Commentary by Christy Solo
“Rescuers used ropes to climb 100 feet down a cliff face to save a dog trapped on a ledge in Ecola State Park over the weekend.
The dog’s owners contacted a park ranger Saturday afternoon after the pet ran off during a hike at the Oregon coast park and disappeared” The Oregonian, June 9, 2026
Leash.
Your.
Dog.
Please.
I’ve waited with a friend for several panic-filled hours after her off-leash dog took off on a hike.
I’ve virtually watched as other friends mounted and all hands on deck search for their two Pharoah Hounds who got out. Helicopters were involved, it took four days to find the dogs and they’d run around in a 20-mile circle during those days. Dogs can cover a lot of ground. Fast.
I saw a couple let their off-leash dog out of their car at Crater Lake, the dog immediately and without looking or pausing RAN and jumped over the stone wall at the viewpoint. Luckily, there was some ground between the wall and the drop-off to the lake (some places there is not) and the panicked owners caught the dog.
I’ve had a dog chew through their leash (unbeknownst to me) during a road trip and bolt out of the car straight for Hwy. 62 as I stood in the driveway with half a leash in my hand.
That one was the initiator of the Car Rule: The car door only opens a crack until I have the leash around my wrist and I know it’s in one piece and still attached to the collar, then the dog gets out.
I’ve had another dog back out of her collar and – you guessed it – run straight for a highway.
Luckily all these stories ended well. They each could’ve ended in tragedy.
Does it sometimes suck to have your dog on a leash when hiking. Yup. Do it anyway.
Does your dog have “perfect recall” and thus not need to be leashed? Do it anyway. I’ve also been with (yet another) friend who had their “perfect recall” dog blast off the trail down a steep bank ignoring all commands because – elk. Dogs gonna dog. That was at least only a 30-minute delay in our day. Again – got lucky.
I hike with my dogs a lot and they are always on leash. Have I had photos ruined because a dog yanks on the leash just as I snap the shutter? Yup. Worth it. Have I been pulled off my feet and dragged across asphalt by my leashed dog? Yup. Worth it.
Anywhoo.
With my variety of sizes, breeds and dogs with varying amounts of prey drive – from “a squirrel could run across their feet and they wouldn’t notice to” “I have to spell S-Q-U-I-R-R-E-L or all holy hell breaks loose” I’ve really upped my leash game.
For many dogs, a leash clipped to their collar is sufficient. I mean, I guess. In theory. I have not yet experienced that dog. But I’ve seen it work in practice.
My dogs have all been collar slippers – that is they easily back out of their collars due to the whole “two fingers between dog and collar for safety” collar tightness rule. So for walks, I switched to martingale collars (see photo) which are un-back-out-able.
Some dogs just pull too much for those though, despite the collars tightening when the dog pulls, so I have harnesses for two of my dogs now.
Fun fact: Dogs can totally get out of a harness. Don’t depend on just that. Kiff flipped out – literally – at the vet and her entire harness came off mid somersault.
So now dogs with harnesses still have either a loose safety collar or martingale clipped in between the rings on the harness (see photos) if they slip out (or FLIP out) of the harness, they will still have the “can’t back out of it” collar attached to them and the leash.
Fun facts: Kiff’s hot pink collar was packaged as a “safety collar” – however – similar collars are also called “slip collars” it can be confusing. Basically that collar has no buckles, it will just keep tightening (you can look for “Retriever Training” collars – but many of those are narrow cording, not wide webbing material).
She wears that because the distance between her neck and harness clip is too far for a martingale – a martingale would be tight all the time if clipped to the harness. So that collar type is a no go. Dizzy is small enough I can clip her martingale collar to the harness without causing discomfort or pressure on her windpipe.
Oh! Also, don’t use martingales when the dogs are just at home or in the yard, the collars can catch on things and seriously injure or even kill your dog (back to the “two fingers of space for collar size” thing so dogs can slip out in an emergency).
Many places call martingales “training collars” just an FYI as you search for one.
