Some dogs just need a little space

It is extremely important to get across the message that this is NOT just about aggressive dogs. There are many reasons a dog might be wearing this yellow vest, bandanna or a yellow ribbon.

The Yellow Dog project was created in November 2012 in Sweden and then quickly came across to the UK. It has now spread to over 20 different countries.

Yellow Dog, now a registered charity, was created to bring awareness to dogs that need space while training and Yellow Dog UK currently has around 95,000 Facebook ‘likes’.

Despite this massive following many people don’t know anything about the scheme. For Yellow Dog to be effective more people need to understand that it is a useful signal for other dog owners and members of the public.

There are many reasons why a dog may need space.

It may have health issues; be a rescue dog being rehabilitated - the world can be a very scary place for these dogs; have had a bad experience with another dog or is just not like the kind of friendly dogs which always want to say “Hi!”; be a bitch may be in heat; be in training; be very old and arthritic or be nervous or shy and other dogs cause it stress.

In short, a yellow marker on a dog means it needs some space.

In rescue centres such as Borders Pet Rescue we often have dogs that just need some space and you will see some of our dogs walking about with a yellow vest on, not because they don’t like dogs or people but because they can sometimes be a shy or nervous around new people or dogs.

Remember, when you see a dog on a lead it is only fair to put yours on until they have passed because there is normally a reason that dog is on a lead!

Visit: http://www.yellowdoguk.co.uk/ Yellow Dog UK to get for more information and find out how to get involved.