Are you also tired of losing sight of your dog when you go for a walk at night? I tested several luminous or reflective accessories for walking my dog ​​in the dark, and I'll tell you what I think of them in this article.

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Winter has been here for a few weeks, so walks with Musher are often done at dusk and even at night. I had equipped Musher with a bicycle light clipped to her collar so I could spot her from afar and opted for a headlamp for myself. A minimalist piece of equipment that is frankly not very effective. So, for Christmas, I slipped some bright gifts under the tree for Musher; what walk safely with your dog et be visible at night. I share my tests with you.

We mainly walk in the countryside, in places where I can let go of her in complete safety. I need to be able to locate it quickly to know what it is doing and where it is (on the road, in a stream,…). When we pass someone or a car, I want it to be as visible as possible; especially when walking around town. Being all black, at night she can really go incognito...

Illuminated accessories

Musher never goes very far but I still chose to order some luminous props which can be seen several hundred meters away. Thus a pedestrian or a car can see it from afar and anticipate its presence on the road. I opted for a combination of 3 accessories: a light up necklace, a pendant light and a light up necklace to fix on the collar or on the leash.

SportDog Collar Light

I also ordered the SportDog collar light because it is 100% waterproof. Musher being crazy about water, she cannot resist the call of a puddle or a stream whatever the weather or the temperature. So I needed an accessory that could withstand my labrador! It's also because of a stream that the bike spot I was using gave up the ghost. Water seeped inside: the interior oxidized and the batteries with it. The SportDog lamp has a flashing mode and a steady light mode.

When I know we're going to places where Musher won't survive a dive, I use this light. It also allows you to see your dog from afar; 400m I would say. I'm going to put two downsides to this lamp : you have to press the button for a long time to switch between modes or just turn it on. I didn't understand it right away, I thought the lamp had a defect. It does not fit on Musher's collar which is too thick but it comes with a small carabiner that allows it to be attached to the ring of his collar. Musher goes for a walk with her nose on the ground, fixed in this way, she quite often bangs her front paws in it so I chose to fix her differently to avoid that. Despite this, I will continue to use it because it is very effective in spotting Musher from afar.

spot your black dog at night using a lamp to hang on the collar or harness

The Trixie luminous over-collar

And to finish with the luminous accessories, I also adopted Trixie flash security band. I scratch her on Musher's leash. When we walk around town, it's one more element that makes both of us visible. I found this accessory very useful in addition to the other two because:

- the flash strip lasts about 3.5 hours in flashing light and about 1.50 hours in continuous light

– it is waterproof: which allows us to walk in all weathers.

– it has 2 light modes including a fixed mode.

– it can be attached wherever you want thanks to the Velcro strips: on the leash or directly on the collar as an over-collar. It can therefore be used instead of the fluorescent necklace for example.

I also tested the Trixie over-collar by attaching it to Musher's cani-cross harness. It works very well.

Reflective accessories

Thus equipped Musher is much more visible at night. I didn't find that enough. If I stay on the path, Musher prefers to wander in the fields around the path. The truffle on the ground, in the tall grass, not easy to spot the light… Especially if it's not facing me. Musher wears a bell that allows me to identify where she is by ear, but I wanted to be able to locate her even more easily with my headlamp. I opted for the reflective accessories. It's perfect!

I have not tested reflective collar because as for the luminous accessories, it supposes that Musher is in front of me so that the light is reflected there. In addition, the reflective surface is small and often hidden under the hair... I don't find it very effective!

The reflective safety vest for dogs

I chose the reflective safety vest car:

vest is fluorescent: thus at nightfall, it is impossible to lose sight of Musher.

– it is very reflective thanks to these reflective bands which go around the vest, the two imprints on the sides and around the neck in reflective material too.

– it attaches very easily thanks to two Velcro strips at the level of the neck and the belly. The fabric is very flexible so it does not hinder the dog's movements at all.

vest is machine washable and very useful! Musher jumps into the smallest puddle, the vest never stays yellow for very long...

Musher wears size L and it's almost too big even though based on the sizes it should be just right. So it seems to be quite large. When I look for Musher, my headlamp ends up reflecting the lights from the vest. I see it easily. It's perfect ! The vest can also be used during the day, especially on hunting days. I'll let you read or reread the article on this subject: walk with your dog safely on hunting days.

The Trixie reflective bandana

I also advise you Trixie reflective bandana. Like the vest, it attaches with a Velcro strip, is machine washable and is very reflective thanks to the strips that go all around the neck and the tab in the center of the bandana. the bandanna is very useful in the city, cars see the dog perfectly in their headlights because the reflective surface is on the dog's chest.

the reflective dog bandana allows you to see your dog even at night

If a night jogger passes us, he spots her very easily thanks to the luminous accessories or because her vest has reflected her light; the same is true for cars. It is thus visible from the front, from behind and from the sides. It's exactly what I was looking for. She is even more visible than me in the end… Really useful gifts at the foot of the tree.

All this material will serve me in all seasons. Musher and I do canitrail and a lot of hiking. My dog ​​will thus be able to evolve in complete safety all year round “by night”. Living in the south of France, to hope for a little freshness, the walks summers are often done at the nightfall too ! And then, we quite regularly make night hikes. It's a very different adventure, you don't see much but you hear a lot more things, the pleasure is very different.

READ ALSO : Hiking with your dog can't be improvised!, What should your dog's first aid kit contain?, Taking your dog to the beach: some precautions to take

You can also check out the guide I designed on dog training !