So my wife and I decided to take up backpacking and hiking this summer with the pooches. We have gone out and bought backpacks, shoes, hiking socks, and hydration bladders. I know there are quite a few hikers on this forum and would like to pick your brains.

So here are my questions:

What kind of clothing do you suggest wearing?

Is there an animal safe bug repellent besides Frontline or Revolution, say for mosquitoes and flies?

Here is one for Michigan Hikers, do you have any suggestions for areas in southeastern MI that are good for Hiking?

Any other advice is welcome.

Thanks in advance for the replies!

Clothing: some kind of wicking fabric like CoolMax in light colors.
Repellent: the only bug dope that I've found to work has Deet in it.
Of course Deet is toxic and melts nylon (really!) I would never use it on my dog.
You could try some kind of citronella based spray. (Maybe someone else has experience with this and could chime in.)
Mosquitoes will just attack your dog's nose, lips and eyelids.
The rest of the body is protected by fur.
I don't know if there are head nets for dogs, but this saved my bacon in the Frank Church-River of No Return:
http://www.rei.com/product/799982/sea-to-summit-head-net-with-insect-shield

For clothing stick with synthetics, even your socks. A great resource for clothing ideas is 'fundamentals of search an rescue' There is a whole chapter about socks lol. But basically it comes down to the fact that synthetics dry faster. So if you get caught in the rain you don't get stuck with wet clothes that may freeze if it gets cold. I don't know much about bug repellent for dogs, so ill look forward to those answers too. Does heart guard work against tics?

just look on REI's website its all there! sorry im trying to go home from work and dont have much time to reply but for bug spray i would take what i was using and spray some in my hands rub my hands together and wipe them on the dogs face area.
smart-wool socks kick ass

There's the local Metroparks, Maybury State Park is pretty nice as is Pinckney. I can't think of anyplace else at the moment aside from the 2-mile loop around Elizabeth Park. Hope that helps give you some ideas.

Thanks for the replies everybody. We are excited for these adventures we are starting this summer.

A more specific question would be about pants and what kind we should get...more specifically for my wife.

I have a couple pairs of the Columbia convertibles, as well as one pair of the REI convertibles. I like both brands, but I think the REI ones run a tad small. I had to go up a size on those, and REI is having their big spring sale for another couple days.

REI Sahara pants

Columbia pants