Muttluks All Weather Dog Boots
Field Report - July 18, 2004
Tester Information:
Name: Jason Boyle
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 6"/ 1.68 m
Weight: 170 lb/ 77 kg
Email address: c4jc@hotmail.com
City, State, Country: Waldorf, Maryland, U.S.
Backpacking Background:
I have been camping and backpacking for about 16 years. My introduction to the outdoors started with the BSA and has continued as an adult. I have hiked mostly in the Southeastern and Northeastern United States. I currently live near Washington D.C. and have made the mid-Atlantic mountains my playground. I used to carry everything and the kitchen sink, but I have become a lightweight hiker.
Product Information:
Manufacturer: Muttluks
Model: All Weather Dog Boots
Size: Medium, 7.25 x 3.0 in (18.4 x 7.62 cm) measured from toe to the end of the cuff
and from side to side at the widest point.
Small, 6.5 x 2.875 in (16.51 x 7.3 cm)
Year of Manufacture: 2004
URL:www.muttluks.com
Listed weight: None given
Measured weight: Medium 4 oz (113 g) Small 3 oz (85 g) for all four shoes
**Disclaimer: the closest my scale will measure is in whole ounces**
MSRP: Medium $35.16 Small $33.36 US Dollars
Dog Testers:
Name: Cody Boyle
Breed: Mixed - Black Lab/German Shepard
Age: 5
Weight: 58 pounds (26.31 kg)
Boot Size: Medium
Name: Maggie Boyle
Breed: Mixed - Springer Spaniel/Border Collie
Age: 3
Weight: 46 pounds (20.87 kg)
Boot Size: Small
Summary:
The jury is still out on these boots. They have done a good job of protecting my dogs' feet, but I have continually had problems with the boots staying on and I question the durability of the boots.
Field Test Conditions:
These boots are being tested on a variety of surfaces. My dogs have worn them while walking around the neighborhood on asphalt, and while hiking on forest duff, rocks, mud, and beach sand. The boots have also been tested in the rain, crossing streams and walking through shallow water on the beach. I have tracked the mileage on the boots and the dogs have currently put 31 miles (50 kilometers) on the boots.
Field Test Results:
"Look at those dogs, they have shoes on!" "Look, Look Mommy those doggies are wearing shoes!" And so it went most places that I took the dogs and their Muttluk boots.
The dogs have done well with the boots. They have acclimated to wearing them and have been sensitized to know that if I grab the boots they will be going on a walk/hike. The boots have done a good job protecting their feet.
The Muttluk boots are showing a lot of wear after only 31 miles (50 kilometers). The leather bottoms on the boots are scraped pretty good as shown in the picture below. The picture on the left is the bottom of Cody's boots and the picture on the right is bottom of Maggie's boots.  
Both types of toe protectors (leather on the medium pair and cloth on the small pair) are also holding up well. They are scraped and scratched, as seen below, but intact.
 
I have had one toe protector come unstitched from the "Hydroflex" coated fabric. It is on one boot of Cody's medium sized boots, and just happened on a trip to the Dolly Sods in West Virginia. The trails were very rocky and may have contributed to the stitching failure.
The "Hydroflex" coated fabric on the top though is not doing as well as the bottoms and toe protectors. The boots have had a tendency to rotate on both dogs while they are walking so that the dogs end up walking on the tops of the boots. Initially, I would stop and fix this issue, but it happed so often that I would let the dogs just keep going. I have tightened and retightened the boots, but they still rotate on their paws. Because they have walked on the top of their boots holes are starting to form in the top fabric on a couple of the boots. Right now the holes are pinhole sized, but could eventually lead to complete failure of the boots.
I have had no problems with the cloth collar. It easily slides over the dogs' paws and legs. The material has not seemed to irritate either dog.
The Velcro closures have done poorly. I am not sure what Muttluks meant by self-tightening straps. When fitting the boots on the dogs, I tighten the straps down very snug, but they eventually work there way loose or turn so that the dog is walking on the top of the boot or the dogs are able to kick the boots off. I think this is their new game; "make dad look for the boots!" On two separate occasions, I have had to backtrack to find boots that have come off. This is very annoying to say the least. I think the biggest problem is with the velcro itself. Once the boots accumulate any forest debris or get wet the velcro no longer sticks as well. I also think the boots slip of easier once they get wet.
I am not sure why the boots are waterproof? Every stream the dogs have crossed has resulted in a submerged boot.
The dogs have not been able to remove the boots when sitting or stopped.
Lessons Learned:
Water and dog boots don't mix! I had to cross a large stream in Shenandoah National Park that was swollen with two inches of rain from the previous evening. The stream was swift and the rocks were pretty slippery. Maggie was the first to cross, the water was up to her shoulders and she tried to jump up onto a big rock in the middle of the stream. The rock was pretty high up and she had no grip with the shoes and slipped as she was trying to get up. In the process of getting onto the rock two of the boots came off; the front and back boot on her right side and washed down the stream. She made it to the other side then, Cody came across and had the same problems with traction on the rocks but did not lose his boots. After that fiasco, I took the boots off for the other stream crossings. The damage was done though, I had lost two boots and the remaining boots were soaked. Maggie walked the rest of the trip in the remaining two boots.
I brought the lost boots to the attention of the moderators and Muttluks provided two additional boots for Maggie and they have been received. Kudos to their customer service department!
I don't think the boots need to be removed for all water situations though. If the water is deep like it was in Shenandoah National Park, I will remove the boots. If the water is shallow like at the beach or a small creek crossing I leave the boots on. It is simply too much extra work to take eight boots on and off for a small water obstacle.
I have also found that the boots do not provide much traction while in slick mud. We were hiking in Rosaryville State Park the morning after a thunderstorm and the trail was very muddy. The dogs had a hard time on the inclines and declines with the shoes on. The slid all over the trail and tried to drag me with them.
Asphalt eats boots! After a couple of walks in the neighborhood for a total of 3 miles (5 kilometers), I noticed that the asphalt was causing significant wear on the boots so I have not used the boots for the neighborhood walks. As a consumer and tester, I want to know how the boots perform on the trail.
I am concerned about the durability of the boots. As I have already stated the toe protector of one of Cody's boots has already come unstitched and holes are forming in the top fabric of the boots. I wonder how many more miles I will be able to get out of the boots before they are completely unusable?
Improvements:
The top fabric could be beefed up to absorb some of the wear if the boots happen to rotate on the dog's paw. Even better would be a way to keep the boots from rotating, but I am not sure how that can be accomplished.
Long Term Testing Plan:
I will continue to take the dogs on walks and hikes using the boots. My normal hiking routine is to take the dogs for hikes at local Maryland State Parks and on the Appalachian Trail.
I will examine the boots for the following characteristics:
Durability: How well do the shoes hold up, to include the leather/cordura toe protectors and bottoms and the cloth collar? How do they look after each trip? I am concerned that the rocks on the AT will tear the shoes up especially the cordura toe protectors on the small boots. How well do the shoes protect my dog's pads? How soon before the shoes have to be replaced?
Ease of Use: How easy are the self-tightening straps to use? Can the dogs get the shoes off easily? Do they irritate the dogs?
Thanks again to BackpackGearTest and Muttluks for the opportunity to participate in this test.
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