#hcpet

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^ Forgot to bring a toy so she’s stalking my glove 😭

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🐾💖 Scooter Run 💖🐾

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I’ve recovered slightly from todays medical episode but it flares up with the smallest endeavor. Even still, I couldn’t help but share this cute picture of Mandana posing with her shoe collection.

You can get this organizer for about $6USD on Amazon and it holds shoes up to 3” in width. Its 4 across and 4 down, so it’s perfect for puppy shoes and the quality is nicer than the price would suggest.

Buy LUFEIYA Spice Organizer Wall Mount Seasoning Rack Organization , Small Hanging Spicerack for Kitchen ,4-Tier Mountable Especiero Holder:

Here is the link for my favorite mesh dog shoes from my recent shoe review. I haven’t had them for very long but I have a lot of experience with Ruffwear shoes and I feel comfortable recommending these as a replacement for the Ruffwear Grip Trex. They have a lot of nice qualities and in someways are even better. I don’t plan on buying Ruffwear shoes anymore and will only buy HC Pet shoes #notsponsored

Amazon.com : Hcpet Dog Boots Breathable Dog Shoes for Small Medium Large Dogs, Anti-Slip Puppy Booties Paw Protector with Reflective Straps

For reference, Mandana wears HCPets size 7 in the front & a size 6 in the back (or a 3” & 2.75” in Ruffwear). Having the organizer makes it a lot easier to keep the different brands, colors & sizes separate so I can easily grab the ones I want depending on what activity we will be doing. Just keep in mind that the plastic will trap moisture so make sure the shoes are left out to fully dry before storing them in the organizer if you want to avoid Frito Feet

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HC Mesh Boots: First impression & comparison to Ruffwear & QUMY

I think these are the winning boots and my top recommendation. I will update more after I’ve broken them in, but based on my past reviews these check all the boxes!

The rubber sole covers the nail area and will hopefully prevent the holes that ruin my Ruffwear Grip Trex so quickly.

The traction is about as good as Ruffwear and a big improvement over the QUMY

The double-strap system is much better than the single long strap of the QUMY and the plastic part that keeps the bottom strap in place means the gusset doesn’t open up too much. I like the QUMY but only after four hours of alterations on the strap & gusset. The HC Pet boots are great straight out of the package.

Because of the double strap system, I’m thinking it might be possible to relieve some of the pressure in the dewclaw area. I haven’t tested them thoroughly yet, so I will have to post an update later.

They only come in sets of four but they are significantly cheaper than Ruffwear. You can buy two sizes and that will give you a two fitted sets (assuming your dogs back feet are smaller than their front)

At this point, the only thing I prefer about the QUMY is the side cutout design which allows for easy folding instead of the leatherette material bunching up. However the leatherette on the HCPet is not as wide as the Ruffwear so I don’t think they are as stiff & Mandana didn’t seem to have any issues walking in them before having broken them in.

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Happy to be back into training!

Mandana is feeling better and I’m in a lot of pain but not having a health crisis. I’m sad we missed the cool spring but we have some gear to help make the heat bearable. We went on a long PA walk today (3 hrs! 6 miles!) and it wasn’t even that miserable! She did great medical alerts for both heart rate & blood pressure. She usually struggles with sniffing shelves at the craft store but not today! She was brilliant!

Rollator // It was sooo helpful and Mandana doesn’t mind it at all. It was nice to be able to sit without having to go all the way to the ground and I was able to carry a lot more water & supplies with us.

Swamp Cooler Vest // We had a Ruffwear gift card so I got the Swamp Cooler harness for freedom walks & the vest for public access on hot days. The harness sits a little low on her chest, so I’m going to try to fix that but I’m pretty happy with the vest. It works a lot better than the evaporation vest (from Etsy) that I’ve been using. I think the material and the fact that it has multiple layers makes a huge difference. It stays damp longer but without being as drippy and the light color helps reflect the sun for a little extra cooling effect. I had it embroidered locally by the same guy who did her reflective vest and I think it looks great. Just make sure you check the humidity/dew point before you go out or you might be doing more harm than good. If it’s too humid to evaporate effectively then the dog is going to be a lot hotter wearing the vest even if it feels wet & cool to the touch. I try to ensure the humidity percent is in the 50s or lower whenever using evaporation gear.

HC Mesh Pet Boots // I was so happy with how the HCPet boots performed today. The double straps DO work better with dewclaws than the Ruffwear boots. I had put minimal vet wrap over her dewclaws and they were a little rubbed when we got back but no swelling or redness. The wear on her dewclaws after 3 hrs_6 miles of walking was the equivalent to 30 minutes in Ruffwear boots and that’s not even taking into consideration that she hasn’t been going out lately so her paws aren’t conditioned to wearing them.

We had to walk over a lot of parking lots, roads and an area with a lot of broken glass (pictured below). If she hadn’t been wearing shoes it would have been a trip to the vet for sure and if she had been wearing Ruffwear shoes the soreness probably would last for several days.