Long Term Report

Muttluks All Weather Dog Boots
Long Term Report - November 16, 2004
Cody and Maggie resting on a Labor Day weekend hike

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 am an aspiring lightweight hiker, but I just can't seem to leave behind all of my gadgets.

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: 6
Weight: 58 pounds (26.31 kg)
Boot Size: Medium

Name: Maggie Boyle
Breed: Mixed - Springer Spaniel/Border Collie
Age: 4
Weight: 46 pounds (20.87 kg)
Boot Size: Small

Summary:
After 6 months and 100 + miles (161+ km), I have to say I am not very pleased with the performance of the boots. The durability of the boots is questionable at best with Maggie's pair not lasting 65 miles (105 km) before they were destroyed. Also, the boots did not stay on well and forced me to constantly monitor my dogs to make sure I had eight boots. However, the boots did do a good job of protecting my dogs' paws when they managed to stay on.

Long Term Report Conditions:
These boots were tested on a variety of surfaces over the last six months. The majority of the testing took place on typical forested trails. By typical, I mean mostly dirt trails with the occasional rocks and sticks in the way. We did do some overnight trips in Shenandoah National Park, VA and in the Dolly Sods Wilderness, WV which have very rocky trails. The boots have also been worn in pouring down rain and the occasional sunny day, but have not been tested in snowy or icy conditions.

Long Term Results: The 69 miles (111 km) that have been put on the boots since the last report have not been kind to the boots. Pictures are worth a thousand words, what's left of Maggie's Boots are below.

The tops of Maggie's boots are completely destroyed. This is a result of the boots turning on her feet as she walks so that she is walking on the cloth top instead of the leather sole (see picture at the beginning for an example of the boots turning). Additionally, as shown in the third picture, one of the toes came completely apart and the others showed significant signs of wear.

There would be four boots with the tops destroyed except that she lost one on a Shenandoah National Park hike. Somewhere in the middle of an 8 mile (13 km) hike she kicked a boot off of her front paws, it was pouring down rain and I am not sure when it came off. I backtracked 15 minutes or so and could not find the boot, so I kept hiking. It was also on this weekend trip at approximately 65 miles (105 km) of total use that her boots developed the holes in the cloth tops and started to come apart.

The story above illustrates one of the main reasons that I don't like these boots: they don't stay on. I clipped the Velcro short, I tightened them as tight as I could, followed all of Muttluks instructions, and nothing seemed to keep the boots on my dogs' feet. Both dogs were able to kick them off after just a few minutes of hiking. Testing these boots became a real chore and took some of the enjoyment out of my hiking trips because I constantly had to check dog paws for boots.

As the picture below shows Cody's boots faired much better. His boots did not roll on his feet, as much as Maggie's did that is why the tops of the boots are still intact.

There is still a significant amount of wear on both sides of the boots as well as the loose toe bumper on the first boot in the picture on the left.

I was excited at first about the yellow color; I thought it looked really nice. I have discovered though that with a little mud on them the boots blend in well with dead/dying leaves. I have placed one within a pile of leaves in my backyard to demonstrate their camouflage ability. This also added to my frustration when one of the dogs kicked a boot off.

Muttluks in leaves

An additional item of concern was the effect of the shoe on the dewclaw on the front paws of both dogs. After a few days of hiking, open sores developed behind the dewclaws. I asked my vet about it and he said he thought it was similar to humans getting blisters and that the boots probably rubbed their claw against their skin causing a "blister". This did not seem to bother the dogs too much, although they spent a lot of time licking their paws after wearing the shoes all day.

All that being said, the boots did a good job of protecting my dogs' paws. The trails in the Dolly Sods are extremely rocky and the dogs did not have any problems going over the rocks. The same held true in Shenandoah National Park. The soles on the boots actually help up fairly well and look like they could handle more miles.

Improvements:
I have a couple of suggestions: First the boots have to stay on. Maybe the boots can be reshaped so that they fit the dog's paws better. This may also keep the boots from rotating on the dog's feet. I would also recommend using a different color that would stand out more against the forest floor. Maybe a sky blue or international orange color.

Thanks again to BackpackGearTest.org and Muttluks for the opportunity to participate in this test.

Read more reviews of Muttluks gear
Read more gear reviews by Jason Boyle

Reviews > Animal Companion Gear > Dog Wear > Muttluk Dog Boots > Jason Boyle > Long Term Report

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