Dogs do not always stay on their leash or in their pen. Open a door to your home at night and the little guys sometimes get past you and are on the loose. All it takes is for that pet to dart into the street in front of a car and we lose our little friend and family member. While we would like to blame the driver of the vehicle, the truth is that he or she had no time to stop by the time our little dog was visible. A reflective dog collar allows pets to be seen after dark.

It is estimated that one in five persons has hit a pet with their vehicle. Twenty-five percent of the persons who hit a dog or cat do not stop to check on the pet or report it. Millions of pets die on the road each year and many have been left to suffer.

As a responsible dog owner, you should consider a reflective dog collar for your pet. These collars are affordable and make your pet move visible to vehicles from a further distance than a pet without the reflective collar. While darkly colored animals may benefit the most from these collars, every pet becomes more visible with a reflective collar. Pets become much more visible in the one to six hundred foot range giving drivers needed response time to brake and miss your beloved pet.

There are two types of dog collars that are called reflective. One depends on prisms that have been formed in the collar to reflect the light of headlights or any other available light to allow your pet to be seen.

A second type of collar, sometime sold as reflective is actually a phosphorescent collar. These glow-in-the-dark collars absorb light and re-emit it even if there is other light present. The problem with these type of collars is that they must be charged by some time in the light and they give off their light after a few hours. If your dog has been sleeping in the dark, the collar may not have enough of a charge to allow it to be seen in the dark.

You will also find reflective leashes that match the reflective collars. These leashes help drivers to see you as well as your pet and thus increase safety for both of you.

If your pet gets loose after dark, the reflective collar can help you to find your dog. Never chase a loose dog, but train it to come to your call. Chasing the animal can force it out into the danger of the street.

Dogs should have identity tags attached to their collar. Be sure that there is a current phone number on the id tag so that if your pet is found, you can be notified.

Never let your reflective dog collar substitute for the best safety practices. Your dog should never run loose when unattended. If an accident does occur and your dog is injured or killed, then its reflective collar can help you to locate that pet, even in the dark.