Reflective Dog Tag

Equinox 2021 – Shorter Days are Coming

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Where did the summer go? Tomorrow, September 22, 2021, is already equinox, the day when day and night are equally long. From there on, the days are rapidly getting shorter, making it harder to avoid being out in the dark. Last weekend, we had a furry visitor and we barely managed to take the post-dinner walk before it was pitch black. Just in the last week Chicago has lost 21 minutes of sunlight, 13 in the evening and 8 in the morning. Today, the sun rises at 6:37am and is gone again at 6:47pm. It’s hard to adjust your schedule when the light is changing that rapidly, even for us who are tracking it meticulously. Over the summer, we were a little lazy and did not always bring safety reflectors, but that has to change now. Equinox also means safety reflector season because who wants to get caught unseen in the dark? Better seen than sorry!

Safety reflectors are must-haves for dog walkers and dogs alike now when the nights will be longer than the days.

Is a reflective dog leash bright enough?

Using a reflective dog leash is great, but as you can see in the video above, the funflector safety reflectors are brighter. Of course, it depends on what quality and how much reflective material the leash has, so test yours so you know. The brighter the reflectors the further away the drivers can see you. This is particularly important along streets with faster traffic. Our leash might be bright enough on a residential street with very slow traffic, but for a highway, we need more reflective power. We like to hang one reflector in each end of the leash for extra safety.

Red and black ninja safety reflector by funflector
The reflector hanging on the dog leash in the video is a ninja. Available here.

The dog walker needs to be seen too! We have plenty of reflectors hanging on our jacket zipper pulls, but that is of little use when it’s too warm for jackets. So this time of year, reflective slap wraps are the most practical solution. They only take a second to slap on and are easy to wear for walkers, runner and bicyclists.

The funflector team

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Take a Walk

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We got one warm day with pouring rain and now the temperature is heading south again. At subzero temperatures (Farenheit), sitting inside reading and pinning about walking feels healthier than going out for a walk. New to me is ChiWalking, walking with mixed in elements from Tai Chi, yoga and Pilates, which I will have to try. I also found a lot of interesting research on the benefits of walking that I thought I’d share with you:

Winter walk with sled and kid
Winter walks are fun with good gear (including safety reflectors). Just remember to check temperature and wind chill first.


Here are eight good reasons to start walking as summarized by CNN:
1. A brisk 30 minute walk is good for your heart.
2. Walking lowers breast-cancer risks
3. An afternoon walk helps you sleep better
4. ChiWalking can reduce aches and pains.
5. Walking makes you happy because your body produces more endorphins.
6. Walking keeps you slimmer
7. Walking helps ward off Alzheimer’s disease
8. Walking makes your bones stronger
If you are a man and want to lower your lifetime medical bills: start walking! Extreme Longevity reports on a Japanese study that shows that even if walker live longer, they spend less on medical care. Women walkers also live longer, but don’t necessarily save on medical care during their life time.
You have a good reason to worry when an elderly friend or relative slows down their walking speed. Walking speed has shown to be a good indicator of life expectancy independent on age, race and height.

Kids need to get moving on weekends as well as on school days to learn and to be able to focus.
Kids need to get moving on weekends as well as on school days to learn and to be able to focus.


Walking is not only good for living long and healthy, walking also helps learning while you are young. If your kid’s school doesn’t have a walk-to-school program, you should start organizing one. A Danish study (in English here) found that students who walk to school learn and concentrate better that those who go by bus or car. In addition, walking keeps the air around schools fresher than cars.
Exercising is all about making it a habit. It takes some work to make it a habit, but after a while you notice how good it makes you feel and you’ll miss it when you don’t do it. In summary, it is pretty simple: Open the door and get out. Start slow and short and build up. Get a good pair of shoes. And don’t forget pedestrian reflectors if you get back after dusk. Here are some resources with more details on how to get started:
The Mayo Clinic walking advice
The Walking Site


Elisabeth

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I wear funflector® reflectors because…

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We’ve asked some of our customers and friends what they say to strangers when asked why they are wearing their fun safety reflectors on their jackets or bags. Here is our ABC of good reasons (some real, others made up):
“I wear funflectors because …
… they are cool” – Alice, 12
… it is a cute way to be safe” – Beth, mom of 2
… I love pink and purple peace signs” – Claire, 14
… I don’t want to get run over” – Daniel, dad of 3
… they are fun and the rest is a no-brainer” – Erin, mom of 4
… this is my ghost buddy” – Fernando, 4
… campus is so dark” – Gabrielle, 21
… I know which backpack is mine” – Hannah, 7
… they look cool when I skateboard” – Ian, 15
… I saw someone wearing them in the dark and realized what a difference they make ” – John, dad of 2
… if I’ve had too many beers to drive, it’s too dark to walk home without reflectors” – Keiran, dad of 5
… I always love the idea of guardian angels, these are better than most” – Lauren, 26

funflector guardian angel safety reflector
Angel reflectors are are available in our web shop here

… my wife put one on my jacket” – Michael, dad of 5
… the moose reflector match my bear skin” – Ned Neanderthal
… I want the garbage truck driver to see me” – Oscar
… I like to run after work and sometimes it gets dark before I’m done” – Peter, 32
… I cross a busy road in the dark to get to high school band practice early. Go Tigers!” – Quincey, 18
… I like walking, but sometimes I’m a bit slow crossing the street” – Richard, 78 and grandfather of 8
… woof” – Spot

Dog with paw print safety reflector from www.funflector.com
Dog with cute paw print safety reflector.

… I’m a paramedic and I’ve seen too much of what happens when you don’t wear reflectors” – Tom, 28
… I wear lots of black so drivers don’t notice me even in parking lots and that can get scary. I love black reflectors on my purse!” – Ursula, 53
… I got mine from Santa” – Vera, 5
… I have a deal with my dad: I wear reflectors all year and he won’t put reflective tape on my Halloween costume!” – Will, 9
… fafa” – Xavier, 15 months, while pointing at the reflector hanging on his stroller
… my mom says she loves me so much I have to wear them. I love my purple ghost reflector!” – Yolanda, 13
… I don’t want to be hit by another car” – Zoe Zombie
We are curious to know what you would have said. Feel free to comment!
The funflector team

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Favorite Places to Put Fun Safety Reflectors 2 – On My Dog

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Although one of my daughters often has asked “When will I get a dog” (noticed the lack of “if”?), we have no dog in our house. Three kids and a small house is quite a handful as it is. Sorry for the misleading headline…  Luckily, Maggie, one of our cool glimling blog dogs, lives just around the corner. Maggie is a lab, a black lab, and a great model for dog safety reflector. With her pitch plack fur, a dog safety reflector looks extra cool on her—and is extra necessary when it gets dark.

safety reflector on dog and cars in the dark
In the dark, drivers will see the safety reflector long before the dog.

When Maggie was a puppy and too little for these reflectors, her owner tied a few of them along the leash instead. One evening a neighbor came home and slowed down to almost no speed while they were walking along the street. The neighbor was very puzzled by the weird dangling lights. She could not figure it out until she had stopped the car, rolled down the window and asked.

Black dog carrying safety reflectors
Maggie helped us decorate the bushes for Halloween with some ghost and cat funflector® safety reflectors.

Today, Maggie is no longer a small puppy, so she wears the reflectors on her collar. For Halloween, she picked the Jack O’lantern. Maggie was also very excited helping pick out reflectors to hang in the bushes in our yard.

Woof, woof! means Go Wildcats! - Dog with paw print safety reflector.
Woof, woof! means Go Wildcats! Help driver see your dog, why not with a paw print safety reflector.

Dino, who is another friendly neighborhood dog, picked his favorite—the paw of course! Dino and his master like to take long walks and it is not always that they manage to come home before the sun starts to set. A dog safety reflector is a must. In about two weeks, daylight saving time ends and they will loose another hour of afternoon walking time in daylight.

There are many places to put reflectors, but on kids, dogs and adults are certainly the most important ones. Halloween is a night when a lot of kids are out in the dark, so make sure drivers can see them. If you need more funflector safety reflectors for Halloween, you still have a few (but not much more) days to order them so we can ship them. If you are not convinced, please read my blog post about traffic accident statistics—pedestrian reflectors really do save lives!!!

Elisabeth

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