A road kill deer.

 

Dogs are pretty low maintenance. I usually just let them carry their food and water. What else do they need?

Az

 

Dog packs should only be ten percent of their weight. For my dogs their packs have only the first day's worth food and water, the rest is on the Bob cart, including a canine FAK, and tie outs and bed mat.

 

Dogs back aren't built of burdens, they're better for pulling.

 

A pint of water on each side, a lb of food on each side and the canine FAK. Dogpacks are great but you have to keep that load balanced and properly fitted. In warm weather you have to watch closely as that pack acts like a blanket. You dog will burn itself out from overheat or rub a hole right thru its skin from a poorly adjusted strap and it will never tell you. It is your responsibility to watch out for it.

A rescue dog might carry a mini survival kit for the victim (that is the source of the myth that St. Bernard's run around with a cask of whisky around their necks.) and have a high visibility vest.

A hunting dog might carry a GPS tracking system or a radio telemetry tracking collar. Hunting dogs also often have chest protectors for the brush and water dogs can have flotation assistance and even wet suits. Some kind of tracking illumination is useful at night, so I have a solar charged LED collar. Booties or a coat might be called for in certain circumstances. All day exposure to rocks and snow can really mess up a dog's paws, while short haired breeds do not do well in frigid weather.

If you were stuck in the wild in the cold, there'd nothing more welcome than the site of this boy bounding towards you.

 

Thanks for the info. Planning on going on more hikes with my dog in the future so these are all great! :thumb:

 

A small balanced pack would be good, I agree they are way better at pulling than carrying. Be sure to start working with them long before you expect to use them. I think a small narrow cart (hooked up like a doctor's buggy) would be ideal. Big wheels and a handle so you could help lift the cart over obstacles.

+1 for their first aide needs and paw care.

 

Mine carries two days worth of food, a soft fold up food dish, and a small blanket. As the food gets ate I add food out of my pack to keep it even.

 

Dog pack

I'm looking for a dog pack for our 55 pound Dutch Shepherd/ Belgian Malinois mix. She has been hiking with us a bunch of times and we just got back today from her first backpacking trip. It's time for her to start carrying her own load.

I've been looking at reviews, and have seen the Ruff Wear Palisade in a local store. It looks great, and gets good reviews, but it should at that price ($130).

Any advice or reviews on dog packs?

Thanks.

 

I'm looking for a dog pack for our 55 pound Dutch Shepherd/ Belgian Malinois mix. She has been hiking with us a bunch of times and we just got back today from her first backpacking trip. It's time for her to start carrying her own load.

I've been looking at reviews, and have seen the Ruff Wear Palisade in a local store. It looks great, and gets good reviews, but it should at that price ($130).

Any advice or reviews on dog packs?

Thanks.

Make sure to try it on the dog before buying. We tried 6 differant packs before we found one we liked the fit.

 

It's been a while since we've taken the pooch, but I like the pack for a few reasons. As mentioned, they have to be managed for weight and balance.

I usually have a up to 2-3 days worth of dry food a few snacks, water bowl and a can of Guinness for me:

I also use the pooch to carry out the trash (always sealed up in a Ziploc). It also helps slow your dog down as ours would be all over the place. My concern is control as the dog packs can get hung up in really thick under-brush.

Our previous dog and current dog never showed any issues with the packs, but it pays to give attention to how they handle them and start slowly with simple day hikes before hitting a 60 mile trail loop.

ROCK6

 

you expect us to stand there and bluff with a mountain lion while you fumble for the rifle tied to your pack, you can carry my bag! We didn't want to go camping anyways...