Rescue, Reactivity, and the Walk That Changed Everything

A little over two years ago, a Bosnian rescue dog named Winter stole my heart. When I first met him, I felt a connection; he was the right dog for me, I was the right human for him, and this was the right time to adopt.

Fast forward a few weeks into Winter coming home, it was not the fairytale I had imagined. He began showing early signs of reactivity, something I didn’t recognise at first and wasn’t prepared to deal with. Initially, I thought he was eager to meet every dog we walked by, but I came to learn that he was in fact suffering from frustration reactivity, which grew stronger each day. 

I learned that I needed to get better at protecting Winter from unwanted attention from people and their dogs, and in hindsight, wish I had prioritised that sooner. As Winter’s behavior became harder to manage, I began to spiral. As a first-time dog owner, going solo, I felt out of my depth. Scouring the internet and reading up on his condition in books only compounded my confusion, serving up conflicting advice and a case of information overload. 

Eventually, I signed up to webinars, had in-person training sessions with a behaviourist, joined group classes, enrolled in an online platform that focused on providing the best lifestyle for your dog, and worked with an online trainer that specialised in foreign rescues.

Over the next 10 months, I learned a tonne, giving me the tools to provide Winter an enriching and fulfilled life. I put in hours of training to help combat his reactivity, and got him fully health checked by a vet who, after two separate xray examinations, diagnosed him with luxating patella and hip dysplasia. Everything was coming together, and I felt lighter and more informed, and the training was working. But there were still issues when interacting with other dogs and their owners, unfamiliar with Winter’s reactivity.

The training is a slow process. You need to expose your dog to triggers at a distance that they are comfortable with, focusing on their body language and reducing the distance in slow increments each time all the signs emerge. I would head to my local park early to avoid the daily dog rush hour, and set up in a position where I had eyes on the whole area. This worked well for us, but on many occasions other dogs would charge into the space with their owners unaware.

This is when I looked into getting signs for his lead, and when the idea for Hi Dog first began.

Having tried several lead covers to help communicate our training needs, I grew frustrated. None of them really worked, either slipping, flapping, or not being instantly visible or clear. A designer by trade, I knew there had to be a better way, and so I set out to create a product that was simple, functional, effective, and that would help dog owners dealing with these issues communicate their dog’s needs with ease. 

Hi Dog is a brand that creates lead banners made with a strong hook-and-loop, so they stay securely in place and do not slide or twist. They fit most types of leads and are easy to take off and swap between them.

What makes them stand out is that they truly stand out! Each banner is designed to be instantly recognisable with a clear, universal icon placed front and centre to make your dog’s needs obvious, using wording that effectively communicates the action that needs to be taken, for example ‘I need space’.

Winter is nervous around strangers and isn’t shy about showing it, but because he looks friendly, people often used to approach him and try to pet him without asking first. Now that his needs are visible, I’ve found myself feeling much more relaxed, and so has he.

I started Hi Dog to help make walks easier, safer, and less stressful for dogs like Winter and for the people who love them. 

We still have a way to go, and the journey is definitely not linear, but with the right plan, consistent training, and being able to control the environment as much as you can, there’s hope for dog owners that might be struggling with reactivity or similar conditions. Just ask Winter…