Gulp, I road tripped from FL to CO on a 2 day drive and this dual leash tether system was THE life saver. In the back seat were 2 chihuahuas, an Australian Shepherd, and an Australian Cattle/Husky mix. They were all troopers, but I needed a fool-proof, sturdy, efficient means of executing potty breaks and stress free hikes. This solved it.
The waist band was sturdy, minimally padded, and fastened with plastic clips the operated smoothly. There are several rings on the waist belt allowing for various "dog hooking" combinations. I wore this belt the entire 1957 mile drive, along with my waist purse, never removing either. Speed and efficiency at every stop was key. I would jump out of my truck, grab the main leash line from my door and clip it to the belt, walk around and open the right rear side door and grab the tether, clipping in both large dogs to the main leash (all why deploying folding stairs for them to enter and exit from). I did this alone to CO and back, and it worked flawlessly every stop. What about the chihuahuas you say? They had 2 options of course! I bought a mini handheld dual leash system for the small dogs, in addition to a double decker backpack which I am sporting in my picture. Yep, I hiked with 2 coat wearing chihuahuas riding in a double decker backpack and had 2 bigger dogs leading the way via the dual leash system... all while I gnawed on a brisket sandwich. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
The Aussie (wearing her pink coat) thought it would be “funny” to show how well her scissoring teeth worked while shut in the same room with the Sparkly Pets leash system and demolished both the leash AND the coupler, rendering it useless by day 4. Fortunately, I had a bunch of old leashes I was able to rig up to use the belt while I awaited my 2nd purchase of the Sparkly Pets system. I will never walk 2 dogs together any other way again if a leash is required! They pulled more on each other than me, which was a nice relief while traversing over the rocky uneven terrain. There are multiple grab handles down the leash and on the coupler, which I quickly adapted to. The dogs even settled into their "arrangement" once realizing that pulling each other wasn't as fun as pulling me. Everything was heavy duty, sturdy, and felt really solid while in use. The leashes are even reflective, though I did not get any pictures of that.
I wish Sparkly Pets made a size for under 25lb dogs, as it would have been great to clip the chihuahuas to me for their separate walks! I did manage to find a handheld option to work, but it would have been great to be fully hands free :) I have since purchased a solid carabiner to clip the chihuahua's to one of the loops on the Sparkly Pets belt, making it work!
At $40, this feels a little steep in the world of leashes, but it is truly well worth it for a 2-dog system to spare your body a bit of abuse since it transfers any pulling between 2 dogs. When Brooklyn the Aussie destroyed the first set in her quiet hours of hellish boredom, I did not even hesitate buying again immediately. It truly made the road trip so much more easy. Our second new set stays far out of Brooklyn Scissor Teeth’s grasp to keep me from having to replace it again soon lol.
Sturdy materials, quality assembly, numerous handles to quickly contain, restrain and keep safe those pesky dogs doing the dosy-do. Love it, and clearly would purchase again…since I did purchase it again!