The Gift of Dogs

The presence of dogs is certainly one of life’s greatest gifts. Like moving water or the dance of a campfire, their friendship, foibles and distinct personalities shake us from our worries and tech drivel driven world and force us to focus on what’s important. For starters, family, great pooches, wild country and the wet, prickly and wonderful world we actually see and feel beyond the digital. In my case, it’s watching my brittanies, Rocco and Gus, somewhere off in the sage, lost in scent and discovery, chasing huns, while I do my best to pretend I’m in control. I need to make sure they are not on point, not too far out, on the fast tail wagging track of a jackrabbit taunting them mid-stride with a backward glance and finally doing my best not to fall in a badger hole or tear something from my five decade plus body.

But wide open wild and undeveloped country does bring with it the critters that make the West something to take seriously and that’s when control matters. Talk to any Montanan and they will have a bear, moose, elk, deer, skunk or maybe even a mountain lion story. And close interaction with wild animals is frequently where the life and safety of your dog hangs in balance on your actions, training and tools.

And when it comes to tools and controlling your dog, nothing comes close to a leash. Leashed, your dog is under full control and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a porcupine, coiled rattlesnake or an angry sow bear… your dog’s are safe at hand. Wild risks though most frequently don’t present themselves with warning and leashes are almost never available. When that happens, digging through a pack for your leash, or fumbling to get one attached to a frantic barking dog or even worse discovering that you forgot one… is the worst case scenario.

It’s those moments, with a bear cub treed and a sow nowhere in sight, a porcupine quill filled hindquarters to face with your bird dog or a rattlenesnake coiled for strike, that will make even the “not a leash guy” a leash guy. I know because I was one of them. And seeing dogs in that sort of situation was the genesis of the Releash— a wraparound leash, dog collar with a quick release magnetic buckle that is truly a life changer for pet owners. Now, with the pull of a tab on your dog’s collar your dog is instantly leashed.

So crack a beer with the flat buckle and attach that leash to something sound and take time to enjoy your dog… because if we are lucky we get 15 years with our best friend and every moment they are ignored is a moment you’ll never recapture. So let them drag you into the present and the life that matters.