Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by kerre on April 22, 2011 at 4:44pm

I take my Willie with me on week long pack trips.  He does fine with his pack.  He carries his food, water bowl & rain gear. The total weighs comes in at between 6 & 8 pounds

Permalink Reply by John Wolff on June 2, 2011 at 6:03pm

I don't ask my dogs to carry anything.  The load a corgi could carry is inconsequential.  I want them free, unimpeded, able to keep up and cross streams on logs in perfect balance.

Being a backpacking gear nut, I am unimpressed with the dog backpacks I've seen:  heavy, overbuilt, not ergonomic, wobbly, cumbersome, and probably hot.  They definitely impede the dog in thick brush.

I keep all the dog gear in an accessible outside pack pocket.  This includes: 

kibble (double-wrapped in plastic, or a screw-top plastic can, to contain bear-bait odors).

"Outward Hound" collapsible bowl.

1/2 pint water bottle (to conserve un-drunk dog water when water is scarce).

belay harness for river crossings.

"Pawz" booties (blue, medium) for emergency pad injuries.

"Doggles"  or "Mesheye" sunglasses for sunny snow (mixed results; the dogs rub them off, dog must be in front).

I usually allow the dog off-leash illegally in remote areas where I'm unlikely to encounter people.  You need a very good recall if you do this; be extra alert for horses, bears, porcupines, coyotes, other dogs.  I keep a quick-draw leash attached to the main pack strap with 2 small carabiners within easy reach, bundled with a rubber band.

New addition:  "ChillyBuddy" cooling vest, medium, with plastic bag for wetting it.  Untried so far.

An 18x18" ensolite pad is standard first aid emergency gear and doubles as the dog's sleeping pad (when the corgi is not inside your sleeping bag.

 

If it's necessary to bring training treats -- and it's a good idea to reinforce recall and obedience on the trail -- find tiny low-odor treats and keep in an airtight screw-cap tube (like a pill bottle, but mine is heavier-duty).

Dog food and treats are extra bear-bait.  Those odors get spread all around.  Try to contain them as much as possible, and make sure it all goes into the bear hang or the bear can or the car overnight.

Permalink Reply by John Wolff on August 22, 2012 at 1:23pm

Update:  Whenever you cross a river on a log, it is standard safety procedure to unbuckle your backpack so you can get out of it if you fall in.  Likewise, remove your pet's backpack and carry it across yourself, lest it interfere with their balance, causing a fall, and conceivably drowning them if they do fall in.

Someone on a local hiking forum mentioned a close call like this.

My corgis seem remarkably sure-footed and confident on log crossings, but I belay them when it's scary, even though the safety leash can get in the way without careful management.

WARNING:  You'd best practice a river fall in some safe setting.  I was warned that some harness arrangments can tow a dog upside-down in current, possibly drowning them!  Mine clips in on the back, and might do this.  You might want a tie-in at the front end, ABOVE the center-of-gravity. 

ALSO:  I tested my chest harness in a vertical hang -- I lifted Al genetly off the ground -- and he slid right out of it!

Permalink Reply by Zanna Russell on November 3, 2011 at 10:56pm

I wouldn't do it to Tegan, unless she'd carrying light-weight items like her own (plastic) bowl on one side, and something equally light on the other and then what would be the point of having her carry anything at all?  I'd rather carry everything.  I wouldn't want to stress her back by making her carry food or water, and certainly not 6 to 8 pounds of gear.  Just my two cents.

Permalink Reply by Tara Ludwig on November 14, 2011 at 4:15pm

My male loves his back pack, when I say hiking he brings it to me.  My little girl is too small to carry anything yet and doesn't seem interested (She's the princess and isn't even much interested in hiking)  Amadeus only carries his ball his poop bags and his kibble and collapsible water bowl.