Product Review: The Fifth Paw
By Emma Burton
Walks are an excellent time to work on skills with our pups.
They get exercise, and you can put skills that you have previously worked on in
less distracting environments to the test. This isn’t so easy, though, if you
have to juggle the leash, keys, treats, and of course, the inevitable doody
bag. I encountered this problem with my very active German Shorthaired Pointer.
I want to be a good neighbor and pick up after him, but the rest of the walk I
was either searching for a trash can, juggling a gross bag and trying to hang
onto his leash, or all of the above. In an effort to find anything that might
help me out, I was browsing online and came across something called “The Fifth
Paw.” After owning this product and using it every day for over a year now, I
can say that it is something I will never again be without.
The Fifth Paw is a simple leash attachment
with three hooks that rotate freely around the center piece which slides over the
leash. After knotting a doody bag, you slide it through one of the hooks. The
knot keeps the bag from falling through the clip, so you don’t have to worry
about the bag again until your walk is over! The fact that the clips rotate on
a ring means that the bag doesn’t get tangled in the leash, and you can clip
more than one bag on it, which is useful if you have more than one pup or are
going on an extra-long adventure. I have found that this product helps me keep
more of my attention on training—sometimes, I even forget the bag is there!
This product shows very few signs of wear after over a year
of use, and is also made in the USA. Though it is a little expensive for
something that carries bags of dog doo, I find it invaluable. As someone who
lives in downtown Madison where traffic is dense, having full control over the
leash is my number one priority, and The Fifth Paw lends such a big hand. If
you have noticed it’s difficult to juggle all you need on a walk, or simply are
tired of carrying bags in your hand for an entire walk, this product is here to
help. As you can see, Copper did a lot of market research before buying, and
gives it two paws up!