Anyone who lives in an area without streetlights, do you walk your dog after dark?

Red30563

Red30563

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Question in the title really! :)

Hubby & I currently live in a town. We always try to walk our BT during the daylight, of course, but in winter, with the short days, in can be hard. She always has long off-lead time in the daylight but sometimes the evening perambulation is after dark. It's not really a problem as we have streetlights in all the roads round us, and even through the local park. We just take a little 'poo torch' with us to see what we are clearing up! :D

We are shortly moving to a rural cottage, in an area with no street lighting. It set me wondering whether people walk their dogs after dark in unlit areas (with hi-viz, torches etc) or do you just stick to daylight hours?
 
No I don't.

Roads are too rural so no pavements and I have 3 dogs so juggling them in the dark is too risky.

In fact I do very little road work with them, they have a 4 acre play space at home and that's them sorted in darkness. In daylight we go to the beach, parks and woods so they get variety.

The downside is that they always need their nails done :D
 
I have no other option in winter as my working hours mean I only see daylight during the day at weekends.
Ruby still gets walked morning and night and we just do our usual routes across the fields. People often ask me if I get scared but to honest I don't really think about it!
 
The cottage we are moving to has a gate from the back garden onto a field-edge footpath, and the roads round there have wide grass verges too, so we wouldn't have to walk on the actual road itself.

Like you, Lottiepony, it may be a necessity at times and I will just have to put my brave pants on!
 
We still go out in the dark as we both work fulltime so have no choice. I made them both a High Vis coat which they wear and always take a torch so they can still have off lead time over the forrest and I can keep an eye on them! The only difference is now I dont go on my own; I always have to wait for my husband to come home first as its not so safe nowadays!
 
Yes, all the time, no choice really. The flashing lights are great in the dark, when you have 3 or 4 dogs racing around the fields after dark its actually quite pretty
 
I don't have to now as we have land but when we were in home counties I did - but then the dog is a Doberman and the only people you met were youths who didnt give me any hassle as they were too busy admiring the dog!!
 
I do - walk along public foot paths or private land ( where I have permission to walk). Dog has flashing light. I don't take a flash light as the way you can only see to the perimeter of the light and makes everything else seem pitch black frightens me- sp prefer to walk in the dark!
 
We live way out in the sticks and don't have streetlights, thank heaven.

But IMO from purely a personal safety point of view, I'd far rather have NO streetlights than to be in a situation where I'm on a brightly lit road/pavement, and there are roads or alleyways around which are NOT lit. That, to me, is a frightening scenario.

There's a national trust ground near us which is bisected by two busy'ish roads. Its in the middle of nowhere but close to a village, on the outskirts basically. Back in the 1960's some stoopid git made the decision to put a street light on the crossroads. So if you get off the bus there at night, you're in the horrible situation of being illuminated just like you'd be if you were on-stage, but all the surrounding bushes and wasteland around you is in the dark. Ask any woman in the local area and they'll all tell you that they never, ever, get off the bus there after dark if they can help it, or wait for the bus there either, for fear of a prowler lurking in the shadows.

But if the light wasn't there, everyone says they'd feel more safe.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
We live way out in the sticks and don't have streetlights, thank heaven.

But IMO from purely a personal safety point of view, I'd far rather have NO streetlights than to be in a situation where I'm on a brightly lit road/pavement, and there are roads or alleyways around which are NOT lit. That, to me, is a frightening scenario.

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I'm a bit like that too. I grew up in, and now live in an area without streetlights, and find I can see better in the dark than patchy street light areas.

We have our own land, but I walk two minutes on the lane to get to our yard, so always have flashing reflective collars on the dogs - useful to know where they are when they're running around at the yard too.

I also agree with whoever said wear something reflective yourself as well.

ps. In a rural area you will probably find a field or a footpath that you can go up anyway.
 
if your dog isnt used to fields and fences ,holes in the ground and other things in the country then i wouldnt leave off the lead in the dark ! my dog is so thick (EBT) he would run off and either fall straight in a hole or charge straight at me and knock me flying! :)
 
Rosie goes out in the evenings around the farm, especially when we have lambs and I have to go down to the shed late at night to feed orphans. She's got a visiglo collar which is great- I can see exactly where she is. Last night she managed to negociate her way through the cow shed out of the other side and up a bank, I was quite impressed!
 
Lol like lachlanandmarcus, I don't have any qualms as my dog is a rottie! I've always walked him in the dark in winter, previously on a 300 acre common, now more often in the local park. He wears a flashing collar and hi viz. Only think I wouldn't do is walk on country roads without verge/pavement.
 
ecrozier said:
Only think I wouldn't do is walk on country roads without verge/pavement.
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I walk the dog (small terrier) down country lanes in the dark but they are pretty quiet and I can see the headlights and hear any vehicles coming. dog is always on the lead as she has no recall anyway. she wears a flashing collar and I wear high viz and a super bright head torch.
 
Well, I grew up in a village with no street lights so have never really thought about it. I guess we must have walked the dogs after dark and definitely in the mornings before it got light. We had a field behind the house though so was ok to walk them in there off lead. On roads I would have had them on lead although depends on the dog. We had one who was fab, would walk beside you anyway, would never go after anything so she could always be off lead. Nowadays I wouldn't have my dog off lead in ther dark but I do down the stables in the winter when mucking out - I have one of those flashing collars though so that's handy! :D
 
Try not to if I can avoid it. No street lights in our village and although rural roads can be busy at 5.30 time. Horses are less than half a mile away so winter feeding gets done a little earlier in shorter days, walk with small torch and high viz on one dog so can be seen. Terriers can go off lead at stables but can't trust the sight hounds as away before you know and wildlife always seems to be more active early morning and at dusk!! We also had a spate or dog snatching a few miles from us which is another reason why try to avoid
 
Yes - no choice sometimes. T wears a hi viz jacket and a light up collar, whoever's doing the walking wears hi vis as well. Given that she's black I wouldn't want to walk her after dark anywhere without some sort of illumination on her!
 
No I don't. I had a couple of really scary experiences when meeting another dog walker at 6 in the morning. They weren't lit up although we were. Result. Dogs = fine, Me = scared witless at a man looming out of the dark. Also more than a bit peeved that they can see me and still choose to a let off their dog and b walk towards me without warning me first. I walk through our fields at the yard. Yes its unlit but its private, secure and I won't meet anyone up there so feel safe.
 
All through winter yes, off lead up the country lane opposite my house. At that time in the morning/evening I only see people I know already, either people going to work at the garden centre or going to do their horses at the livery yard. The dog has a flashing collar so can be seen by me, and I wear a big hi vis coat. I don't take a torch with me, but do ahve a phone which has a torch if needed.

I'm not bothered about being in the pitch dark at all, and used to have to work in some very rural places on my own in the pitch dark without a gsd x rottie beside me - that was far more worrying :D
 
Yes I walk my lab in the fields behind my house she is a bit windy of the cows though so if they are at our end she is easily spooked by them;)
 
I do minting walks and in winter those are pitch black. We just put a flashing light on the dog and head torch plus hi viz on me. I scout the field for livestock by walking to one end then let him off. The OH does evening walks and he too wore the same. He usually runs the dog in the eve so would do several laps of village on the road usually about 5km. It's been fine in fact I feel safer in the village at night than down some of the streets in the city!
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
We live way out in the sticks and don't have streetlights, thank heaven.

But IMO from purely a personal safety point of view, I'd far rather have NO streetlights than to be in a situation where I'm on a brightly lit road/pavement, and there are roads or alleyways around which are NOT lit. That, to me, is a frightening scenario.
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I agree. Unfortunately having dogs that suffer in the heat/humidity, we have to walk them early, even in the winter. So off we trudge at 5 am ish, armed with head torches for pooh picking etc. I would much rather get their walk done before everyone else is up and about anyway.
 
I turn out of my gate straight onto a footpath into the woods and that is where we walk even in the dark. I have to take a torch because tree roots, stumps, fallen branches combined with boggy, slippery mud is pretty treacherous and much to the dogs bemusement, I've come a cropper many times when I've slipped or tripped. Gem just carries on as thought nothing has happened but poor Pearl has to keep checking to make sure that I'm okay...Bless her.
 
where we live is very safe, so yes I do sometimes walk the dogs round the fields at the back of the house. Also, Ben's eyes glow red in the dark, and that tends to dissuade anyone approaching us who might be dodgy, such as poachers or other dubious characters up to no good!
 
Yes I go up the fields or woods in the dark. Dogs wear flashy collars. I take a torch if I remember :) I lead walk in the dark too after work sometimes usually about 2am.
 
I live in the middle of nowhere and hate the dark! We don't walk after dark, if we needed to then we just let her run round our field. I wouldnt walk along the lanes, but thats just because we can always walk during daylight so why would I.
 
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