A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to review the Doddle for Dogs, a dog collar with an integrated lead. I thought this sounded quite convenient, so I said I’d give it a go. I decided to use it on Soxa, because being a Lurcher, Pluto can occasionally slip out of a collar so he tends to be better off with a slip lead.
In recent years, Soxa has aged quite quickly. She is fourteen years old and has had two strokes, In dogs, a stroke is something to do with the ears, so I’m told. This has unfortunately sent her almost completely deaf, so indicating to her what you want her to do has become almost impossible. Prior to putting the Doddle onto Soxa, I hadn’t twigged how useful a lead integrated into the collar would be for a deaf dog. As soon as I put it on her, I realised just how much this was going to help her.
The collar incorporates a little disk that holds a lead. Until you pull the handle to take the lead out, it is safely stashed away inside the collar. When I need to attract Soxa’s attention, I can just take hold of the handle and lead her wherever she needs to go. The lead is also great for Libby, as a normal lead that doesn’t retract will get tangled up when Libby is leading Soxa along. The two of them seem to be getting on better than ever these days.
As you can see, the collar is a pretty, bright red colour and the lead just looks like a piece of ribbon. It is nice and robust though, and the handle on the end is easy to hold. The whole thing is , Soxa doesn’t seem to notice that she’s wearing it. Although this has proved an absolute godsend to us because of Soxa’s deafness, I would still recommend it to someone with a hearing dog as the convenience of not having to worry about bringing a lead with us when we go out is great.
[button link=”http://plutoniumsox.com/pets/doddle-for-dogs-review-and-giveaway/” window=”yes”]Written by Plutonium Sox[/button]
Thank you for sharing my review, we love the Doddle. Soxa sadly passed away a few weeks ago, but Pluto is now wearing it. This proved rather beneficial when we went out one day and he managed to get out and pop over to my dad’s house. Thank goodness he took his lead with him thanks to wearing a doddle for dogs!
Dear Natalie
I have only just found your note as I am still getting used to all the admin stuff. I am so sorry to hear about Soxa, it is the worst part of loving our dogs, that we have to say goodbye so quickly really. However, I am thrilled that Pluto is now wearing the Doddle – did you wash it first as it would have all Soxa’s scents embedded in it. Would you like to send a photo of both or either to me at sally@doddlefordogs.com and I will put up on FB? I am planning a Gallery asap and will use some of the photos from the blog too – with proper sourcing details of course. Could I also put your comment about Pluto up with a pic? Thank you so much for writing in. Sally. x