The harness question lands in the GearHound inbox more than any other: is the Ruffwear Web Master actually worth thirty more dollars than the Front Range, or is it the same webbing with a handle? Having put both on dogs that pull, dogs that scramble talus, and one senior shepherd who needed a lift up … Read more
My first dog-hiking trip cost me $214 in gear I mostly didn’t need, and my dog pulled so hard in a cheap flat collar that she coughed for two days. After three seasons and roughly 400 trail miles testing kit on a 60-pound mixed breed, I’ve narrowed dog hiking gear for beginners down to six … Read more
Most states open firearms seasons in October and run them through December, and every year the first shots echo near a trailhead full of dog walkers who never thought about it. Your golden retriever at forty yards in low brush reads exactly like movement to a hunter glassing a treeline — blaze orange is what … Read more
Daylight saving ends November 1, and if you walk your dog after work, that means your evening route goes dark overnight. Most dog owners clip a reflector tag on the collar and call it done. Here is what that looks like from the driver’s seat: a single small point of light that reads as a … Read more
Most dog coats fail before the first snow — not because the fabric is bad, but because the dog was sized by weight instead of by back length. Two 60-pound dogs can carry three inches of difference between collar and tail, and a coat that is three inches off either slides sideways into a saddle … Read more
The first hard freeze of the year changes the trail for your dog the same day it changes it for you. Snow packs between the toes, ice cuts pads that spent all summer on soft dirt, and road salt burns through everything by the end of the driveway. I have watched a confident dog turn … Read more