Yellow Dog Project – Discovery of A Great Initiative

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Oh man, is the weather turning colder or what? I am not ready for it! I know there are some people and dogs that love this time of year, but me, nope I will take southern California for the weather any day. But now it is cold and everyone is getting there coats out. You can always check out coats for dogs here….

dog with yellow ribbon

Photo courtesy of AniCareVets

I know Mom is going to want to try and put that coat thing on me. I just don’t like it. Maybe I just need a new coat. Dad picked out the first one. I may look like a tank but deep down I really do want to look like a lady. Maybe a nice purple one? I am going to have to get Mom to find one for me. I checked out a best dog coat review and there are some nice ones out there. I guess you are all use to my digressing by now… yea I did it again.

Okay, so on to what I really wanted to talk about today. While we were out walking, I noticed that one of the dogs had this yellow thing on their leash. Mom said it was a dog with a yellow ribbon. I was wondering what that was all about. So was Mom.

She was going to ask the owner but the owner didn’t seem like she wanted to chat. I’m surprised Mom didn’t do it anyway. Mom can be like that you know – she talks to everyone! Store clerks seem to be her favorites. My sister Sarah will ask after one such encounter with a store clerk, “Are they invited to Thanksgiving?” Haha…I sure hope not or we’d have to rent out the American Legion down the road to hold everyone.

What does the Yellow Ribbon Signify?

yellow-dog-project-leash

Photo source: Yellow Dog Project Facebook Page

See I did it again…back to the yellow thing. So Mom looked up on Google and found out it is called the Yellow Dog Project. Here’s the deal. When you are out and about walking your dog and/or with your kids/grandkids, you often will see another dog. You know how kids love dogs so much that they want to go running up to them and love them all up.

Well, the Yellow Dog Project group started this thing so that a yellow ribbon signifies that you should proceed with caution… get it…yellow…means caution. Stop light: yellow means proceed with caution, light is about to turn red. Of course, my Dad used to jokingly say, “yellow traffic signal means step on the gas to get through.” Haha…he was so funny!

The Yellow Dog Project

The Yellow Dog Project is a movement to help others know which dogs should have space and be approached with caution. Why would we need to proceed with caution you think? Well, the dog could be anxious, may not be very child friendly, may be older (you know like my Mom and me), they could be recovering from an illness or surgery, or they could be overly excited. It is also possible that they may be shy or afraid of people.

I know some friends that have been rescued and they took a very long time before they were able to be comfortable around other humans besides their own Moms and Dads.. even that took a long time. Boy, do those pups have stories to tell- some funny, but often many are so sad. Just listening to what they have gone through in the past. It is no wonder it took them a while to be comfortable around humans. Boy, I thought coming across the country was a big deal. That is nothing compared to being left in a house after the owner had left.

Anyway, I think this Yellow Dog Project thing using yellow ribbons is a good idea. I hope more people get on the yellow ribbon band wagon. This way, you know if your child or dog should go up to it. Sometimes you just don’t know. I know a couple of times I kinda met up with a dog or two who I wish would have had a yellow ribbon on their leash and I would have stayed wayyyyyy farrrr away from them! I wouldn’t have gotten snapped at! You can find out more about this not for profit group here.

The Yellow Dog Project folks say that even if a dog doesn’t have a yellow ribbon, there are certain ways to approach them. Oh yea, I get that too… I like to go slowly up to a new friend and sniff them out a little before I decide if we can be friends or not. Why is that we have to sniff each other? You know you can find a lot about someone by the way they smell. I will have to fill you in on that later. The Yellow Dog Project group also wants to help dog owners find positive ways to help in behavior training for their friends. What a great idea! I think that would be a good idea for a blog… ahhhh… so until next time, look out for yellow ribbons on dog leashes and keep it real.
 

1 Comment

  • Germaine says:

    This is a great idea. The Yellow Dog Project folks just have to get the word out more so everyone, even those that don’t have dogs, know what it stands for.

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