We see many people joining dog hiking groups and asking what their dog needs to start hiking safely. While getting information about different products is a great idea when you start a new hobby or activity with your dog, the suggestions can get overwhelming quickly. When someone starts looking through previous posts in a hiking group, they will see that their dog probably needs a harness. Then see a post about a cut paw, and they decide that they need boots as well.

Different reasons to use boots Many owners think using boots is stupid, while many believe it is necessary gear for dogs. Well, like with every other gear, the answer is: it depends. Different boots can be used for various reasons like to protect the paws on hot or cold pavement or to prevent the paws from drying out while walking on salted roads over the winter. Many also use them on icy snow when the dog's paws would get cuts.

This is probably one of the most debated topics in the dog gear world, and people on both sides tend to have strong feelings about it. Unfortunately, companies and even vets are trying to artificially create more arguments around it by posting photos or videos of dogs in Norwegian harnesses that are adjusted inappropriately. They post pictures of harnesses that are clearly restricting the shoulders and are concluding about a line of products based on a misfitting harness, which is misleading.

While life jackets can be a lifesaver for many dogs in many situations, not all dogs need one. How do you know if it would be helpful for yours? The different reasons for dogs wearing life jackets Let's start by talking about dogs with medical conditions, joint issues, or just bad swimming techniques who need the extra help of a life vest. There are also dogs doing hydrotherapy as part of their rehabilitation, where life jackets are regularly used.

The start of our muzzle journey We started to look into muzzles after Mia was attacked a few times by off-leash dogs within a few weeks and started to develop a fear-based dog reactivity. While we joined training classes, met with behaviorists, and started working on the problem, it became clear that muzzle training is probably a good idea, since there are too many off-leash dogs around us whose owners cannot call their dogs back when we ask them to do so.