I never would have thought that from my dog’s freak accident, she will be the inspiration for a new product that can help many other dogs.
Reba, my cocker/bichon crossbreed, has always been sociable. Not to the extent of annoying, but happy for dogs to sniff her, maybe a sniff back if she’s in the mood, and maybe a little game of chase with a suitable playmate. As she gets older, she is more selective and happy to just plod along, minding her own business and doing what spaniels love to do, sniff around.
Through my work, I met Sarah who runs My Anxious Dog and her growing campaign to highlight awareness of yellow means dogs need space. It started from her dog becoming reactive to humans and dogs, and having something that warns others to not go and touch her dog. We have a lead slip from her saying ‘Keep Dogs Away’ and this was really to help others know that Reba will not be happy for dogs to nudge her to play, and certainly whilst she is on lead.
At the end of October, Reba had a horrific freak accident where she broke her neck running into a tree in my garden. Thankfully I found her quickly, rushed her to our local vets, and then on to the orthopaedic specialists who saved her life. They stabilised her smashed vertebra but she sustained a huge amount of nerve spinal cord damage. She came home unable to use her body or legs, and double incontinent.
Over the next few months, we worked hard on all the therapies possible – hydrotherapy, massage, McTimoney, acupuncture and physiotherapy. In about 3 months, she could stand and move around, so I started to take her out on the heath for some gentle short walks and enrichment. She was wobbly, falling over a lot, and had a very unusual movement with bunny-hopping her back end as she did not have the coordination to move naturally for a dog.
I’ve always been very good at observing dog body language, and so has Reba, but now she is much more vulnerable. She can never wear a collar again due to the pins and cement in her neck, so any rough play that may cause her to flick her head around, or pressure on her neck can be very dangerous for her. I have to be even more vigilant about which dogs approach, calling out to owners to hold their dogs back, and even if they are close, watching for any subtle signs they may push her body to instigate play.
And this is when I found out that Reba’s situation inspired Sarah to create a new lead slip cover – ‘Caution In Pain’.
The messaging is better for us, as Reba loves attention from dogs and people, she is not reactive at all. In fact she has never growled or snapped in her life – her default when scared is to try and run up my legs to be picked up! But the ‘In Pain’ portrays that I need other dogs and humans to be gentle with her, not to ignore her completely.
I don’t want this new wording to dilute the primary message of the Dogs In Yellow, but for us, having a sociable but less active dog requires a different level of awareness.
‘Caution In Pain’ could apply to happy but arthritic dogs, those with joint issues, those recovering from surgery, or like Reba, just different now. Pain is subjective and we can never assume to know the extent of any pain a dog may feel, so having a warning to ‘be gentle’ is relevant to many more sociable dogs who want to say hello but certainly don’t want any boisterous youngsters jumping on their backs or making them play chase.
I hope that Reba is not in pain, but her life has changed since the accident and her recovery is ongoing. This yellow warning is like an extra layer of safety for her, backed up by me if I don’t like the way a dog is approaching us. When off-lead, I carry the lead with the yellow slip showing so others can see it, and more so if I feel I need to clip it to Reba’s harness.
It’s not just reactive dogs than need our extra help sometimes.
And as for Reba, she continues a full diary of therapies to help her nervous system recover, and I hope that her left side continues to improve so that her mobility increases, she relearns how to trot and run more naturally. And then her world will open up even further.
To find the Caution In Pain lead slip cover from My Anxious Dog, look here.
If you are able to help me with the ongoing therapies costs for Reba’s recovery, then here is the link to my GoFundMe Page
Jo, Pippin Pets Dog Training
March 2025