Perfect For Summertime Strolls (Doog Walkie Belt)

Member Name: FourPaws

Product:	Doog Walkie Belt
Date:	24/06/09 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A practical solution for carrying small items on dog walks

Disadvantages: Proper hand wipe/waste bag refills are expensive

*What is the DOOG Walkie Belt?*
This handy, portable belt designed to help you carry any items you may need on a dog walk is produced by the DOOG Company, an American based company who manufacturer a small range of dog related items such as collars, leads and of course, this Walkie Belt.

*The product itself*
Now with the weather warming up and the evenings getting longer, dog walks are once again becoming much more pleasurable, they are no longer forced to be taken during pitch darkness, whether morning or evening, and neither must us dog owners have to kit ourselves out head to toe in warm coats and waterproof trousers for a simple stroll!

There is nothing I love more than disappearing for a long walk with Grace and Benson, just wandering miles at our own place as they run around and play together and I get some free time to just completely relax. Sometimes we're gone for hours, so there are obviously a few bits and pieces I need to take with us to keep us going, and when I'm not wearing a coat, this unavoidably results in less pocket space to carry those essential items we need. This means my hands are often occupied holding the various bits and bobs when ideally I'd like them to be kept free to hold the dogs water bottle and attend to the dogs when needed- they are a couple of whimps you see, any little twig caught round their paw or any nasty fly landing on them and they come running to me to sort them out!

So, when the weather starting warmer up this year and I ditched my ski jacket come dog walking coat in favour of t-shirts and the like, I decided to have a little look around for a very small rucksack that could carry those little items with ease, and leave my hands free to do whatever I needed to do. All the ones I came across really didn't fit the bill, they were either too large, too bulky or uncomfortable to wear and I was on the verge of giving up when I stumbled across this Walkie Belt.

The Walkie Belt has been produced by the DOOG company, which stands for Dog Owners Outdoor Gear and in the style of a lightweight, small and compact belt carrier offers a practical and easy way of carrying any small items that you may need whilst out walking your dog. It is made from strong, durable and waterproof lined material that fastens via a plastic buckle and adjustable strap around the owners waist and has several, specially designed features to make it an ideal and handy solution for when out and about with your pet.

Firstly, at the left hand side of the belt, is an iPod clip, made from tough rubber this flexible clip will adjust to fit most iPods or mp3 players to keep them secure whilst walking and still enabling easy access to buttons and earphone ports. Situated next to that is a small opening designed to hold dog waste bags- the DOOG Walkie Belt comes supplied with 30 free bags however this will easy carry any brand of dog waste bags.

In the centre of the belt you'll find two zipped pockets, ideal for your mobile phone, dog treats or house key- helping to keep them safe from the wind and rain. After this, you will find another small opening that houses antibacterial scented hand wipes, the belt comes supplied with a pack of 30 however refills can be purchased and lastly, at the right hand side of the belt is a small, metal caribena- ideal for holding your dogs lead when he is enjoying an off lead run around, or for hanging the belt by your door at home when not in use.

*Packaging*
The DOOG Walkie Belt comes packaged in minimal packaging- simply surrounded by a clear film with a cardboard insert which tells us a small bit of information about the product such as what each feature is designed for, how to adjust the strap and buckle and how to clean the belt. Of course, contact details for DOOG are also provided, should you have any questions or comments about the product.

*Price & Availability*
I have yet to see this Walkie Belt stocked in any offline pet shops although it is pretty widely available online so you shouldn't have too much trouble sourcing one. It comes in 12 different colours and designs- including plain black, bright colours, polka dots and even camouflage, so there should be something to suit everyone! I purchased my Walkie Belt, in plain pale pink, online from The Fetch Pet Shop (www.fetchpetshop.co.uk) for £20.

Postage and packaging was free from the site that I purchased my Walkie Belt from but they only stock 7 of the 12 colours available, so if you are looking for a particular design/colour, then you will obviously need to look elsewhere.

*My opinion*
I really love gadgets and strange bits and pieces, and I love them even more when they are pet related, so on spotting this Walkie Belt, I just knew I had to have one! However, I also knew it would come in extremely useful when out walking Grace and Benson and that was certainly another reason for purchasing. Initially, I was a little hesitant about ordering, as I didn't want to look strange using it in public, but I took the chance, ordered one regardless and waited eagerly for its delivery.

Sure enough, a few days later it did arrive and I was keen to get it out and have a look at it. Upon removing it from the packaging, I instantly really pleased I had decided to go ahead with ordering one, the belt was very nicely designed and appeared to have been made very well, all the stitches and seems were strong, the fabric was high quality, the zips ran smoothly and the whole thing had a nice, good quality look about it. Trying it on, it looked equally good once in place.

The belt was quite slim fitting, not bulky in the slightest and very easy to fit. Here, however, I did have one slight problem- the belt will fit waists up to 107cm and seeing as I am a size 6/8 in trousers, I had to adjust the belt to its smallest fitting, which resulted in the straps becoming rather long at the back, creating a tail effect! So I did have to cut these down to size, once done however, the belt fitted perfectly and was very comfortable to wear and the straps didn't fray too much where they had been cut.

I was pretty eager to put it to its proper use, so I rounded up Grace and Benson and headed out for a walk. The belt remained in place very well whilst walking, even when climbing over stiles and the like, it stayed put very well and you'd hardly notice it was there.

The belt comes supplied with 30 dog waste bags and it wasn't long until the dogs gave me need to try these out- they were pretty good, reasonably strong although not overly large and they were not scented, but even so, they did the job required and they were very easy to remove from the compartment, even with one hand and the remainder of the bags stayed in place.

It also wasn't long until I needed to try out the hand wipes supplied- climbing over a stile I managed to put my hand in some bird mess and I used one of the wipes to clean my hands. These, too, were quite good but nothing special- they were relatively small but damp enough, smelt pleasant and were antibacterial, so they did give my hands a good clean whilst on the go. There was nothing to state on the packaging whether the wipes could be used on the dogs themselves, I personally wouldn't however as they did have a somewhat strong alcohol smell to them.

I found the two zipped compartments to be the handiest feature on the belt though. I used one for my bits such as my mobile phone, key, packet of tissues and a lip balm and then the other one for the dogs bits- a couple of dog treats fitted easily inside and the zips done up easy to keep everything safe and dry. Handily, the two zipped compartments are totally separate, which was nice as it meant I didn't get messy dog treats all over my belongings and it kept nasty meaty whiffs away from things like my tissues and lip balm too.

Over the next week, I used the belt on each of our walks and found it exceptionally useful each time, however it was soon time to replace the hand wipes and waste bags so I popped online to have a look at how much the refills cost. Needless to say, when I discovered a pack of 30 waste bags and 20 hand wipes cost a staggering £9.99 each, I didn't bother placing my order! Now I just use one of those little packets of Wet Ones wet wipes in the hand wipe compartment- they fit easily and do the job just as well and then use the dogs normal waste bags- they, too, stuff easily into the compartment, holding about 5 bags and are easy to dispense when required.

The one feature I do not use on the belt is the iPod clip. For me, dog walks are relaxing times spent just me and the dogs- not with music pumping into my ears! I did however try it out for the purpose of this review and my iPod Nano fits quite snugly and securely whilst still giving me full access to the click wheel. I also don't tend to use the metal clip much- I use it to hang the Walkie Belt by the front door when not in use, but that is about it and personally, I think it is quite a pointless addition.

All in all, a really handy solution to an annoying problem. The Walkie Belt easily holds dog waste bags, wet wipes, dog treats and small personal belongings such as keys, money or a mobile phone. The design of the belt is simple yet effective, it doesn't look daft when being used, nor is it big and bulky so it wins on the majority of counts.

My only small complaints however are the price of proper refills waste bags and hand wipes and the fact that the zipped compartments are pretty tricky to clean, which isn't ideal when they have been housing smelly dog treats.

Summary: A clever, useful idea- worth its weight in gold when out walking Grace & Benson.