Unboxing Fall with Hurtta

Happy Fall everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the cooler weather and pumpkin themed goodies that come out this time of year! Pumpkin donuts, anyone? How about a pumpkin spiced latte? ;)

The leaves are falling, the air is getting crisp, dogs and humans are freezing their butts off! Or are they!? Not these dogs! Zoe and Phoenix will be super warm because they have new jackets straight from one of our favorite companies.

Hurtta, one of the best companies we've ever worked with, recently revamped some of their products and released some new colors! We received a box full of goodies and I decided to do an unboxing haul on camera for you. Unboxings are pretty popular on YouTube and I figured it would be a fun way to show off the new fall gear!

A Beach Trip!

Peter Iredale Ship Wreck! Check out those wind blown ears!

A while ago, we made it out to the Oregon coast for two fun days of fetch at the beach!

I've been so busy that I haven't been able to post about it until now!

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach

Zoe managed to have some off leash fun at the beach! 

We generally keep her on the leash for the most part because she saw bunnies one time and never forgot that there might be prey animals to hunt!

We trust Zoe a lot more when she's gotten a little tired. Here they are having a burst of zoomies!

Phoenix is very serious about her ball time! I was so proud of her! She didn't care about any distractions or other dogs at the beach. All she wanted to do was play fetch! She's come a long way!

Oswald West

We visited three different beaches and they had fun on each one!

Overall we had an amazing time! We absolutely love the coast!

The Best Gear for ALL of Your Adventures! Giveaway!

It's that time of year again! Spring and Summer fun with dogs! 

 

Goodbye winter! Hello fun activities! No matter what you're choosing to do, whether you'll be hiking or maybe taking a new training class, I have a gear recommendation for you! Zoe and Phoenix absolutely love going on new adventures, hiking trips and exploring the great outdoors and we always have a blast testing out gear. We only share products that we completely believe in.

Hurtta is one of our favorite companies, they have been producing top notch dog gear for the last 20 years! They offer a variety of different items from amazing dog coats to cooling coats, boots, life jackets, harnesses, leashes, collars. You name it and Hurtta probably has it. One of my favorite things about Hurtta as a company is that they are constantly testing and improving the quality of their products.

When we go on our outdoor adventures or training classes with Zoe and Phoenix, the first thing I always pack is their harnesses. I prefer training and walking my dogs with their leashes attached to a harness and I feel that harnesses are the best way to keep dogs safe in the outdoors or challenging conditions. 

Phoenix practicing "Treibball" wearing her Y2 Harness and a long line for safety!

Attaching a leash to the collar could be harmful to a dog's neck if they were to see something and suddenly jerk on the leash, not to mention the added pressure on their necks can cause some dogs to become reactive or stressed. (For more information why you shouldn't attach a leash to your dog's collar, please see this article: "Is it harmful to attach a leash to your dog's neck?" by Emily Larlham)

We generally only use our collars for their tags, quick potty trips out in our yard or when we go on our off leash hikes, where the leash is only attached to the collar from the car right to the trail and then they are taken off the leash.

The Padded Y and Padded Y2 Harnesses are my favorite harnesses from the Hurtta line. These harnesses are great for walks, hikes and dog sports of all kinds! This harness is also great for dogs who may suffer from neck or back issues, if the dog happens to pull on the leash, the close-fitting harness distributes pressure evenly across the chest, preventing damage to the dog’s vertebrae and trachea. These harnesses are padded with neoprene, they are light weight and so comfortable for the dogs to wear. They do not cause any rubbing of the fur or skin. The harnesses are easy and quick to put on and my dogs have never had a problem adjusting to wearing them.

The Padded Y2 Harness is a little different from the original design, it has an O ring in the front and a longer strap on the back. I really like the updated design and I like that I could attach a leash to the front of the harness on the chest if I needed to. Both of these harness styles are excellent. The Y2 does run a little bigger than the original so if you're upgrading you might want to get one size smaller than the original Y that you had.

These harnesses have one point of adjustment so measuring carefully is important. The chest measurement is the most important one, from my experience.

The Active Harness is a great harness for any adventurous dog! This is my favorite one for hiking trips. This harness is sturdy, padded and has 4 points of adjustment. It's a little more heavier duty than the previous harnesses. The back has a handle that is comfortable to hold on to. I really love this harness and use it on narrow trails or when we go hiking where there might be sharp cliffs. It makes me feel like I'm keeping my dogs safe in those kinds of situations. I also like the added handle that I can hold on to when we pass other hikers. The handle is also useful for keeping dogs secure in vehicles.

The Padded Harness was our very first harness that we purchased from Hurtta. It was what started our obsession and deserves an honorable mention! I've had these harnesses for as long as I've had Zoe. So going on 6 years and the harnesses are still in excellent condition, despite all the adventures we've been on, all the mud dirt and times I've dropped them in the washing machine. This harness is different from the Y and Y2 as it does not have a strap that goes between the legs. The design on this one is for over the head and buckling behind the front legs. My dogs do seem to pull a bit more in this harness and it's a great harness for nosework or any sort of scent detection where it's okay for a dog to pull.

The Padded Collar is neoprene-padded, reflective and is comfortable in use and provides long-range visibility. If you would like to see us putting the padded collar through it's paces, check out our video of Phoenix swimming: https://youtu.be/oR0iNxrSXFo. The Hurtta Padded Collar is the only collar I trust them to wear and not get ruined when we go get muddy at the park or hitting the trails!

The Mountain Rope Leashes are comfortably and soft to hold in your hand. They are highly durable and resembling climbing ropes in structure and materials. Hurtta recently updated their leads, replacing the mental with aluminium, which is highly durable, stainless and extremely light. Rope leashes are my favorite kind to use and I love these!

All of the harnesses, padded collars and rope leads have 3M reflectors that help keep you safe in low light conditions. All of the gear from Hurtta is machine washable. I would recommend using a garment bag and a gentle cycle. Don't dry the gear in a machine, air dry only.

We absolutely love our gear from Hurtta! Everything we've ever gotten has lasted for years. Hurtta is a fabulous company and wonderful to work with. I highly recommend checking them out and giving their gear a try!

Happy Spring everyone! What sort of adventures will you be going on this year with your dogs?

ZoePhee received products from Hurtta in exchange for our honest thoughts and opinions. All opinions are my own. We were not monetarily compensated.

We are partnering with Hurtta and Major Dog to give one of our readers a chance to win a prize pack worth up to $100! One (1) lucky winner will receive the Harness of their choice, a Padded Collar and a Mountain Rope Leash from Hurtta and a Tiger Toy from Major Dog. The giveaway is open to USA and Canadian (excluding Quebec), age 18 years or older. Please follow the directions on the giveaway widget to enter. The winner will be notified by email and have 48 hours to reply before I choose someone else. Good luck everyone!

Entry-Form

The Flooded Rainforest!

This used to be a trail system and a meadow!

We've had a very rainy year! It's been raining pretty much nonstop since October with only 4 days of nice weather. All that rain has to go somewhere and our rivers are overflowing!

This past Thursday, we went to Thousand Acres park for the first time since Phoenix started doing play group at my work. We've been avoiding places where there will be other off leash dogs, while I was integrating Phoenix into our play group because we didn't want her to have any bad dog/dog interactions, trigger stacking or practice bad behavior with other dogs. It's been 4 weeks since I've been out there and the whole park is completely flooded!

The "Seasonal" Pond is now a river and a muddy mess!

It was fascinating to see how high the water was! I've never seen the "seasonal" pond so full! It was it's own river! This was the spot where I taught Phoenix how to swim a couple of years ago because it was shallow and easy for her. Not anymore!!

This spot here used to be a meadow full of green grass and a trail system! 

This is the same exact spot as the photo above. I took this a few months ago! 

They were both super confused as to where the meadow went! It was pretty funny! 

We took a break from the flood so that Phoenix could play a little fetch!

She loves her ball! 

Phoenix has been going to our play groups once a week for the past three weeks and I was so happy with her behavior out at the park! Her dog/dog greetings and interactions where way better than they've been in the past. She was pretty chill for the most part. The terrier directly behind her and to the right was not very nice to her, he snarked at her and was kind of over the top. Phoenix did not snark back. She showed him her teeth when he got in her face but then she moved away from him and let it go. 

My work dogs are really helping her to realize that she can meet dogs and nothing bad or scary happens. They ignore her for the most part and she's able to easily move through them without being scared. She actually tried to play with a couple of them this past week. It's nice to see that what she's learning at my work is being generalized to other dogs! I'm really happy with her progress. 

SNOWED IN! Snowpocalypse!!!

We're snowed in!

We got record breaking amounts of snow for Portland!

There was over a foot in most places!

The snow is so bad that the governor declared a state of emergency!

We don't have chains so we're just staying home and playing with the dogs!

They think it's pretty fun as long as we don't stay outside too long!

Hopefully we'll be able to get out soon! I'm dying for pizza! 

How's the weather where you are?

The New Extreme Warmer Dog Coat by Hurtta!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you're all having a fantastic day! It's feeling a lot like winter here with the outside temperature being 29 degrees and with the wind chill it feels even colder! Brrrr! I figured it would be a great time to stay indoors and talk to you about the brand new "Extreme Warmer" dog coat from Hurtta! This new coat is my coat of choice for when I will have to venture out later with my dogs!

If you haven't been following us, Hurtta is one of our most favorite brands. They produce high quality outdoor gear for dogs and they have awesome customer service. We highly recommend checking them out!

"Grey is the new Black!"

The Extreme Warmer is a fantastic addition to the Hurtta line. It's definitely set apart from the other coats as it has a unique "foil" lining that reflects the dog's natural body heat back at them keeping them warm in even the most extreme conditions. Keeping a dog's muscles warm when they are being active in cold weather helps to prevent injuries. This coat would be excellent for any dog who wants to go with their humans, even if they hate the cold, like mine do. Zoe and Phoenix both hate any sort of cold weather so keeping them warm and happy is very important to me. We took the Extreme Warmer on a couple of fun trips and I really like this coat!

When we arrived at Mount Hood, it was 25 degrees outside. If Phoenix was not comfortable and warm in her coat she would not have sat on the frozen ground or stayed there for me! They definitely would not have even wanted to play in the first photo above if they were not comfortable and toasty warm.

We also tried these coats out at the beach! The Pacific Northwest is known for our cold ocean beaches. The water is cold, the sand is wet and cold and it can be very windy.

The Extreme Warmer offers great coverage of the whole dog. Besides the high neck cover, the coat  offers a warm tricot hood that can be lifted to protect the dogs head and ears. I love this feature, it's so cute and makes me laugh every time we use it! The coat has a chest cover that protects the sensitive chest and abdominal area, protecting vital internal organs. The chest/tummy cover snaps over the dog's back and is very adjustable. Just like all the other coats in the Hurtta line up, the Extreme Warmer has two openings: one in the neck and one on the back so you can easily attach your leash to a collar or harness.

The Extreme Warmer has an adjustable back length with a drawstring bungee, making this coat great for those dogs, like Zoe, who are hard to fit because their back lengths happen to be in between sizes. 

The coat also has a cover for the back end that snaps under the tail. One of the minor things that I didn't like about the coat happens to be this part. I honestly wish Hurtta had put in the buttons like the Ultimate Warmer which gives you the option to button the back end flaps up and under the coat. The Extreme Warmer does not include those buttons and we don't always need the coat buttoned under the tail. I really miss this feature and I wish they would consider adding it. The Extreme Warmer is designed differently from the Ultimate Warmer and the back end flaps are longer so it doesn't part away from the dog as well when they squat, which can be problematic after a long trip on a windy road and a dog who has a sore tummy needs to potty. I will likely end up safety pinning Zoe's coat up for the next trip, which is a quick easy fix.

Hurtta says to hand wash these coats. I ignored this recommendation and machine washed them in a lingerie bag on a gentle cycle with mild detergent and they came out just fine. I think over time a lot of harsh washing might hurt the inner lining so I'm going to be careful with it. I let them air dry and I don't recommend machine drying any Hurtta coats.

 

The coats are made from soft, flexible material that has been laminated so it's waterproof. The coat also offers 3M reflectors, which is great for those evening walks where your dog needs to be visible. The lining of the coat is a smooth polyester.

This coat allows complete freedom of movement, both dogs were able to play and run like normal. They were not in any way hindered and they had a great time running around in the snow and on the beach. 

In our experience, the Extreme Warmer runs a little big. My dogs are usually a size 18" or 20" in Hurtta products. Since this coat offers adjustable back lengths, I initially ordered them both a size 20" but when they got here they were way too big, even for Zoe who's back measures 19". Hurtta has fantastic customer service, though, so we just ended up exchanging them for two size 18" coats. I think Phoenix could probably even wear a size 16" in this coat. So keep that in mind when you order yours!

I think the Extreme Warmer is one of the best coats we've tried so far from the Hurrta line. I am very impressed with it and we will definitely be getting a lot of use out of them. We may not get extreme temperatures in Oregon but if my dogs were to give their opinion, anything below 50 degrees is too cold. Now that it's in the 20's here, the Extreme Warmer is my first choice for all of our outdoor activities. The coat keeps my dogs warm, dry and they are happy to keep playing outside. I also love how stylish this coat is! Grey really is the new black! 

I would highly recommend checking out the Extreme Warmer and trying it with your dogs! I would also recommend checking Hurtta out on Facebook and liking their page. They often look for product testers and run their own giveaways. The best way of finding out all the Hurtta news is by liking their page. 
 

ZoePhee received our Extreme Warmers in exchange for an honest review. We were not monetarily compensated and all opinions are our own. Hurtta is not responsible for the content of this blog post.

Secret Path!

Mom! Hurry Up! I found the secret path! 

That one time when Zoe stole her Treat Bag!!!

Road Trip!!! 

A long time ago, before we had Phoenix, I got off work early one day and decided to take Zoe on a short day trip to the beach. I left her alone in the car and she stole her treat bag from the front seat! Luckily, she couldn't get it open!

Sneaky dogs are sneaky! 

Hurtta Photo Shoot BLOOPER!

Zoe doesn't like to catch things, a lot of the time she will close her eyes and duck. 

My husband was throwing the dogs snow balls and we caught this hilarious photo!

To see our review on the coat she's wearing please go here: Orange Summit Parka Review

Orange Summit Parka Dog Coat by Hurrta Review!

Keep Your Dog Warm, Dry & Visible with the new Orange "high viz" Summit Parka! 

  

The new "high viz" Orange Summit Parka Dog Coat is finally in the US! Hurtta is an amazing company that offers outdoor gear and coats for dogs. They are one of my most favorite companies to work with and we were so excited when they asked us to review the new orange parka! We've reviewed the Summit Parka in the past and it was our very first experience with dog coats from Hurtta. The Summit Parka is still one of my most favorite coats that we've tried!

Zoe and Phoenix spend a lot of time running in forests, fields and rivers. We love to hike and be outdoors but this time of year can be difficult with it being cold and rainy. My dogs do not appreciate being cold or wet. It can also be scary out there with all the hunters roaming around. Keeping my dogs warm, dry and safe is paramount. I have to make sure my dogs are completely visible and I'm so glad that Hurtta has come out with my favorite coat in a bright "hunters safety" high viz orange. 

My husband is also a huge fan of these orange coats, he feels like they are easy to put on and he likes the color. My husband does gets a little tired of all the pink stuff I choose for them and he prefers more gender neutral colors on them when he walks or hikes with them.

The Orange Summit Parka has all the same great features of Hurtta coats, it protects your dog's most important muscle groups, it protects their chest and sensitive abdomen area. The coat has a neck cover for added warmth and protection. The design of the front leg holes for added protection. The coat features a re-closeable opening on the back to feed a leash through to a harness (on sizes 12"-35"). The two smallest sizes has an integrated harness (on sizes 8" and 10"). My favorite feature on the Summit Parka has to be the adjustable back length. There are drawstrings that help you to shorten the coat to the perfect length to fit your dog, even if your dog is in between sizes, as my dogs generally are. 

The coats are made with Houndtex laminated outdoor fabrics. That means that the jackets are smoother, softer and quieter than many other jackets. This really improves the comfort of the jackets and is helpful for dogs who are not used to wearing clothing. The inside of the coat is a soft fleece lining and between the fleece and Hountex outer shell there is a thick insulating layer. These coats are definitely designed to keep your pooch warm on cold winter walks or on frigid morning playing ball on our northern coast! These coats are light weight and really promote freedom of movement, my dogs were able to jump, run and wrestle as if they weren't wearing anything at all.

 These coats are water proof, dirt resistant, machine washable and feature high visibility 3M reflectors!

We've tested these coats in pouring rain, in the forest, in the snow and on our super cold, northwest coastal beaches. The Summit Parka is a fantastic, versatile coat. It keeps my dogs warm, dry, clean and safe with the highly visible colors and 3M reflectors. The coat is easy to put on the dogs, has great coverage, the convenient opening to attach the leash is very helpful. We are visible and safe when we walk at night or sharing the forest with hunters. The parkas are generally the first coat I pick up and pack when we take the girls on trips. 

The Summit Parka is still my favorite coat from the Hurtta line. I always recommend this coat to all of my friends and I would highly recommend you all check it out too! You can also follow Hurtta on facebook as they often run their own contests and giveaways!

If you would like to see some Hurtta coats in action check out our video: Snow Day for Zoe and Phee! (Review on the Extreme Warmer coming soon!) 

ZoePhee was provided with Summit Parkas in exchange for an honest review. We were not monetarily compensated and all opinions are my own. Hurtta is not responsible for the content in this blog post.