Booty-licious Kitting out your dog
Paws for thought. Yes, dogs are now wearing tramping boots when they go bush with their owners.
Inside the boots they will also be wearing socks. If it’s wet and cold they might be wearing coats – shell jackets or puffers.
And don’t forget the backpack, so they can carry their own food and water in, and their own poos out.
If this reads like something from a rich celebrity enclave in Aspen, you’d be right.
But increasingly Kiwi dog owners are also buying outdoor gear for their pets so they can go anywhere in comfort.
You can sense the collective rising hackles of thousands of ‘‘it’s just a dog’’ people as they read the above.
But talk to the country’s biggest importer and seller of dog tramping kit and things make more sense.
Rocky and Jules Walker own the outdoors shop Further Faster. They opened in 2014 and from the start it was ‘‘adventure gear for humans and dogs’’.
‘‘People thought we were mad at first,’’ says Rocky. ‘‘But it is just interesting how now other people have jumped on board and are trying to copy us.’’
The keenness to buy dog tramping gear comes from care over the dog’s comfort, which is a modern phenomenon, and growing realisation that despite restrictions on where dogs can go, there are still many places they are allowed in the outdoors with owners. Rocky says modern waist leads mean the dogs can be on the leash and the owner can have both hands free.
‘‘To be responsible in back country, you need a dog on the lead. It goes around the waist and it is bungy so nice and stretchy.’’
Jules says the dog tramping boots suit certain dogs and terrain. ‘‘So when we do high summits with Badger [her labradoodle] and there is going to be scree and lots of ice, we take his boots. If it’s really rough, or he is getting a bit tender on his feet, I’ll whack the boots on his feet.’’
‘‘It’s protecting his pads,’’ says Rocky. Chunks of ice can get stuck in the paws between the pads of hairy paws.
Some dogs have tough paws and others have soft paws. Boots are good for dogs taken mountainbiking because constant skidding into corners can quickly wear out pads.
Boots can also protect against the heat. Some rocks get very hot and also bitumen in the city can get so hot that boots help stop burns.
‘‘Footwear sales are growing,’’ says Rocky, ‘‘but the biggest growing sales would be dog packs and clothing.
‘‘Packs are the most useful for a dog if you are hiking full stop. He is carrying his food and water and can carry out his own poo. No-one likes to put poo in your own rucksack,’’ he says.
Coats can keep a dog drier and warmer but they also stop hairy dogs from bringing the dirt and mud back to cars and homes.
Dog coats are the biggest seller because many owners buy them anyway whether they are tramping or not. You can get soft shells, waterproof jackets, fleece jackets, even a puffer looking jacket. A high-end kit-out can cost $600-$700 for pack, coat, boots and liners. Boots cost up to $220 for top-of-mountains type conditions and packs can cost up to $260.
‘‘I tend to find people come in here and spend more on the dog than themselves,’’ Rocky says.
They have set up a mountain dog challenge where dogs tick off climbs to the top of dog-friendly peaks around Canterbury.
Rocky says some people have taken up tramping just so they can take their dogs up the peaks.
It takes a little time for dogs to get used to wearing boots.
‘‘They do a dance first of all,’’ Rocky says.
The key is to not make too much of a big deal out of it. It’s like putting a collar on, it is just part of the deal in getting a great run in the countryside.