Herring Shoes Journal

Dogs have been man’s best friend for around 29,000 years, so we thought it was about time we gave them a mention and dedicated a blog to our furry friends. Details on how to enter our competition to win a £200 Herring Shoes voucher are further down.

The difficult part was trying to work out how we integrate a blog with dogs and shoes (shoes for dogs aren’t on the horizon just yet…), but it’s actually quite obvious when you think about it. Once we have got the pooch all excited and used the ‘W’ word, we have already thought about what shoes we will be putting on, taking into account the weather and location, so it’s certainly worth discussing in more detail. Whether your fur baby is a Doberman, Cavapoochon or Labrador, they all love a good walk.

You’ll notice all of the below shoes and boots are made with a rubber sole, which is quite important this time of year as the extra grip they offer not only makes them more practical in wintery conditions, but it also means you are not wrecking your leather soles (if you do get your leather soles wet then just ensure you pop your shoe trees inside and let them rest for a couple of days).

Let’s start with a new style, the Melksham. Made for us by Barker on a lightweight rubber sole, they combine comfort, practicality and looks. This makes them an obvious choice for the daily, less messy walk around town or to the quay to get some fresh sea air. The chances are you might bump into people too (we know all too well that any dog is going to attract some friendly attention) and you don’t want to look like you’re on a hard-core hiking expedition! If you’re a trendy customer, then these tick all the boxes.

If your walks tend to be a bit more ‘active’, but you still want to maintain a classy look, then look no further than the Hardwick shoes in brown waxy calf. I chose these because they have classic Derby brogue styling and stand tall on their Solovair cushioned sole, so not only have you got the practicality of a soft rubber sole but you also have the waxy leather uppers which are designed to take a bit of a beating. I would go as far as to say the more weathered they look the better. You don’t need to be too precious with these.

We have options for women too. The lovely Bekie sent us the below photo of her wearing the Stephy brogues and these would work perfectly! Made for us by Trickers on a storm welted, Vi-lite Vibram sole (it’s a mouthful, I know) they are extremely durable and definitely give the ‘country chic’ vibe. A slightly more understated option would be a pair of Monica rubber-soled Derby shoes. Designed for ultimate comfort, they are made for those long, scenic walks on the coastal path and an easy go-to for slipping on when off to the park.

Now, what about the messy trips to the beach or field? We will often drive to the location and put a different pair in the boot, which tells you all you need to know about the kind of footwear you will want to don. It can’t be dressy or made with fine leathers as they will just get ruined and nine times out of 10, you’re going to take a pair of wellies, and why not? They’re waterproof, they can go over the bottom of your trousers and they clean up easily. But why would I talk about a style we don’t sell? Hold tight, we have an exciting new brand that will be added shortly. When you get the email announcing their arrival please click through and have a browse. They are premium wellies that will last a long time! That’s all I can give away at the moment though.

Wellies aren’t your thing? Then you should seriously consider the Trekker boots. Although we call them boots, they are almost a hybrid between a pair of shoes and boots. Offering the ultimate in water-resistant materials and construction, they will happily take a beating. Our new Peregrine jackets would look exceptional paired with these too and offer much-needed protection from the rain, check them out here.

Aren’t we lucky to have such loyal companions? Whether it’s your dog, cat or rabbit that you call your fur baby, they are all precious to us. It’s worth mentioning that there are currently huge numbers of animals in need of adoption right now and wherever you are in the UK there will be an animal waiting for a loving home. Check out the RSPCA site to see if you can find your next best friend: https://www.rspca.org.uk/findapet

Oh and you didn’t think we had forgotten about the competition did you? Who fancies winning a £200 voucher to spend on our website? Simply find our post on Facebook mentioning this blog and competition, then post a photo of your pet in the comments section. It’s that simple! The photo with the most likes will win the voucher (this is where your friends and family can help), the competition will run for one week.

Good luck!