My Favourite Things
No sponsorships or endorsements unless specifically mentioned. These are simply products/services which I’ve either tried myself, been recommended, or frankly just looked good to me.
NOTE: I have linked to company’s websites when it is possible to order there, otherwise I have linked shops which stock the item/s. Please let me know if there’s a dead link. And always shop around and see if you can find a better price elsewhere, google and idealo are your friends.
Leashes, Collars & Harnesses:
Lennie-Equipment is based in Berlin, they make BioThane and EasyCare leashes, collars, harnesses, and much more- including custom orders.
These are leather-like synthetic materials, they can get wet and dirty, all you have to do is wipe or hose them off.
I have several leashes from these folks, including my SuperFlex long-line, which is 5m long and ridiculously lightweight.
I like that they sew rather than rivet, which doesn’t weaken the material. There’s countless colour, material and carabiner options, if you’re unsure about what you need, they can advise you in English, just shoot them an email.
Prefer leather? Hund-Natürlich make Fettlederleinen (oiled leather leashes) which are supple, flexible and have a great feel to them. Leather is decidedly not vegan, so if you do make this choice, please reduce your consumption by taking good care of the leather. These leashes can last a long time.
They also offer customisation, various widths, lengths, carabiners and glow-in-the-dark rings, etc.
Indi-Dog hand makes custom leashes, harnesses, escape proof harnesses, collars, you name it.
A Note on escape proof harnesses: Essential for scared dogs, new rescues, or any dog that has learned how to back out of a harness. The AniOne Safety is an affordable option that you can usually pick up at Fressnapf. I recommend getting a custom fit in the long run. Tip: Make sure that the extra escape-proof strap is still on the rib cage, not around the abdominal organs!
Haqihana also make safety harnesses for suitable for deep-chested breeds like sighthounds. They also make regular Y-front harnesses for XXXS dogs, which seem to be hard to find otherwise!
Indi-Dog also makes breakaway collars which I recommend (read the collar safety post here) and leashes with fleece lined hand loops and you can get ones with an added traffic handle.
Leash Tips:
I prefer the carabiner to be brass or stainless steel. Your millage may vary but those have lasted longest for me.
Consider getting a custom length and hand-loop size to suit you. The hand loop circumference should allow you to take it off easily, even under tension. Safety First. But, standard hand loops seem to be made so that even The Hulk could use them, so I like to get them made a bit smaller for my small wrists.
Regularly inspect your leashes for fraying, weak spots, loose rivets or stitches, bent fittings, or any sings of wearing out.
Check that the leash is rated for your dog's weight.
DO NOT wrap your leash around your hand multiple times. Should your dog suddenly lunge, this can result in a “degloving” injury which is as awful as it sounds.
Instead: get a leash in a grippy material, or even one with an integrated “traffic handle” (“Kurzführer”). That helps you manage big reactive dogs in instances when you can’t avoid their triggers.
Photo by Gabe Pierce on Unsplash
A note on gear weight for small dogs:
If you have a regular, half-litre bottle of water in your bag, you do notice that weight after a while, right? Ok, keep that in mind.
A regular, no-frills leash can weigh around 150g. There's a lot of heavier options, 3-way adjustable ones, etc, but let's go with a classic leash here.
Let's say you have a 30 kg dog (think labrador). That's 5g leash weight per kg of the dog’s weight.
For me, a 55kg person, that'd be 275g. A not-quite-half-empty bottle.
Now let’s say you have a 5kg dog (think shih tzu, maltese), if you were to use the same leash, that's 30g leash weight per kg. That's SIX TIMES HEAVIER.
For me that'd be 1.65kg. Three water bottles.
What if you have a 3 kg dog (think pomeranian, yorkshire terrier, chihuahua), that same leash is now 50g per kg. Or, for me, that'd be 2.75 kg, five and a half bottles of water.
Okay, okay, the dog is not carrying the whole weight of the leash. The human does tend to hold up the other end. But, the carabiner is always on the dog's end of the leash, which makes it the heavier end.
Unless you're a discerning ultralight backpacker, these differences are not terribly noticeable to us humans. But there is a hell of a difference between over 5 bottles of water and one half-full one.
The same is true of collars, harnesses and other gear for small dogs. Think of gear weigh as relative to the dog’s weight.
I have a 2m leash in leather and biothane, both weigh under 90g, which works out for my 10kg dog. If you have a smaller dog, I’d recommend looking at lighter materials, like the lighter variants of BioThane Lenny-Equipment uses or possibly paracord (I haven’t found a good source for these yet).
Photo by Kevin Lehtla on Unsplash
A note on retractable leashes: Trainers despise these with the fire of a thousand suns, here’s why:
Try an image search for “Flexi leash injuries”. Have you seen the cord versions in particular? They’re practically cheese wire. Severe burns, deep injuries to ankles, hands, dog’s legs AND necks if it gets wrapped around, even amputations and eye damage from the carabiner coming loose and flicking back at the person’s face.
Yes, long lines can cause nasty injuries, too. But they are usually a wider material, they don’t retract, and they often drag on the ground rather than being held taut in the air at neck/head/eye height of other dogs and children.Tangles with other dogs when they are greeting. *shudder!* Regular leashes tangle, too, however, they are not so narrow and taut, so it’s easier to untangle from the human end of the leash, sometimes you can even drop the handle and grab the leash from the dog’s end and unravel it that way. Can’t do that when the human end is a plastic brick.
They encourage inattention, it’s too easy to walk along without paying much attention to what your dog is doing. (Yes, this one you can consciously prevent)
If you drop it, there’s now a plastic brick reeling and bouncing itself towards your dog, possibly making them spook and run off further.
Hard to grip. If you need to hit the button, your opposable thumb is no longer helping you grip the handle- at the time when you need it the most. In general, you’re always using the muscles in your fingers to grip the thing.
The mechanism can wear out and break without warning- you can’t inspect the insides to see if something is about to go wrong.
Let’s say your dog jumps into the street. You hit the lock button. Your dog is now in the middle of the street, pulling towards the squirrel on the other side with all his might. You’re on a narrow sidewalk. How do you get your dog back? You can’t reel in the line! You can’t even grab it! Not without injury risk to your hand, that is.
Sudden stop. You can’t do a slow stop, you only have that one button and bam, dog runs into a brick wall. And when you unlock the line while there is slack in it, the dog gets a jerk.
Constant tension- the dog is always pulling against the retraction mechanism. How are they to know not to pull when you switch to a regular leash? In my opinion this is the least of the flexi’s problems, compared to the others.
When can you use a retractable leash?
- when you have a band/tape version rather than a cord
- it’s attached to the harness (not the collar)
- there’s no other dogs or people around, no road nearby
- you’re being attentive to what your dog is doing
- you use a signal so your dog knows when they’re in the “I can pull now” mode.
Like on a walk through the woods at a quiet time, for instance, or on a big empty beach.
Collar tips:
See my safety rant—errr I mean my post on collars here. In short: Collars that aren’t breakaway should be taken off when you are not supervising. They ideally should have a quick release buckle, not a regular pin-and-hole buckle. I generally prefer the leash to be attached to a harness rather than a collar- though the latter can be done, albeit carefully to mitigate injury risks.
More reading:
Is it harmful to attach a leash to your dog’s neck? by Emily Larlham
Harness tips:
Turns out, we didn’t really know much about how exactly dogs move. Until, that is, Prof. Dr. Martin S. Fischer’s Dogs In Motion study (see video below).
What does that mean for harness fitting? The harness should stay out of the way of the scapula and humerus as much as possible. The chest strap should sit far enough back on the ribcage that it’s not pinching under the elbow. To prevent choking, the point at which the straps meet on the dog’s chest should be on the sternum. This fantastic free brochure has illustrations!
Harnesses for small dogs are often available in a "step in" design- the back opens, so you first have to put each leg in- hence step-in. There are some common issues to watch out for:
• Putting it on a wriggly puppy can be tricky- or indeed any dog who isn’t fond of it.
• They typically have to two D-rings on the back, both of which you have to thread with the clip of your leash. That can be fiddly, and some clips are too small.
• The shoulder straps often traverse the scapula- which possibly is bad for freedom of movement of the front legs. Some are also made with wide mesh fabric- distributes pressure, sure, but if it's too wide it does look like it gets in the way of shoulder movement.
Hence I've made this visual sum-up of some Y-front harnesses which come in small sizes. Disclaimer: I just picked a few out that looked good to me, there are many more, others may become unavailable or have changed since making this graphic.
Toys & Puzzle feeders
StarMark’s Easy Glide DuraFoam DISC and Fantastic DuraFoam BALL are hands down my favourite outdoor toys due to the dog-friendly colour options (dogs see yellow and blue) and their extremely light weight.
They do get a million tooth indentations pretty quickly, but mine have held up to fetch and light tugging very well.
Tug-e-nuff’s motivational toys are a favourite among dog sports folks. My favs are the Rabbit Pocket Squeaker, Sheepskin Bungee Ring and The Clam, which is great for getting food-motivated dogs into toys.
Since brexit, getting things from the UK can be a pain. They do have a global store that lists prices in € but still it’ll add a lot of shipping cost to Germany. Here are some shops that resell Tug-e-nuff here, so you can compare the total cost:
senniland.de
haseinlove.de
ToughTugz make toys out of milk liners recycled from a local diary farm. While they are sanitized, they do still smell a bit like a barn. My fav is the power ring.
Havohravo make and stock motivational dog toys. They are all about dog sports and generally enjoying an active life with your dog.
Speaking of which, you’re into pulling sports, you should also check out Non-stop dogwear. Zayma makes similar toys though I’ve never ordered there.
My fav, or should I say Rika’s fav, is the Tuggy Rabbit.
Antkakliaisiaure.lt has a similar line of bungee sheepskin tugs and other motivation toys as well as other gear.
Screenshot from antkakliaisiaure.lt/
JW Pet’s line of “HOL-ee” toys is iconic. In particular the “HOL-ee Roller/Gitterball” and “HOL-ee Rugby/Gitterfootball” variants are my favs. Available in many sizes, affordable and durable, easy to grab even for puppies, what’s not to love?
Plus, the Rugby can be used as a bully stick holder, and the Roller ball can be a food puzzle.
West Paw’s Zogoflex line of toys are not the cheapest, but they last. The Toppl is a great food puzzle toy, The Hurley in particular has a rep for holding up to chewers. I tried the Zogoflex Air Boz and found while it was light, it was still a bit too heavy for my dog- but then, she is very much a lightweight herself. It’d still make a great tennis ball replacement for many (yeah, tennis balls are not great for dogs).
Westpaw’s Hurley promo video
Speaking of toys that last– goughnuts.com are pretty hardy, I’m told. The shipping from the US is expensive though, but you can find resellers in Germany.
Ahh, Kong. The ubiquitous puzzle feeder- almost synonymous with food enrichment even. Where would we be without it? They’ve achieved household name status. They’re also making products for other species, which is fantastic.
They make the iconic Classic Kong of course. The flyer range and the wobbler also look good.
Safety Note:
depending on the size of the classic kong and of the dog, some dogs can stick their lower jaw into the opening and get stuck. That initially sounds funny but it can be serious.
The same is true for the wobbler, see video. Ok, so this is a coyote, but there’s no reason a dog jaw couldn’t get stuck the same way.
If you’ve ever held a classic kong, you know it has the larger opening, and a smaller one on the narrow end. This is a vacuum breaker- it ensures that your dog doesn’t get their tongue stuck. BUT when you fill the thing up with wet food, peanut butter, etc, and especially if you freeze it, you’re taking that option away. Tongue amputations can happen this way. It can be fatal. I see no reason why THIS (warning graphic images) couldn’t happen with a classic kong if the smaller hole was blocked off. When stuffing a kong, fill up the sides but leave that air hole!
While I’m sure the fine print says otherwise, kong has a reputation as making toys that are safe to leave with your dog unsupervised. No toy is 100% safe.
I’m not saying Kong toys are particularly dangerous. I have Kong toys at home. Their ubiquity means that anything that can go wrong is likely to have gone wrong at some point. The assumption that anything Kong makes is safe to leave with your dog while unsupervised is dangerous. The same is true for every other toy.
Another big brand name, Chuckit. The flying squirrel was Rika’s favourite when she was a pup. The curved shape makes it easy to pick up and the light fabric makes it ideal for a pup’s first disc, though the fabric wouldn’t stand up to chewers.
Notable for small dog owners: Chuckit’s ultra ball is available in a smaller 5.2 cm size.
Safety Note:
Always make sure ball toys are not too small so they are not a choking hazard! The dog should not be able to wedge the ball in the back of their mouth.
Chuckit’s marketing highlights fetching as exercise, #makefetchhappen and so forth. So this is a good a place as any to point out that while that can be part of your dog’s exercise, it should not be the only part. Going to a field, playing a solid 30-60 minutes of intense fetch and leaving is not appropriate for meeting a dog’s exercise needs. There needs to be sniffy, decompressing, exploration walks through nature, social contact if your dog likes that, mental as well as physical stimulation. Fetch can be quite hard on joints, so like all fun things- moderation is key.
Silicon baking mats make a great lick-mat, plus you can also home bake dog cookies. There’s a FB group dedicated to recipes for baking mats: Pyramid Dog Treats.
This is the one I bought, though there is lots of similar options so do look around.
Treats & Chews
Bully sticks aka “Ochsenziemer” aka “pizzle sticks” are.. um.. dried bull penises. Don’t think about that for too long. They’re great edible chews.
But, they have a problem; many dogs like to swallow the stump whole. Safety Chew looks to be a good solution to that, see review below. Previously I stuck them through a JW Hol-ee Rugby as a holder- the stump winds up on the inside of the toy.
Currently I get my bully sticks from masterfeed (also via amazon).
Alpha Spirit’s line of soft treats are high-value for most dogs. Fair warning, they stink.
Individual packaging means you can chuck some in your bag and forget about them till you need them for that big jackpot reward, like for your emergency recall.
At time of writing (Early Oct/2020) one of my fav doggy Instagramers has a 20% discount code for these (see embedded IG post).
Another store that usually stocks them is zookauf-shop.de, though no discount there at the moment.
Vitakraft’s semi-soft lamb stripes are my go-to for very small pups and dogs, because you can easily cut them into very small pieces that don’t crumble and are still a bit soft.
Any semi-soft treats in stripe-form can be used this way, these just happen to be the ones I usually get, in part because they’re lamb monoprotein so my chicken-intolerant dog can enjoy them, too.
zooplus.de and petland.de also usually stock these.
Making stripes into teeny tiny treats
Wolf of Wildness “Wild Bites” line are too big to use as treats, but they work great if you cut them into smaller pieces. They do crumble in the process (at least the beef and duck ones do), which is useful for mixing the crumbles into your dog’s regular dry food to use it as an “upgraded” treat.
Caniland Kekse mit Strauß really shouldn’t be anything special. They’re cheap, dry, and don’t contain a lot of meat. But, their light colour makes them a great “toss and find it” treat, and they’re not oily at all, therefore pocket-friendly.
Knackerstücke Wild from heinersberger.de are a bit smelly, but I’ve hardly met a dog who didn’t love them. They do come in rather big pieces, so for training I cut them with (clean) garden shears.
Tip: use a treat pouch, or get a pocket-liner, or use a coffee filter as a pocket-liner to prevent your pockets from getting all smelly and greasy.
Clothing & Gear
Sofadogwear make dog fleeces, coats, rainwear and more. They do have an emphasis on sighthounds, though they also have lines for other breed types.
You can order either from their store, or from their representation in Germany, Vici-Design.
DG Dog Gear focuses on sighthounds. I’ve never ordered there so I can’t speak to the quality but they are worth checking out if you have an italian greyhound, whippet, greyhound, saluki, galgo, or similarly shaped dog. If you have a podenco though, I’d look elsewhere since none of these allow for a tail that’s usually carried upright.
Mons Bons Puffer Jacket comes in many sizes and is made by a Berlin based company. I haven’t tried it as Rika is very narrow so “normal” dog clothing usually doesn’t fit her.
RexSpecs make the only good dog goggles that I know of.
Why would you need this? Some dogs need protection from UV rays for medical reasons, and some working dogs need protection from getting thorns or debris in their eyes. The same is true for any sport/adventure in which there’s a higher risk of eye trauma.
Ok, this one looks weird, I know. This is the OutFox FieldGuard. It prevents foxtails (in German: Grannen) from embedding in the dog’s nose/eyes/ears. Foxtails can be deadly, they can burrow in and get through the skin. And yes, we have them in Berlin, too.
The FieldGuard has a notable side-benefit: It prevents eating. While that can usually be addressed with training, there are dogs with pica, compulsive eating of non-food things, like rocks or acorns, which can be very dangerous. At the same time, it does not inhibit panting, drinking, or even biting- meaning the dog can still grab toys.
Basket Muzzles are a must have. For public transport, for vet visits, to prevent eating unsafe things, for safety with bite risk dogs. Even if your dog is usually fine, if they are hurt and feel very sore, or the vet would like to ensure their safety, it helps if your dog already knows how to wear a muzzle rather than it being an added stressor.
Rika’s muzzle is from The Muzzle Shop, who specialise in sighthound muzzles.
Another popular basket muzzle is the Baskerville Ultra. The wide gaps make it great for giving treats through. There are some reports that it is possible for a determined dog to bite through this muzzle, at least the older version.
Finding a good fit:
The Muzzle Up! Project and their FB group has resources, and lots of photos of various types of muzzles. Mike Shikashio did an excellent FB live video on the 7. Nov 2019: chatting about muzzles. He also has this more concise video over on the Kikopup YT channel.
Muzzle Training and Tips (MTT) offers resources including a free fit check on their FB group (Please read the rules first! Previously it was called Muzzle Training and Tips, and in early 2022 it was renamed Open-Minded Dog Owners) and paid MTT programs.
German muzzle shops:
anderdogs-shop.de
chicundscharf.com
hundebedarf-boettcher.de
leinenschaft.com (for short-nosed dogs)
moin-hund.de
-> Many thanks to MTT for these links!
A note on sizing: The dog should be able to pant fully and drink water. Many muzzles, even those pictured on the packaging (!!) are too small! Look at your dog when they’re fully panting- that’s how wide they need to be able to open their jaw in the muzzle, too.
Side benefit: Most people will leave your dog alone and call their own dogs back when they see your dog wearing a muzzle. Even if your dog is not a bite risk, this can give them some peace and space.
Diet & Nutrition:
Dr. med. vet. Susan Kröger, specialist for animal nutrition and dietetics offers German and English veterinary nutrition consultations.
This is an invaluable service if your dog has allergies, or other dietary issues, if you want to make sure your homemade food is nutritionally complete, or you simply want to know more. Highly recommend.
NOTE: the website seems to have a glitch where it appears empty on some browsers. Works in chrome though.
Further veterinary nutrition advisors who I have not worked with myself, but I have seen recommended: (don’t know if they speak English)
tieraerztliche-ernaehrungsberatung.de
rh-vet.com
napfcheck.de
tierarzt-ernaehrung.de
So you want to feed a raw or homemade diet? The advisors above should be able to help with that, but here’s another resource.
Many recipes and suppliers are not nutritionally complete, or use ratios rather than nutrient requirements, and there’s a lot that can go wrong.
Raw Fed & Nerdy has many resources to help you out, including a free/set your own price course, and a wonderful community on their Facebook Group.
Misc.
I haven’t tried this- however, the Carnilo Hundeklo looks like it could be an option for folks who want to have a natural indoor/balcony potty area that isn’t a peepad.
Peepads tend to create an association of “small squares of fabric are for eliminating on”, so using a grass pad keeps the “grass = for eliminating on” association going in your dog’s mind.
It’s not perfect: Your dog might also form an association with the location, ie “that corner of the hallway is for eliminating on”. My first recommendation for house training is always to do it right the first time, which means frequently taking them to the spot you want them to associate with peeing/pooping, and that spot is usually outside. However, there’s circumstances in which this is impractical and this seems like a nice indoor toilet option that includes an “outside” texture (grass).
You could probably DIY this with a trip to a Baumarkt; some lawn-on-a-roll in a big cat litter box or an underbed-storage box, for instance.
As far as I know, Embark is the most accurate DNA test you can get. That doesn’t mean it’s 100%; as my layperson understanding goes, they’re looking at genetic markers and comparing those to a database. But, it’s still fascinating. They also offer a breed + health test where they include markers associated with health issues.
Genetics are weird and wonderful, and the phenotype (the observable traits) is only part of the picture. Which is probably why there’s a Facebook group called This is BS and Embark Has A Personal Vandetta Against Me.
If you get on their newsletter or follow their social media, they usually have a discount every so often.
I do have my own referral link. Last I checked, you get $50 off the price and I get credited $10, but if you wait around there’s probably going to be a better deal out there.
Also have cats? If you’re looking for a certified consultant on cat behaviour, training, nutrition and more, contact Moon-He Roho at Healing-Cats.de (Also speaks English)
