Thank you! The experience you have is really helpful. I was thinking of straps for her for now- between the rate of growth and the amount of our shoes that the dog manages to find when she leaves them around- that's more investing than I care to even think about!
I put in place a rule about no serious questions while going up hill last year when she started asking me about planetary alignment and gravitational pull while climbing a steep hill heading into a major intersection- she was most definitely not working hard enough!
And yes, it is the best investment ever for us as a mother daughter team. When she was younger we always did adventure weekends, a weekend in NYC, a weekend camping alone, etc. Last year I told her we were going to bike in tandem across NYS and we did and she now wants do to it every year. She has been studying field guides all year to make sure she can identify every bird, wild flower, and tree. So much better than spongebob!