Monthly Archives: January 2023

A new Year…

A new year… and so many topics are running through my head… annual review, new year and good resolutions, new projects… or maybe the New Year’s dogs?
Maybe a bit of everything?
The past year was a special one for me. I married my wife. We met by chance in 2019 and are so wonderfully on the same wavelength that I don’t want to be without her for a single day. Above all, we share our love of dogs and our passion for helping people build a better relationship with their dog. I am very grateful for that (gratitude… also a great topic for the blog).
I learned a lot last year from the dogs in my training and also from meeting special people… that leads me to new projects and new approaches for the new year. I don’t keep many good resolutions for myself because I mostly didn’t keep them and created more frustration than joy. That doesn’t mean that I don’t set goals for myself… they are definitely on my list!
But now I want to get to my real topic… you’ll find out more about my goals in the next few months… The New Year’s Eve dogs… that’s what I call them. I mean the poor frightened creatures that are reported missing around New Year’s Eve. They, frightened by rockets and firecrackers, just run away in panic… headless and no longer responsive.
Before New Year’s Eve, I regularly post videos and posts in which I give tips on how to secure a dog for the last walks before the end of the year, so that they can’t slip out of the collar and harness if a firecracker explodes right next to them. I also regularly recommend keeping dogs on a leash in the days around New Year’s Eve. Ideally, you lead the dog by the collar and harness at the same time. On these special days, I deliberately tighten my dogs’ collars one hole more to make sure that they don’t turn their heads out in an emergency. The typical harnesses are pull harnesses, which means that they fit comfortably and distribute the load across the body when the dog goes forward. However, if the dog goes backwards while the harness is being pulled forwards, it easily slips over the dog’s shoulders and head and you have… whoosh… the leash and harness in your hand and the dog is “naked”.
A so-called additional safety harness has a strap that runs behind the dog’s ribs. This means the dog cannot slip out of the harness. If I also secure it to the collar, I am well equipped for one last walk of the old year.
I take my dogs out for the last time on December 31st between 4 and 5 p.m. Then I go home and they can retreat. We don’t go out again until the morning of the new year.
I had hoped that the New Year’s Eve fireworks wouldn’t be too loud and that people would rather invest their money wisely (although that is certainly in the eye of the beholder), but things turned out differently. Maybe I wasn’t used to it anymore after 2 quiet years due to the pandemic.

As early as December 31st, the first reports came in that dogs had run away in panic on walks as well as from gardens.

I feel for every dog ​​owner who is looking for their furry friend and has done everything they can to find them.

Our furry friends are able to run long distances if something has made them panic. This makes finding them again very difficult.

I find it really horrifying when comments are posted under search messages in which the owners are only blamed and even insulted.

That certainly doesn’t help at this point!

The worries and fears about the dogs and also the grief that the dear friends have lost are terrible.

One of the dogs currently missing is one who was with us in training for some time.

I sincerely hope that he will be found soon and can return home to his family.

If there is one resolution for the new year, it is that people should be more friendly and understanding towards each other. You don’t know each other’s history, you haven’t walked in each other’s shoes.
Look behind the facade and reach out to help.
I think our world is in great need of helping hands right now!
Be good to each other.