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Kol’s Note: This post is sponsored by Dog Walkies. While we were compensated for this post, all opinions are 100% our own. .

Living in the Pacific Northwest, walking dogs in the rain is just part of the territory. Luckily, there are things you can do to make the experience easier and less of a hassle. Our latest find, biothane leashes is the perfect product for wet winter walks.

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 You guys, I’ve been whining about the weather all winter.

If you happen to follow us on Instagram or Facebook, you’ve probably seen umpteen pictures of Kolchak and Felix in the rain looking disgruntled. If you regularly read this blog, you’re probably used to hearing all the ways I keep the house from smelling like wet dog and the special dryer bag we made specifically to help me keep our leashes clean and dry. (Seriously, we get so much rain that our leashes are constantly damp and they can get moldy if you aren’t all over it. Gross, right?) Truth be told, y’all are probably tired as woof of hearing me complain about walking dogs in the rain and washing or drying leashes. I can’t help it you guys, a damp leash feels like a limp, dead fish in your hand. It smells even worse. I hate it.

Luckily, my new Dog Walkies Beta Biothane leashes and collars are the answer to all my wet weather leash woes.

Just what is “Beta Biothane”? It’s basically a polyester webbing with a coating that makes it more durable, waterproof, and easy to clean. Did you hear that? The coating makes it waterproof, you guys! Beta Biothane is touted as the closest thing to real leather that you can get, without all the challenges that come with using and maintaining a real leather product. They won’t harden up and crack in poor weather. You don’t need to condition it. Over at a Prairie Dobe Companion, they call it “Unicorn Leather” because it’s pretty much magical it works so well.

Living in such a rainy climate, you become pretty skeptical of any product that claims to be “water proof”.

Time and time again, I’ve found that my idea of water proof and everyone else’s maybe different. I have a super high requirement for things to be considered rain proof. In the past, “waterproof leashes” were really hard and inflexible. They dug into your hand and left an ugly burn. When I got the beta biothane leashes I was surprised by how soft and flexible they were. These feel like a sturdy leather, not a rough plastic. Anyone with a dog that pulls has felt the sting of a wet nylon burn, that doesn’t happen with the Dog Walkies leashes. The Beta Biothane is soft one the hands and easy to hold.

The Beta Biothane leashes and collars from Dog Walkies are actually waterproof.

Most importantly, they work you guys. They actually are all the things they claim they are. The rain beads off these Dog Walkies Beta Biothane leashes like water is afraid them. They don’t soak in any moisture at all. The texture of the material makes it easy to keep hold of the leash and I’m not worried about the handle slipping out of my hand.  (That being said, if you have a large dog that pulls like a sled dog, be warned, even though I had no trouble holding onto the handle, if I grabbed the leash a bit further down to reign the dogs back in it did slip a tiny bit. It didn’t leave a leash burn though, so I’m still call it a win.)

In preparation for this post, I let my dogs drag these through the mud and the muck just to see if I could even come close to wrecking them. No chance.

A quick wash with soap and water and they looked as good as new. They don’t hold odours which means there is none of that awful damp smell in my entry. (I didn’t try it, but I’m told even the nastiest of odours wash clean with a bleach or alcohol soak. They have never tried to see if they survive a skunking. Any takers on giving it a whirl and seeing if the smell comes out? No…? )

My pictures really don’t do these gorgeous leashes justice – the colours are bright and awesome. The hardware is high quality and sturdy and for those of you that live near an ocean, it’s salt water safe. I’ve received more compliments and questions about leashes in the last two weeks than I have in the last six years.

I fell IN LOVE with these bright colours, but there are 17 colours to choose from, so even if you’re not reliving your youth and the 90s, there is a perfect colour for you, like pastels and more traditional solids.

The best part for me is how much easier the Dog Walkies leashes have made walking dogs in the rain.

When we come in from a long, wet walk these leashes aren’t dripping water all over our apartment lobby, the elevator or my entry way. All it takes is a quick wipe with a cloth, a paper towel or a paw wipe and they’re completely clean and dry again. The whole process takes 30 seconds, not 30 minutes like the dryer.  While they do have a bit of a higher cost than most basic nylon leash sets, I love that they’re hand made in by a great Canadian company (with glowing hearts, y’all) and that the Beta Biothane material is made in the USA. That’s worth paying a bit more, besides the Beta Biothane material and all the hardware used are so high quality that I feel confident these leashes and collars are going to last a good long time. When the summer eventually comes, I can feel confident letting my dogs swim in their Dog Walkies collars; they’re river safe, lake safe, pool safe and even salt water safe.

Have you ever tried a beta biothane leash? What did you think?

Do you still have questions about the material and how it works? Are you as ready for Spring as I am? Now, If I could only find a dog coat that worked this good. I would be laughing.

 Dog Walkies is a Canadian company founded by Christine and Andre Casavant, along with their two English Field Setters. Along with their line of Beta Biothane collars and leashes, they also make some of the prettiest nylon collars and leashes around, in a variety of prints and patterns. Check out the Dog Walkies website, find ’em on Facebook or visit their Etsy store to see all their products and snag some Beta Biothane leashes of your own.

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