Backpack for Dogs
I’m anxiously waiting for Doggy’s backpack (Singletrack Pack by Ruffwear, again free advertisement to Mr. Ruff), if there’s a thing I like are backpacks and the one that I ordered for Doggy is the same color as my favorite. More than anxious I’m curious to see how Doggy manages to have something on top of him. I like to take Doggy on hikes, long hikes, I carry my water and his, but he drinks much more than me so I decided to buy him a backpack for him to carry his own water and my keys. So far all I’ve read are good reviews, not a single complain about the backpack/dog relationship, people complain about the buckle being plastic but that’s about it. Back in the old days Doggy’s ancestors were used to pull fishing boats to shore and to retrieve nets and fish from the sea, they are really strong. Doggy’s family line have been exclusively working dogs, shepherds and also rescue dogs working for the fire department and sniffing dogs working with the police department. Doggy since the day I got it has shown traces of those behaviors, you give him something to carry around and he’s a happy dog, sent him to find something around the house and there he goes, gets extremely frustrated when he doesn’t find it, he cries lol. So I guess a back pack won’t be much of deal for his body, he’s really strong, of course he won’t be carrying me(no yet) but I’ll get him used to it little by little. In some places I’ve read that they can carry up to 20% of their weight, honestly I have no clue, I’ll ask the vet and breeder to see what they have to say about it. Have any of you had any experience with dogs and backpacks?
We have no experience with dog backpacks, but are curious to see what you find out! We are avid campers and would love to extend our hiking time to include the dogs. Woof.
I’m planning on taking Doggy along to El Camino de Santiago, we’ll do a really short version, 100 miles in a week, he’s used to run/walk 6 miles daily, we’ll see how he handles that. I’ll write a post once we get to try the backpack.
Thanks for passing by.
Can’t wait to see Doggy with his backpack. Ruffwear is a good choice, we bought our dog boots there, good quality. And: no, we haven’t a bagpack – yeah, not surprising….:o)
Sounds interesting, would you walk on the pilgrims path or another track?
I’ve found a blog about this: http://frodo-jakobsweg.blogspot.fr/2009_07_19_archive.html
bad news: blog is in german
good news: the dog is black and wears a backpack
We are taking the pilgrims path, but since we are starting pretty much behind the church lol it counts little, we might take the Portuguese trail, not sure yet, a friend of mine is organizing the whole thing, she’s also bringing a dog. Thanks for the blog, good thing my friend speaks German, I sorta scratch it but I’ll leave it to her.
We’ve never tried a backpack on Daisy, but I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t like it (being the type of pup she is!). Although I think she should start carrying some of her own stuff!
I agree with easyweimaraner, Ruffwear makes great products. My old girl Madam Lasagna had a search and rescue type lifting harness from that company to make it easier for me to lift her into the car and up the stairs. It’s very sturdy and well made. The buckles are plastic, but I never had a problem.
Never tried backpacking with any of my old Labradors, but my niece uses one with her pit bull. He is about 65 lbs (30 K?) and carries a little better than 1 liter on each side of the pack for a short hike without any problems and could carry 1 more per side. Hope that helps.
I carry a couple of litres of water regularly on a walk, along with a few other bits and pieces. I could carry more, I weigh 54kg (120 lbs). I wrote about my first rucksack here: http://clowiescorner.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/my-first-rucksack/
Thanks!
I’ll try the same method with Doggy, although I’ve been puting stuff on top on him ever since the day he got gome, from pillows to his bed, he looks like a turtle. He now weights 15Kg, once he’s ful grown he’ll weight about 20-25Kg, I dont think he’ll have any issue carrying 2 litters of water wich is the capacity of that little backpack.
He should adapt to it quite quickly then. His backpack looks great. I used to forget that I was wider with the rucksack at first and bang the rucksack into trees and things, but it was fine.
He’ll bump into everything for sure, he does without a backpack can’t imagine with one lol
I want a backpack too…as long as its full of bonios!
Hope doggy enjoys his
You should demand it then! Occupy your house and do not move until you get what you need lol
I think I will!
That is a neat backpack. Since Doggy is still young I wonder if you have to be careful how much weight he carries?
I’ll start with a quater on each side, then gradually work his way up, it’ll be for our weekends hikes mainly.