Collar

When the people leave the house, they always put something on their "feet", which is what they call their paws that touch the ground. This is how I know when the people are getting ready to go away. If I don't get to go with them, I sniff these feet-things when they come home to see where they went.

When I do get to go with the people, they put things on my body too.

Always there is Collar. They tell me that Collar is to keep me safe and so that if I get lost, I can get found again.

But this is just silly. First of all, I never get lost. Also, how could Collar help me get found?

I'll tell you what Collar is really for.

Collar makes noise. This is so other dogs can hear me coming. And I can hear other dogs from their Collar. We can hear each other from a very long way away. Then we don't surprise and scare each other, and we can decide if we want to meet or not.

Also, each Collar has its own sound. Sometimes I meet my friend Simon in the forest or in strange places like Parking Lot. He comes crashing into me and jumps on my body without even doing a proper greeting. But I don't have to worry because I know it's Simon. I can hear him from Collar. And I can sniff him too, of course.

Sometimes I think the people might also use the sound Collar makes to know where I am. Is this what they mean by keeping me safe? But I'm not sure if they can actually do this. Their ears are very small and not very good.

There are other things that get put on my body sometimes too.

There is Leash. Leash is when the people want me to stay close. It also comes when we go to Park. It only sticks to me at one end. The other end gets stuck on a person.

Then there is Harness. Sniffing Harness gets a special, very long leash attached to my back so I can pull my person with me when I'm using my nose. Walking Harness uses my regular leash, with one end on my chest and other end attached to my person.

This is all very complicated. But Collar, Leash and Harness are all good things. When any of them go on my body, I know that I am going with my people. So I stand very still, Good Dog, and let them attach these funny things.