This is a rather old thread but I wish to make a comment anyway since every time I search for fire safety-dogs, it comes up as one of the few resources. Also this thread catapulted me into finding a solution! This is it and I couldn't be more excited to have found it!Someone above mentioned a harness made for letting rescue dogs down from a helicopter into an emergency zone. That looked great until I found the following, which is less than half the price at $70. https://www.x-itproducts.com/how-it-works-large-pet-escape-sling/ At this time it's not offered on Amazon so you have to go directly to the X-It website to order. Ours arrived today. My husband and I tested it out a bit. Okay, we didn't throw our dog out the window however easily got our 80 lb. Golden into the sling/harness very very quickly without any struggle from him (and he's a guy who snaps at being brushed - gently). It's just so easy to get the sling on - slip paws into the large holes, pull up and cinch the velcro at the neck. Next we picked him up using the handles - no problem - and again, not an ounce of struggle. He was obviously well supported and comfortable, even off the floor! We were very happy to discover the sling comes with an attached nylon webbing strap that was way longer than it would take to get him down from our 2nd story bedroom. (It's made for a 4 story building.) Best of all, the "strap" has handle loops every so often taking away the danger of it slipping through your hands while letting your dog down. We're seniors yet I feel confident we can do this if necessary! Of course using this is a last resort and it clearly states that in the instructions. But we feel so much better having a 2nd way out of our 2nd story bedroom for our dog, as well as ourselves (via ladder). We're so grateful someone finally thought of large dogs. Thank you X-It!!! We'll be spreading the word to everyone we know who has dogs. And no, we're not paid by the company, nor have we received any free products! We're simply happy to have finally found this solution. But I agree with some of the above comments, the next house we buy will be one story. Until then, we have a plan.

I would never put pea gravel in an area where kids play, falling, swinging, sliding, running as that make for a much harder fall than simply landing on grass. It would be even worse than falling on the ground as the gravel can and will burrow into the skin, can cause rashes, burns, bleeds and besides, children like to put it in their ears and noses. They will also strew it in the grass and lawn mowers are likely to hit it and furl it in unwanted areas. Sand is a haven not only for sand fleas and cat pees but any wildlife that might like to play there in off hours. Keep the area well composted during the off season and the ground will be soft. This is not brain surgery. Keep the area composted and/or mulched for safe play. If you do, however, use mulch, be sure none of the children has allergies to the mulch which, same as grass, will serve up swelling, runny nose and hives for some. If you use compost, make sure it is well composted and there is no smell to it. Well-composted vegetable material from your kitchen and garden and/or animal manure should have no offensive odor. If you smell it, you either used too many greens and not even browns, or it is not well cooked/composted. Throw your coffee and tea grounds in the area. Worms will work the area, make the ground soft. Soil's best friends are worms. Throw coffee and tea grounds and they will come. As far as that plastic mulch, I would never use that. It gets very hot in summer and is cold in winter. It would not be very pliable in cold weather and it would steam in summertime. I also do not like the recycled rubber tire mulch. How hideous. That was designed for huge cars and trucks, not for child performance. Besides, just the smell would trigger asthma for some. Children seem to be allergic to more things in their environments now because they do not have all the allergens in order to reach desensitization as we once had. With less supervision from older siblings and/or other older children as there was years ago assisting in monitoring their play, children are more likely to be left on their own while mothers are tending to other business. I know many mothers who work from home and who just stick their kids outside while they work. It is impossible to properly tend to children if properly doing a job inside. We are not omniscient beings.

I have flair style ones. I bought them backwards, so they are all facing UP instead of down. I heard down was how they are supposed to go. There's a way to tell if you need a RH or LH one... stand within the door frame with your back to the hinge-side of the jamb, with the door open. If the door is open on your left, you have a left-handed door. If the door is open on your right, it is a right-handed door. Now if I'd of read that first.... but the guy told me the levers were okay no matter what (he lied apparently because it was an Ebay purchase). So now I have "up" facing levers unless I want to get all new ones. So far, nobody's noticed though? Does it really matter in the scheme of life? I'm letting this one slide! Oh and I have kwikset locks; you can push up or down on them. It doesn't matter. You will not need to think about it. You're brain will just do what is natural. An they are as comfortable as knobs. As for the person whose ripping pockets, I don't think anyone's had that problem here except for the robes on the back of the door. They will get caught on the levers. But the part about opening the doors easily with filled hands is true and the entire reason to get these types of knobs (other than aesthetics). This post was edited by dahoov2 on Tue, Dec 9, 14 at 1:40

I miss having a dog but in my adult life the time is not right. Growing up I had a Shepherd/Collie type mix that was a joy. I would take her to the park, walks around the neighborhood, and delivering newspapers with me. We got her as a small pup and by the time she was a year or so old she was trustworthy walking off leash with me. She would stay right beside me. If a car was coming (Suburban neighborhood) I would say "Up" and she would go up on the curb until the car passed. She had perfect recoil and I knew she would not dart/run if there was a person or dog across the street or a rabbit ran past. She was a little shy with strangers, never aggressive. A great dog. My parents currently have a mini aussie/ poodle mix. They are older now but the dog gets plenty of attention, vet care etc. He is friendly almost to a fault lol. He is smart and housetrained etc. easily. My parents are not as disciplined now so the dog is a bit spoiled, he will jump on you etc.. A smart mix the dog has trained my parents very well LOL. He is a great dog for them though and keeps them active. I loved having and working with a dog. As I don't have one it makes me even more upset when people don't take care of their dogs or properly care for/train/socialize them. When we first moved into our home a lady and her son on the street behind us got a German Shepherd pup. I love GSDs and it was neat to see. As it grew though I would often just see it tied out back barking at people. Once when it was a few months old I heard the lady calling for the dog and it was in our backyard (not fenced). There is a busy street nearby and I went out with some food. The pup was wary but I was able to keep it nearby with the food while the lady retrieved it. She was thankful. Fast forward a few months and I was walking my then 2 year old daughter around the block. The lady was walking the GSD on a leash on the other side and about half a block down. The dog was barking/growling and pulling towards us. The woman was barely holding the now large dog the best she could and yelled "YOu better go, I don't know if I can hold him". That was scary. The dog disappeared soon after which I was glad for the safety of my kids but I wonder if things could have been different if that dog was properly socialized/trained/exercised. There is certainly a genetic component to personality as well as training. Likewise not every type of training works on every personality......you have to know the dog and what it needs. Bad owners can screw up a good dog, but there are also dogs who are naturally fearful/aggressive. Some of these can be good/ok dogs with the right owners, but I don't think every dog just needs "Love" to be a good dog.