What is a yellow dog?

You might have seen dogs around wearing yellow collars, leads, harnesses, vest or with covers over their leads. What does it mean?

Usually a dog wearing yellow means that it needs space (not always, some dogs just look good in yellow). If an owner wants to make it known to people that their dog needs space, they will wear yellow with black writing on it, typically saying "I need space" or "nervous". If you see a dog wearing yellow, always assume it needs space, better to be safe that ruin that dogs day.

Why might a dog need space? A number of reasons. They might be nervous or be reactive. They might be old or recovering from an injury/operation. They might be a puppy in training or a female in season. They might not like other dogs or people.

Roo is a yellow dog. She is anxious and can be reactive - she fixates on things and will pull towards them, occasionally barking. She needs more space around her to feel safe. She cannot have people walking right past her or even too close in front or behind. It makes her uncomfortable. We currently use a yellow lead cover that says "I need space". We have just started our yellow dog journey and hope to be able to share more and help bring awareness as we continue. A good resource for yellow dog information is @pennymovestoyorkshire on Instagram. She is a touch reactive - yellow dog, springador rescued through Spanielaid. Her owner shares lots of tips and training videos as well as information and support.

Yellow dog is a charity that was originally set up in Sweden in 2012 and brought to the UK to help spead awareness for dogs that need a bit more space. The yellow dog charity promotes and campaigns for the recognition and respect of the yellow dog. You can buy yellow dog products online from lots of different places or directly from Yellow Dog UK to support them.

If you see a yellow dog, please give them space. Don't look directly at them or make a fuss. Move out of the way if you can and do your best to ignore them. I know this is all we want from strangers when we are out with Roo.