ModernGear Pooches: Rein in your dog with a (fashionable) rope

When The Sartorialist gives his seal of approval in his nod to the most stylish and chic, you know something is a style must-have. As it turns out, quite often something appears in one of his amazing photographs of amazing people, that is also functional as well as fashionable.

I was delighted to see this was the case in today's post from New York. I first off appreciated not the cute dress, fabulous hair or beautiful sandals on the woman, but rather the rope leash that she was using to lead her gorgeous dog. Commenters are saying the same thing.

Image from TheSartorialist

The leash reminded me of some I had seen in a magazine, though I had no recollection of the name...so I did a little digging around and lo and behold - if you want such a rope leash to complete your look and to be a very strong and effective lead for your pooch, look no further than... Found My Animal.

Image from Found My Animal

The leashes will appeal to animal-loving folks and vegans alike because the rope is a great alternative to leather, and they're extremely strong and durable. The hardware (solid brass o-rings and clips) enable you to wear or use the leash in a variety of ways:

Image from Found My Animal

And what's perhaps the most beautiful thing of all about these leashes, is that 25% of all profits go to the Louis Animal Foundation, a "unique non-profit group dedicated to spaying/neutering and providing homes for animals who have not yet 'found' their people."

Prices run from $52-$60 for the natural rope leash, which also comes in black. Found My Animal also has collars, and will be introducing harnesses soon as well.

Images from Found My Animal

I am a dog person, through-and-through and I love the idea that this leash is strong and durable, keeping my guy safe. But the fashion lover in me unabashedly supports something that is so good-looking AND, has The Sartorialist's tail wagging as well.
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ModernGear Active: SPIbelt

Fanny pack - the very term strikes fear into the hearts of certain people, and brings joy into the hearts of others. Ubiquitous in the 80s, dying a slow death in the 90s, and a source of humiliation in the 21st Century, they're for the most part relegated to the geriatric set, and to tourists - carry your wallet, passport and camera all in one handy tool that doubles as identification of your out-of-towner status!

All photos courtesy of brilliant web site FannyPackAntics.com

Their lack of fashion is not disputable, but the problem is, neither is their great function. There's a reason the fanny pack is seen on tourists from New York to Paris, Cairo to Tokyo...who wouldn't want to carry all of the stuff they need, hands-free? It becomes even more important when you're out and about doing physical activity, too.

Kim Overton of Overton Fitness certainly thought so...an active and fit personal trainer, she would resort to stuffing her keys into her bra when she went for a run, so she came up with a better way - the SPIbelt (SPI = Small Personal Items).

A sleek, low profile package sits on an elastic belt - at first it looks like it couldn't possibly hold your keys, much less all the things you'd like to bring along with you...
...but I was able to fit an MP3 player, cell phone, cash, keys and lip balm into mine, because of its expandable nylon fabric and construction.

With that elastic belt, it fits snugly and securely, and no matter what you pack into it, it doesn't bounce.
SPIbelts are perfect for marathoners because of just that...not that I'd know anything about running a marathon (!), but there are loads of pictures of happy runners sporting their SPIbelts at marathons, on their web site.
It's okay, you don't have to run a marathon to get use out of this product - it's handy for people of all sorts of activity levels from top athlete to those who enjoy a nice walk or bike ride, or even for stowing all your stuff when you walk the dog. Duane, my dog, would have you know that it's even good for holding his treats, too.

There is a rainbow of colours to choose from...


I have one in pink, but my favourite SPIbelt is the new reflective fabric one...perfect for night activities.


Available at stores across the USA with a few in Canada as well, or at events (event calendar here) You can order the SPIbelts at Overtonfitness.com: regular for $19.95, reflective $29.95.

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ModernGear Pets: Tricky Treat Ball

My husband and I adopted a puppy from the SPCA about a month ago and, being your typical over-eager and overly hopeful new puppy parents, we thought we'd have him trained in no time flat. Soon enough, we thought, Duane would go where we wanted, do what we asked, sit down, roll over, drop the ball, and never, ever, bite.

Well, the picture below is evidence of the result of us trying to get him to use a puppy training pad in a puppy litterbox. He's all, "You want me to go where??" Yeah no, that didn't work so much.


He is a love. He is also a brat, so I like to call him Luci-fur when he's being particularly devilish. What I must always remind myself of is the fact that he's a puppy, and with proper training and also simply time, he'll outgrow a lot of the behaviours that we are working on correcting, like the nipping, barking, and jumping.

But not without a little help from our friends. First of all there's Crystal, our fantastic walker/sitter/all-around-helper, and also Janet, our great trainer. And then there's Duane's newest friend, the Tricky Treat Ball, from Omega Paw.
I have one on order but today Crystal brought her puppy's to lend to Duane until his own comes, and this thing is a God-send. Our Big D. used to just hoover down his food and be done in about two minutes flat. The Tricky Treat Ball is designed to keep dogs engaged by working them for their food, and rewarding them for their efforts, and it has the added benefit of stretching out their feeding time.

The divets in the ball allow his little mouth to pick it up and run around with it, and one of the divets is actually a hole! Stuffed with kibble beforehand, as the puppy rolls the ball around, a bit of food drops out through that hole, he gets to nibble on it, and then roll it around for more. He took to it really well, and seems to enjoy the challenge.

What I like is that it's one of the tools I can use to keep Duane on a task while I am busy preparing our dinner, and he's also challenged to the point where it requires some energy to get his food.

I couldn't find it at any of my local pet supply stores, so I ordered ours through Amazon. There's a large ball for $9.99 new, or a small one for $6.99 new. The small one is also recommended for cats.




I can't recommend it highly enough to have in your arsenal of tools for new puppies. And now that we have debuted our new addition to the ModernGear TV family, we'll be regularly testing out new pet products that will make life easier for those particular members of the family, and for us, the folks who love them.

Because honestly, who couldn't love a face like this?!

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