Anyone used Mushers Secret or dog boots for hiking on fells? Any other advice for a pointy hound?

[CrumbocalypseNow]

Am about to take my pointy hound walking in the lakes. He has been before and loved it but he got sore paws by the last few days and was favouring the grass. A friend recommended mushers secret to help protect from abrasions through friction. ChatGPT recommends dog boots!

Has anyone else used this or used boots for their dog when walking. I think the boots are more likely to rub his legs sore - he got sore bits from one of his fleeces without legs so has an equefleece with legs which doesn’t rub. Will the balm be good enough?

Also got a rucksack for him to carry him over scree - last time was a bit precarious carrying him by his harness handle over scree! 😂

I live in the lakes, and walk in the fells regularly.
Yes its good to think about his paw pads, I use paw balm with mine, but then my are used to the ground, dont see many dogs with boots on, unless you are doing some serious climbing. The other thing to think about is mud, grass seeds, ticks, and carry fresh water for him, rivers and lakes can be contaminated, blue green algae.

Carry a good pet first aid kit, its a long walk back with an injured dog, and cheek his fitness levels, i've seen many stories of dogs not used to hiking, needing mountain rescue. Walking a few hours on the flat, fields, parks ect isn't the same. Get him used to low grade fells first say about 5 miles in length, that will also help condition his paw pads,
By all means use boots if you feel it would benefit him, you could use them on particularly rough ground.

What fells were you thinking of walking?

Used Mushers when one of ours got a sore pad on her paw. It worked like magic.

@TheLivelyCat Thank you. He's been in the fells before (Great Gable, Scafell, Buttermere and a few others) and I regularly run 5-6 miles with him - we've done some Maverick Trail races together too. But he did struggle on the scree in the last few days especially around Great Gable which we needed to walk over/round to reach other valleys. This time we're going to be more around Old Man Coniston and so probably a bit more of a mix of grass and rock rather than a lot of exposed rock. He prefers that kind of terrain.

I do have a good first aid kit for him and this time am taking a decent dog carrying rucksack too as it wasn't ideal carrying him over scree last time. We met a few people carrying their dogs over the scree as it's tough for their paws. He also has a good sports fleece (equafleece so wicking and fast drying) and a waterproof which is bright. I also have his canicross lead as it's safer if there is a sudden tug on it as it has a bit of stretch.

That's good to know about the algae risk as I had assumed the fast flowing water coming down across the paths/tracks would be ok although never let him drink from lakes/ponds as we have blue green algae in a few bodies of water near us.

Will pick up some mushers - had thought it best to use before walking as it forms a barrier to help with the friction?

Sounds like you're well prepared. The streams are better, but not low risk, eg if a sheep has passed higher up it can contaminate the water. Coniston old man is more local to me and the area is more mixed, farm land, woodland, and some harder ground. Start with the paw balm before you arrive as you want paws that are not so soft that they feel everything. But flexible enough to give under uneven pressure.

If they are a pointy, Mushers will be too wide on their paws to fit properly and likely will rub. I used Hunnyboots https://zoomadog.co.uk/collections/hunnyboots for my lurcher when his paws got sore (not hiking, just old age) and they were a brilliant fit and once you get used to inserting their paws in (the socks really help) they stay firmly put