Apologies to my international friends as I shine a little light on supporting community and shopping locally. Truth be told, I am feeling a little defeated by the state of our planet right now – the lack of authenticity specifically and, as I’m a great believer in people power, this is my wee effort to showcase a way we can do our bit to reduce miles, reconnect with good folk and keep it real. Oh, and I’m not getting anything for this…authenticity, remember.

There’s a lot of stuff out there for dogs and when Colin first entered our lives we were all for the cutsie collars and spangly leads. Heads up: they don’t last. They’re simply  not built for encouraging a 40 plus kilogram beastie such as the C-meister to ignore that half-eaten sausage roll in the gutter or reminding Supercharged Shirley that not everyone wants to pat her.

So, on the recommendation of The Princess (who knows about these things) we invested in tracking harnesses from http://therealdog.co.nz in Central Otago and life changed . They fit snuggly so the dogs feel comfortable but are under no delusions of our behavioural expectations. They give you better points of contact with your dog, so every walk doesn’t turn into a workout and they’re hardy. They’re up to the job!

Shirley, who is still learning manners, gets a bit of freedom to explore without your arm being wrenched asunder when she reaches the end of the line, and the little handle helps both of us save face when the stakes are high.

Recently, we added biothane collars – mainly to hang their registration discs on and give us something to grab when we need to gain the upper hand around home. You know: let the cat get upstairs, drop those socks, stop chasing thar chicken situations. They don’t catch their fur, get stinky and, super bonus, its much easier for my sleepy eyes to locate them when they’re tardy coming in from their midnight toilet sojourns.

So, do yourself a favour and check The Real Dig Equipment Company out for the real dog at your place! They know what they’re doing and Rose and Nigel are nice folk, too. When I mucked up the measurements for Colin’s collar they phoned me to check I wasn’t housing an elephant, and popped the amount I’d overpaid (despite me insisting they keep it) in the parcel.

That’s authenticity:  right there!