Patches are our new bandanas
Don’t get me wrong, I still love putting cute bandanas on the dogs, especially around holidays and birthdays and gotcha days. I have a collection of them; many that I made myself. However, when we’re on trail or even just traveling, collar and harness patches have become indispensable tools for advocating for my dogs.
Early in 2023, the dogs and I traveled with some friends to Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge to make photos. While there, a stranger approached my car and was fully intending—before she was stopped by both her husband and myself yelling at her—to reach into my back window to pet the dogs. You can read more about that story in this post. It baffles me still, as both dogs were barking at her in a very protective manner, yet she continued on her mission to reach into a vehicle that wasn’t hers to pet dogs she didn’t know. There have been other similar situations, where people passing us on trail or on walks have reached out to pet the dogs or approached in a very high-energy manner to try to play with the dogs. These types of encounters can make it challenging to keep our dogs and other people safe, so I try my very best to avoid them.
Are patches the answer? I believe they help tremendously in certain situations. There is still often the need for me to simply speak up, but large and visible, brightly colored patches really do help. I generally try to use patches that are direct: a word or phrase that gets the point across. In the past I’ve used a patch that read, “Reactive Under Stress” until someone asked me what that means. If it’s not clear what a patch means, then it’s obviously not going to be very effective. I wasn’t aware that the word “reactive” was one that many people don’t quite understand with regard to dogs. So I switched to using “Do Not Pet” patches, which are very commonly seen on service dogs, though I really like the “Ignore Me” patches as well, and I have a patch that reads “No Dogs” for Japhy.
Last year I discovered on Instagram a Canadian woman who makes and sells gorgeous patches and leash sleeves. I bought from her a couple of blue glow-in-the-dark “Do Not Pet” patches for Japhy’s backpacking harness, and I loved them so much that I made a second custom order with her.
This morning I posted a reel featuring those patches on our Instagram feed. They’re absolutely beautiful. Additionally, I want to share the text I wrote to go along with this reel, as I feel it’s important, and it’s likely easier to read here than on Instagram. Some of it reiterates what I wrote above.
From my Instagram reel:
Patches have become such an important part of advocating for my dogs. Every dog is different, and Japhy in particular needs space. I know my videos show me cuddling and loving on him all the time, but he’s different with me (his humom), and a few other people he knows really well. Yes, he loves his human friends, but generally speaking he does best when people treat him with the respect he deserves. He is definitely not a toy. Hazel would clobber you with kisses, but is also quite timid around strangers and feeds off of Japhy’s energy.
When we’re backpacking, my dogs are in “work” mode and there are a number of things that could go wrong if they are distracted or riled up by a stranger on trail who doesn’t know any better. Do the patches work all the time? No. Sometimes I have to speak up (and move off trail to give a wide berth). But most of the time putting patches on my dogs helps significantly, and it’s worth it to me to try to educate passersby that reaching out to pet and “say hello to” my dogs is not okay. Fortunately I have never personally met anyone who thought this was rude. My dogs are not for others’ entertainment. They are living beings who deserve respect and space, and also all of the adventures I can safely give them. They happen to also be APBT mixes who have a hard enough time being dogs without humans making it harder for them. My ultimate goal when we’re out adventuring is to set *everyone* up for success (including the humans we encounter) while offering my dogs the very best life I can give them.
And it’s true. I absolutely 100% try to set everyone up for success, whether we’re out on adventures in the backcountry or walking around the block or traveling. My dogs. Myself. Other people we encounter. Other dogs we encounter. Patches and leash sleeves are just part of a much larger system I use to do so.
Along these lines, something else I’m looking into before this season’s backpacking begins, is some kind of patch or sign that I can put on my backpacking tent to warn others that there are large, protective dogs inside. It is not terribly uncommon for a backpacker to approach a tent late at night to ask where the nearest water source is, or where the trail goes if it’s not clear, etc. And I think it would be yet another smart piece of my advocacy system to have a “caution: dogs inside” or similar patch on our tent. When I decide on what that should look like, I’ll for sure be having Raincoast K9 create those for me. Definitely check out her work if you’re interested. You can find her on Instagram, where she sells her work, at raincoastk9.
I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention a UK patch-maker from whom I’ve purchased leash sleeves and patches in the past. I still really love her work as well, and I’ve written about it here on the blog before. Her “No Dogs Please” leash sleeve remains on Japhy’s leash today and still looks as good as it did when I first put it on, albeit just a bit dirtier. :)
Note: none of the links in this post are affiliate or paid links. As an independent artist myself, I love supporting others whose work I regularly use, and spreading the word about their businesses. If you find yourself needing patches and leash sleeves, I hope you’ll check out both of these women’s work.
That’s it for this post. I hope you’re doing well and staying healthy. I had a bout with bronchitis that had me down for about a week, but aside from a lingering minor cough, I’m doing well now.
Stay safe out there. Much love.
Tif