitely recommended.

[JessUK98]

Dogs have good night vision. Much better than ours. Maybe put an LED/hi vis collar on the dog so you can see it. Otherwise carry on. It probably won't run around the woods so much, but it'll still be more than happy to be off the lead. Do you have any parkland near you?

Actually, you will find that if you turn your torch off, your eyes should adjust in a few minutes and you should be able to see a surprising amount. I mean, I wouldn't go stumbling around in the woods, but you should be able to walk along paths in open areas no problem.

As for cold, depends on the dog. I'd be guided by it. Ours never seemed too bothered, but then it was a big labrador sized dog. Smaller dogs may be more affected, especially very small dogs. Not sure how much it's a real problem, or an excuse to turn a dog into a dolly and play dress up.

No parkland in the immediate vicinity. Plenty of farmers fields, we could possibly use one of those if there are no sheep or cows about, but I wouldn't want to inadvertently annoy any farmers.

She's a medium sized dog, and doesn't even like having a dog harness on so probably would object to dressing up like a dolly. I'll see how to gets on then.

[Gengulphus]

Hard to judge without seeing where you'd be walking just how much light you need for safety, but there are quite a few amazingly bright, rechargeable LED cycle lights around - the brightest of them so bright that I cannot really imagine them not being up to the job! To give an idea, I find my front lights, which are of that general type but nowhere near the brightest, entirely adequate for nighttime cycling in the countryside around Cambridge at speeds of up to about 12 mph. They probably wouldn't be bright enough for wandering around a quarry (Cambridgeshire countryside not being renowned for its cliff edges!), even at lower walking speeds, but the brightest I've seen range up to about 20 times the light output of mine.

And many of them have head-mounting options, which should be good for your use, as they direct the light in the direction you're looking while leaving your hands completely free. Many of those are actually mounted on a cycling helmet, of course, which you might well regard as a drawback for your use... But I think I've seen ones on offer with head-mounting options that needn't involve a helmet.

Cavers' lights might also be worth investigating, for similar reasons. I know less about them (it's my brother who is a caver, not me) but I do know that an older generation of cavers' lights included at least one that could be head-mounted either with or without a helmet - basically, it had a battery pack, a light unit and three elasticated straps plus a wire connecting the two, and was mounted by placing one strap around each side of the head/helmet and the third across the top, with the battery pack at the back and the light unit at the front.

Anyway, no promises (especially as the better lights can be pretty expensive), but you might try investigating bike lights and cavers' lights to see whether anything suitable turns up.

Gengulphus

[CelticMartini]

I found this to be excellent , real long range and great with the wide circle or focussed square 'spotlight'.
I use LIDL rechargeable batteries - 3 x AAA.

1200 Lumen Cree-XML T6 Led Portable Zoomable Flashlight Torches
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... A61E&psc=1

ATB, Martini

[AleisterCrowley]

I like the Led Lenser torches, lots of light for the size and good battery life in my experience. Zoomable with one hand spot to flood
Notice a lot of the local cops carry them - they may be standard issue !