If you go out hiking/walking/running in the rain or snow you really should get a slicker (its also nice for potty time too). My pink one was purchased from Petco a few years back so we don’t remember the price and we just can’t remember where Trey got his yellow Dickens brand slicker. Both are pretty much the same quality wise the only difference is that Trey’s has a pocket on back. Here are my thoughts, overall it accomplishes what it was made for, keeping me mostly dry during rainy day hikes and mostly dry during potty time on rainy days.
I feel I should explain what I meant by “mostly dry during rainy day hikes”. Perhaps it is because I am very fit with a big chest and small waist (I would be a hot human!) but this coat slips sideways on my constantly while hiking. I have to admit on hikes I am running all over, up and down hills and jumping every which way so I really test the fit of anything I wear. The chest strap on this will not stay in place, it slips back towards my waist area so Mom just straps it back by my waist while hiking. However if I am just going outside for a quick potty or a walk on the leash the coat doesn’t slip as far to the side or as often as it does when I am running like a mad women.
The design does have some strong points, it’s nice that it doesn’t hug the body so rain just rolls off the coat instead of rolling down the side and onto my belly, but that is where the good design stops. First on the down sides is the rear strap that is supposed to keep the coat down on windy days, this is the biggest downfall. First the strap on Trey’s broke after a few uses, mine lasted long but was well stretched and useless before it broke. Trey also has a complaint about the rear strap, he says it is very close to his manly bits so on some males that may be an issue if you choose to use the strap.
As far as additional useless features there is a hole on the base of the neck for a leash to go through, perhaps this would work with a short neck dog, but for my neck, it is no where near my collar and putting the leash through would cause the slicker to ride up. If you are built like me and need to wear a leash with this it just has to go through the front with your face so it might cause the neck part of your slicker to not fully protect your neck. The second useless thing is the pocket on Trey’s slicker. Putting anything in the pocket (if you had something that small) with weight would cause the slicker to shift side to side unless you have a wide back or put something like paper in there.
For wear and tear the chest strap on Trey’s appears to be detaching from the coat itself near the pocket, which means it may be dead by the end of this winter if we ever get rain. Also both Trey and I have torn a small hole in our slickers, however the size of the holes hasn’t changed and probably wont unless it snags and could easily be repaired with duct tape (you could probably even find a matching duct tape color now).
Pros:
Keeps my back and neck dry mostly dry
Cheap
Cons:
Cheap construction
Useless back strap
Rides sideways I am really active
Suggestions:
Would be nice they could redesign the back leg straps. Perhaps individual leg straps made similar to the chest strap otherwise don’t bother unless it is really windy.
Would I recommend?
Yes… No… Maybe, it’s cheap and it mostly works, if you are just looking to cover yourself during potty breaks or walks on the leash the go for it. If you are really active like me then you might try one, see how it works for your body type. Mom may continue to buy when the previous one is beyond repair but she might consider making me a custom one combining the good features of this raincoat and some of the other types of blankets (she’ll post that if it works out).
A few more notes are that our winters here are not cold, so if you need something that also provides warmth then I would look at other options or you could wear a blanket under this. I am also not sure how well these would work on thick or short necked dogs like rotties or bullies, the neck hole fit me fine, however I have a thinner long neck, so I would strongly suggest short or thick necked dogs go to the store to try it one before buying.
Trey and I in our slickers
Trey and I in our slickers
Rain Slickers
Rain Slickers
My Rain Slicker
Trey Rain Slicker
Rain Slickers
Slicker slides sideways if you don’t snug up the chest strap
I thought I would share with you one of my older toys, my Dogbon Rubber Chew Bone. Most of my older toys only lasted because they were at the bottom of the toy box or they are truely durable. This toy falls under super durable and super fun! It is a semi-clear rubber bone, looking at it I would normally say it is nothing special but to me it is. It’s special to me because it makes fun sounds, well it doesn’t, I do! Normally when I chew on my Nylabone there is just a standard grinding sound, but when I chew on this I manage to make a squishy squeaky sound sound that sounds like two pieces of wet rubber rubbing together. If I am not in the mood for Nylabone but want to chew this is my first choice, I will dig to the bottom of my chew toy box just to find it. What is nice is after all this time I only have teeth marks on it, no chunks missing yet.
Pros:
Durable
Fun Colors
More give than a Nylabone, but has taken more bites
If you drop it on the floor, being rubber it does less damage
Much like a Kong but a little more slippery texture (probably why I can make my funny sounds)
Cons:
Harder to find, as of now I only see a small one listed on Petsmart’s website and none on Petco. I think I got mine at Petsmart 2 years ago.
A REALLY HARD chewer might kill
Recommend:
Yep, although I haven’t killed mine I could see a bigger mouth that wants to kill it would take off chunk unlike a Nylabone, but if toys like the Kong toys work for you then this should.
I spend a lot of time out on these trails so I thought I would share some sites you can’t see from the road.
This is a waterfall found on the Piety Hill Loop. It can only be seen after we have had a really good rainfall when all the seasonal creeks are flowing, so you probably won’t be able to see it this year. To see this fall you would want to park at the Horsetown trailhead, head across the street. The entrance to trail is right at the end of the bridge next to the Horsetown Clear Creek Preserve sign. You head up the steep hill until you come to an intersection. If you go left you will head clockwise on the Piety Hill Loop, however go straight (counter-clockwise). When you head straight it will take you down a hill, when you start heading down just look straight and slightly to the left out across the gully, you should see this waterfall if it is flowing.
If you continue down the trail, you will go up another hill, then when you start heading down again you will come to that seasonal creek that makes up the falls. If the water is really flowing you may need to get wet to cross it, otherwise if it is barely flowing you can usually step on rocks to keep dry (Hey BLM how about you put in really big rocks, a culvert or bridge? Pretty Please!). Continuing on if you go straight at the next intersection you can follow the seasonal creek all the way up and see little falls along the way.
Below is a picture of Folding Travel Bowl #3. The #3 is not part of the model number but my replacement number. Hey! I know what you are thinking, “Penny stop eating your bowls” but it’s not my fault! These bowls are great because you can fold them up put them in a small pocket for easy storage. The problem is after a couple weeks of regular use they seem to leak more and more. I can see why they are not completely waterproof, after all they are made of nylon and couldn’t be chemically sealed (I don’t want to drink that stuff!). At first if you load up the bowl with water and leave it, it will slowly leak through and the outside of the bowl will get wet. This is not really a problem if you are on a hike, after all we aren’t stopping for a long time period. However after a few weeks of use the leaks get faster, the problem really seems to be with the thin “inner liner” since the water seems to quickly leak to the space between the inner and outer layers. Mom gets water out of her Camelbak and I have to drink fast otherwise I am licking the liner, I probably only get half of what is poured. The previous 2 bowls I had were picked up at Petco and I think were store brand, this new one is from HomeGoods and is the Outward Hound brand that mom got while she was traveling (check out their pet section along with TJ Maxx for killer deals!) maybe a different brand will help, but here are my thoughts based on the Petco ones.
Pros:
Folds up nicely
Inexpensive (approx $4-$5)
Cons:
Leaks after a few weeks of regular use
Recommend:
No, not unless you really need something that collapses (like me) or you wouldn’t be using it too often. Now I am going to give this Outward Hound one a try and maybe it will change my mind.
I am open to suggestions, but the replacement need to be lightweight and folding. Until then I might continue to suffer with these.
These next couple weeks I am planning on doing reviews on just Kong products. As a chewer, Kong products are usually on the go-to list when looking for new toys.
How best to start off this series of Kong, but with my first Kong. That’s right, mom kept it! What better for a puppy than a pacifier aka Kong Binkie. Now this Kong is designed for puppies because it is a soft rubber that normal chewers would decimate in short time. Since this is a softer rubber and puppies are chewers make sure you do supervise the little tikes, afterall we grow so fast and it’s only a matter of time until this soft rubber is too soft. Not long ago Anderson Vet Clinic posted to their Facebook page about a chunk of Kong they had to remove from a dog that tore one apart and swallowed.
So here is a picture of mine, you can’t really see it but there are a bunch of teeth marks down at the bottom which was mom’s cue that it was time to get an adult Kong toy. The real shocker is how I didn’t chew off the handle, what was I thinking. But that does bring up a bad side of this toy, I can see that handle coming off with baby chewers and being eaten, so once again SUPERVISE US!
Pros:
Great for puppies
Gives pups something positive to chew on
CUTE!
Cons:
The handle could be a weak point to chew off and swallow.
Recommend:
Yes! But only while supervised. Actually I would recommend the classic shaped Kong Puppy over the Binkie for safety reasons. If you go with the Binkie make sure you watch the wear on this toy, once you start seeing good teeth marks, its time to take it away because it wont be long until that handle is gone.
Let’s start off with showing my favorite trails here in Shasta County (California). I LOVE the Clear Creek trails, these trails are on BLM land and since they aren’t in the city limits they allow off-leash. Here is a link to the BLM page if you scroll down to “Clear Creek Greenway” you can get information including maps. If you have ever been these trails, share your barks with me!
If dirt trails are not your thing or these are too far, Shasta County has a bark-load of trails. You can find most of these trails listed here on Healthy Shasta’s Website. I will try to review more of these trails in the future.
Here are some screen shots of one of our recent hike. This particular hike was on the Piety Hill Loop, but we started at the Horsetown trailhead and did a modified loop. Doing the trail this particular way has so many hills it turns into a bum-barker, you will be feeling this hike if you are not used to hills.
Elevation and speed chart of our hike, it shows a couple times we had to stop for fellow hikers and riders.
Map of our hike
Stats on our hike
Hiking the Piety Hill Loop
Excuse the poor photo quality, the camera on the phone is having issues.
