Ruffwear Front Range Harness

Some people are Ruffwear addicts.  Luckily for me and my wallet, I haven't dove that far down the Ruffwear rabbit hole, but I do think that they make quality products.  After hearing some great things about Ruffwear's Front Range Harness from friends and knowing that we would soon be moving into town and be required to do multiple walks a day, I decided to bite the bullet and get one.  

Features
- Leash attachment at the back, and an additional attachment on the front
- Bright colors!
- Padded chest area

Hudson isn't much of a puller, probably because he is small and can only pull so hard, so I haven't used the front loop with him yet.  The rest of the harness is sturdy and well stitched, so I imagine that this one will be as well.  For a front clip harness, I do like how this one fits more than my Freedom Front Clip Harness.  Maybe Hudson never grew enough for the Front Clip to fit, but I always felt that the clip on that harness was too low and the strap hindered front leg movement.   Like the Freedom Front Clip, the Ruffwear Front Range slips over the head and then is brought up behind the front legs, and then clips along the back. It is adjustable along the neck/shoulder and again behind the legs, which makes it very easy to fit.

I am not a nice owner, so I use the metal V-ring on the back to also help with poop bag holder.  Hey, he can help carry some stuff on our walk. It isn't designed to attach any packs to, but I wouldn't worry about adding something light to it.  Ruffwear has also added a velcro pouch on the back that can hold your tags, if you want, but I haven't tried it out.  

One word of warning to anyone who is familiar with Ruffwear, take a look at their harness sizing guide.  Hudson's harness is a small and it fits him great.  The harness ranges from XXS, which is a 13 - 17 inch chest, all the way up to the L/XL, which is 32 - 42 inches.

No matter how you look at it, the Ruffwear Front Range harness is well made, with lots of little extras.  We've been using it for the past month since we moved to town and it is great. I don't worry about him slipping out if we see a squirrel or that it will rub and cause hot spots or hair loss.


Ruffwear Front Range Harness

SoftPaws

We recently moved from an old house, with nice hardwood floors, to an even older house with even nicer hardwood floors.  In the previous house, I worked on keeping Hudson's nails short using a dremel and filing them, but he is a little frantic and spazzy, so it didn't work super well.  Even with nails back to the quick, he was able to scratch up the floors.  Not only that, he would go sliding around corners and my mind just kept picturing a wipe out and then something terrible like a torn ACL.

In an attempt to protect the dog from the hardwood floors and the hardwood from the dog, I decited to try out SoftPaws for dogs.  These are soft, flexible rubber caps that go over your dog's nails.  The sizing guide indicated that, at 40 lbs, Hudson was at the high end of the X-Large nails, or the low end of the XX -Large nails.  I chose to go with the X-Large, but I might try the XX-Large next time I purchase a pack, more on that later.

They shipped with USPS from California and were delivered a few days later in Ohio.  The package came with the 3 different sets that I ordered (purple & black for the local college, orange and black for Halloween, and then red and green for Christmas), and plenty of glue to secure them to Hudson's little feet.

The fist step was to wrangle Black, White, and Crazy to the ground, trim his nails, and then clip the hair around them.  Since these are secured with glue, I didn't want to glue any of his feet fur into the cap, it just sounds painful.   Hudson is pretty tolerant of having his feet handled and was pretty good about the whole ordeal.  He didn't like it, but tolerates these types of things for me, bless his heart.  In the end, I only did the front feet because I had so much glue on my own fingers that I couldn't feel what I was holding anymore.  Something to change for the next time - use less glue!

They seem to be holding up OK.  They are advertised as being good for 4-6 weeks, but a cap or two might come off, and need replaced.  It is also advertised that each kit comes with 40 nail caps, so if you have to replace a few now biggie.

Hudson's nails went on around July 22, it is now August 5.  Mr. Fussy doesn't seem to notice that the caps are on, and hasn't tried to mess with them.  Of course, as soon as we put them on, I started shoveling treats into his mouth and having him do basic tricks to keep his mind off of those strange things on his feet.  It seems to have worked.   He did lose 1 cap sometime this week, so maybe at week 1.5.  No biggie, I expected the nails to come off.  I do think they have helped him navigate through the house and not slip and slide all over, so I'd consider that aspect a major success.  The one issue I do have is that the tips of the nails have worn through and the very end of his nail is sticking out.  Not what I wanted.  I will need to pull the caps off and try again, maybe this weekend if I have a chance.  For a product that is suppose to last 4-6 weeks, I would have expected the caps to last longer than 2 weeks.  Of course, this could be due to several different things.  Mainly, I think I should have gone with the XX-large size, instead of the X-large, maybe those would have held up better.

Over all, I am pretty happy with the product.  They have done what they advertised (all though not as long), and they are really fun!  I am going to enjoy changing his nail color based on the seasons.  Of course, I know that I could also just paint his nails the color that I want, but these caps are pretty cool.

My next order, which should be in early 2017, I'll try out the XX-large caps, hopefully the fit better.

Saratoga K9 Kooling Coat

There are several cooling coats on the market and they seem to work in a few different ways.  Some, you soak and the evaporation cools the dogs, others are a light color and reflect the sun away.  For those that haven't noticed, Hudson is mostly black.  In the summer, and on bright winter days, his black coat will be warm or hot to the touch.  He spends most of the summer hiding in the shade and for such an active dog, it just didn't seem fair.  I struggled for probably close to a year on what cooling coat I wanted to get, but finally settled on the Saratoga K9 Kooling Coat.  Part of it was the cost, and part of it is that Hudson is a smallish dog and I was worried the coats that needed soaking would be too heavy for him.

The K9 Kooling coat works mainly by reflecting the suns rays away from the dog so that the dog's fur doesn't absorb the heat.  I know that I can tell a difference between the temperature under the coat and the top of his head.  He also seems much more comfortable outside when wearing it.

The coat fits on the dog with a velcro belly band and a buckle across the chest.  I think I got Hudson's a size too small, so it's a little snug on him and doesn't cover all the way to his tail, but it doesn't slide around and stays put.  Obviously, you can't use it with a normal harness underneath, but the front is open enough that if you use a front clip harness without any issue.  I use an Easy-Walk harness when I need to use a front clip.   I haven't tried it, but I bet harnesses styled like the Brillian K9 Harness or the EzyDog Quick Fit would fit over the coat, depending on where their chest strap fits in relation to the buckled on the coat.

I love this coat and now that the weather is getting warm again, I look forward to taking it out on more adventures.

Saratoga K9 Kool Coat

Metal Mementos

I come across the best things from suggestions from friends.  A few people I know have gotten custom dog tags from Metal Mementos and I just had to have one.  The price was right, and they did custom etching.  I did a lot of private messaging through FB on this design and the owner of the store was a total gem to work with.  I sent a few photos of what I was thinking, these were pictures from various websites. I didn't have to do any of my own drawing thank goodness!  Then I got a sketch of what it would look like and it was perfect.  

Hudson's registered name is Green Mountain Angels in Gotham, which is  play off of a Doctor Who episode Angels take Manhattan. I won't go into the details of the episode, but it has Weeping Angels. I have love/hate relationship with Weeping Angels. They are awesome and yet terrifying. Or maybe it's really his guardian angel hiding.....

Either way, the tag came quickly.  It's heavy and has a very well-made feel to it.  I do have a large clip on it, so it hangs lower than I would like, but I could fix that easy with a smaller clip.  Hudson has worn the tag a lot over the last few months and it has held up great. Another thing I really like is that the tag has the custom etching on one side, and Hudson's name with my phone number on the other.  I like to hope and pray that he'll never get lost, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.  

When it's time to get another dog, another Metal Mementos tag will definitely be something I get. Or maybe I'll just come up with a reason that Hudson needs another.

Metal Mementos FB page

Eco by Lupine

In July of 2014 we were getting ready to head out for vacation.  That year we were heading to a house in West Virginia on the banks of the Potomac River and I was looking for a harness that would hold up to the river grit & grime, but was inexpensive enough that if I needed to toss it after vacation it wouldn't hurt the wallet too much.   I ended up with a Tropical Sea colored Eco harness by Lupine.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with Lupine, all of their products are guaranteed, even if chewed, and they will replace anything.  I looked through a lot of their harnesses and at the different designs, but eventually settled on the Eco because they are made from recycled plastic bottles.  What can I say, I'm a bit of a sucker for things made out of recycled products

Being made out of recycled plastic bottles, you would think that the harness would be stiff; it isn't. It feels very similar to a medium weight, nylon harness.  The color is nice and bright.  As you would expect from a Lupine product, it feels like a quality made product all around.  I got the step-in style harness, it has 3 places to adjust the fit.  Hudson is around 37 lbs, and wears the 20"-30" girth harness. Everything is sized about in the middle, but at almost 3 years old, I don't see him growing much more.

This harness took on the mighty Potomac River with ease and has quickly become my go-to harness for hiking, or any event I think he'll get gross and dirty.  If your dog is a big of a puller, like Hudson, the harness won't prevent the pulling, and if your dog pulls off to one side or another, the harness will slip a little to the left or right, but I have not had Hudson slip out of it, and don't see that as an issue.

As a side note, I also clip the poop-bag holder to the d-rings on the back and make Hudson carry his own poop bags.  Now, I do carry the full bags (lucky me!), but maybe one day I'll get something with bags to make him carry his own poop too.  

Some reviews have noted that these are hard on the edges and cause rubbing or coat breakage.  I haven't noted either of these on Hudson.  Since we use this harness on hikes, he is usually wearing it for an hour, or longer, at a time and I have not noticed any issue.  

Amazon - Eco by Lupine

Lupine's Store

Collar Mania Minky Collar

I will start this with saying that I did win this collar.  Collar Mania will occasionally post,'make a comment on this post to be eligible for a chance to win a free collar' on her Facebook page.  This is the one that I won.  The turn around time was terrific.  It did help that the collar was already made and all she had to do was ship it.  I think it came in 3 days, slower than my Amazon Prime stuff, but definitely quicker than the normal 4 days it takes for my parents to send something here from Ohio.

The Minky fabric is hard to describe.  It's soft and fuzzy, kind of like a fleece blanket / microfiber cloth hybrid.  Mine also has the satin lining on the inside.  I really like this collar.  It feels very sturdy & well made and I don't have any concerns about walking Hudson while he is wearing it.  It is also wider than the collars I normally have on him.  Usually he wears a 1" or a 3/4", this one is 1.5", but due to its light weight, it doesn't look super huge and bulky on him.

I made the mistake of letting him wear it in April when we were visiting my folks.  If you know anything about spring in April, you'd know that it is wet & rainy & gross.  Add to that, my parents have a small creek that runs through their backyard & it had been raining for 4 days, it was a muddy mess.  Before too long, so was my beautiful collar. To clean it, I tossed it into a pillow case and threw it in the washer with some dog blankets and let the washer do it's thing, then I let it air dry.  Good as new. I really like this collar and if I had the funds, I would buy lots & lots of collars from Collar Mania for all different occasions.  Christmas, Halloween, Easter, the Fourth of July, but for how often other people see him in his collars, it isn't worth it.

These are highly recommended for showing off you & your dog's style when out and about.

Collar Mania Collars

Fraggle Rock Collars - Biothane

I was looking for something very specific in a collar this time around.  My sister's dog, Matrix, had been wearing a nylon martingale collar for a few years and was looking for something new.  I already had a few biothanes in my arsenal and knew that they would be perfect for her.  My parents had also gotten a new dog earlier in the year, Netti, and I thought she needed something pretty.  Off I went in search of someone who made martingale collars out of biothane.  I got in contact with Fraggle Rock Collars.  They make nylon/ribbon & biothane collars, along with leashes.  She had never made a limited slip martingale out of biothane, but was up for the challenge.  I sent her the measurements for the two dogs and she got to work.  Pretty soon, these two lovelies were at my door, with matching utility leashes.

My sister's dog, Matrix, is a city dog so his collar doesn't get as much wear & tear on it, but he wears it pretty darn well.  

Netti-Pot may not look it, but she is a good ol' farm dog.  She catches rodents and all. My parents have some land behind their house that is full of trees, trails, and critters.  Netti and my Dad spend a good amount of time out there, cutting down trees and searching for critters.  There also a small creek for getting really dirty.

I also may have bought a 30 ft tracking lead at the same time.....I have a problem.   Anyway, the turn around time was slow, about 3 or 4 weeks if I remember right, but everything is holding up great.  I would definitely recommend them to anyone who has the time to wait around.

Fraggle Rock Collars