Quote: Jennifer Mullen

 Quote: Jeff Brosius

2. She also carries her sleeping pad. I use one of these -- http://www.rei.com/product/781089 -- as it folds up neatly and can easily be secured on top of her pack.

How do you secure it to the top of the pack? Across wide-ways or length-wise? If wide-ways, do you have problems on the trail w/it hitting/catching on stuff?

Length-wise. Casey's pack has one of those stretchy shock-cord thingies on top, and I strap it under that. Here's a (bad) picture of her pack, showing the stretchy shock-cord. Apologies for the low-quality pic, but my Blackberry phone is the only one I have handy at the moment.

http://img21.imageshack.us/i/img00054h.jpg/

I probably should have mentioned that I cut the sleeping pad to size... brand new, it's about 6 feet long. I trimmed it to half that. While Casey can stretch out her legs, she sleeps in a tight curl, and three feet of sleeping pad is plenty.

Make sense?

Ahh, that makes sense. And that you cut it down!

Similar length-wise to when I'm trying to go ultralight (long fastpacks or overnight running trips) I have a Gossamer Gear Nightlight Torso pad (use it to be the 'frame' for my Gossamer Gear Murmur, which is great for those trips - can carry up to 20lbs - but not for longer trips, I'm not that much of an ultralight weenie!).

The Ruffwear packs don't have have the stretchy shock cord! That is a nice feature for the pack! Maybe I will see about modifications to my guys packs and then Luc could carry their sleeping pads (I'd say Neb too but his body isn't that long). Or he could carry the REI dog tent that way, I haven't figured out a way to balance the weight it if it's one saddle bag without making Luc's pack unfairly heavy (especially since Teagan sleeps in it).

Normally I just have them carry their food and bowls and I carry the pads and tent. That's also though b/c since I am a bit of a gear weenie and can have a smaller pack than most people out there, I HATE it when people see Luc and/or Neb carrying packs and assume they're carrying my stuff so that I can just say 'they're just carrying their own food'. I find canoeing and backpacking one of the few places left where some guys feel put out by girls being at their own level or higher. An aside however

Would you guys mining providing links for the dog packs you use?

I use Ruffwear packs:
http://www.ruffwear.com/dog_packs

Luc and Neb have the Palisade Packs. I like them because it's a harness (a nice one, too) and then the pack attaches onto the harness with clips. They have good strapping for load stabilization too and water bags (which I don't use as I carry the dogs water, but they are a nice touch).

Teagan has an Approach pack (doesn't detach from the harness, I don't know why) which is a bit smaller than the Palisades pack. I got it for her when she just had the hip dysplasia diagnosis, and just put really light loads in it for her, but know that she's been diagnosed with arthritis in her back knees she can still come on trips (I just make sure our days are under 20 or 25k) but I don't want her carrying anything.

I'm assuming this is the Outward Hound pack Jeff's dog uses:
http://www.doggonegoodstuff.com/outwardbackpack.html

I like them, the only thing about them I think is that they're attached to the harness with Velcro only - so it's good that the pack is removable, but the one trip I've been on with a dog wearing one he kept running into the forest (not under the best voice control, but that's a whoooole other issue w/that dog) and the pack ripped off so many times my friend ended carrying the pack instead. Again, if you had good voice control on your dog and it doesn't keep running into trees probably not a problem. Not sure how the velcro performs as it gets older and has gotten wet, but Jeff could speak to that....I do really like the stretchy shock cord. That is a really nice feature I wish the Ruffwear packs had.

I'm an avid camper and my dog joins me on most escapades (I'm fortunate to live in a rural area with abundant opportunities to do this). Most of my camping is of the 'backcountry' variety, though we do a bit of car camping (and I concur with all the suggestions that have been made here).

I use a pack (for my 88 lb Male Shepherd) from Howling Dog Alaska, a mushing supply store I became aware when outfitting myself for ski-joring. My dog carries his own food, but I have no bones (pun intended) about him also carrying some of my stuff, especially if the trip is short (and he isn' carrying much food) (heck--he sleeps in the tent too!)

http://www.howlingdogalaska.com/supplies.html (scroll down to the pack).

The quality of this pack is awesome. It has a padded chest strap and two belly straps (also padded, and positioned so that they do not chafe when buckled). In addition it is made to reduce pressure on the spine and is semi-rigid there, to prevent bunching up of the load. Also, the tension of the pack on the dog's body can be adjusted from the top, which is an excellent feature as the size of the load becomes smaller over time and the pack will need to be adjusted.

Personally I would not buy a pack that did not have two belly straps and a yoke as otherwise the load will move around and predispose the dog to chafing and pack sores. I'm not a fan of extra bells and whistles as these invariably add weight or sacrifice the quality of the pouches.

A few tricks for the trail are to make sure the load is always balanced, and to line the pouches with something waterproof. And speaking of water, I usually carry my dog's pack across water (though he is capable of swimming with it) especially if there's a good current. I also advise against attaching anything to the outside of the pack as it increases the chance the dog will get hung up on brush and can destabilize the load.I also got my dog/s used to the pack long before I loaded them and took them on a trip (I still remember the theatrics of my ACD cross, apparently rooted to the floor--with an empty pack on in my living room the first time I fitted one to her).

Isabelle

A well-loaded pack shouldn't destabilize too much even if hit with brush, as the fit should be relatively tight to the body (not overly, but properly fitted). That said I've never strapped anything to the outside of my dog's packs but I can't see it being much worse than if the pack bags just hit brush themselves. Something strapped to the outside is one more thing for brush to hit, but so are the pack bags.

Does that pack have a handle? I must admit I have found the Ruffwear handles handy on a couple of occasions.

Ruffwear has the padded chest and belly straps, but I do find the pack can bunch slightly sometimes - very slightly, but I am picky about those things. I would prefer if there was belly strapping on the pack bags as it's just on the harness. Another mod that wouldn't be that hard to make, actually.

Does it have any strapping across the saddle bags of the pack to stabilize the load? I couldn't see from that site.

I like the Manmat harnesses though....I've been meaning to pick one up for awhile, I found a Cdn site that sells them. I think it was the Manmat distance harness but I'd have to look at my computer at work to see the one I was meaning to buy.

Love the ear protector on the site....Luc isn't a great winter camper as he gets cold (low body fat) though thanks to a Katahdin full body coat (mushers have the best gear) he can do late fall/early spring now. He might like the extra heat, and it'd be nice for Teags as she's fine to winter camp.

You guys are awesome with your camping and backpacking advice. I don't camp much, but wish I did more. We mainly camp out of a car at state parks. It's not as much fun as I imagine "back country" camping to be. My pup's still a bit young to hike with a pack I think, but next spring should be a good time to start when she's about 15 or 16 months old.

I overheard someone say this weekend that "hell is other people" is never more clearly demonstrated then while out camping

Jennifer,

The pack does not have handles--but I prefer it that way. You lift it much as you might a saddle for a horse. In fact, the pack itself is designed much like a saddle, with the pouches sewn on to the 'saddle', which is broad and distributes the weight of the pack (it sounds like yours is sewn into a harness rather than a saddle). There is no strapping on the pouches themselves, but rather along the top of the pack, across the pack (which is where the majority of the weight would lie). This makes sense given the design of the pack--strapping across the pouches would do nothing except possibly compress their size when empty.
I didn't use to worry about thick brush when I lived in Ontario--but have revised my opinion since moving to Newfoundland! We have a lot of 'tuckamore' (stunted interwoven trees here) which can trap you--or your dog and his pack. The running joke is that you can enter a grove of 'tuck' fully clothed and emerge scantily cladden with shredded wrags for clothes..this is why I prefer not to have anything attached to the outside of my-or my dogs- pack.
It sounds like what you're using now is working for you and your pooches--and that you're getting out an some great trips!
BTW, I own a Manmat 'distance' harness and can highly recommend them. I use it ski-joring, hiking (if the dog is attached to me via waist belt) and mountain biking (clips into 'walky dog' bike attachment when I need to hook him on).

Happy trails,
Isabelle

Oh, the handle's not on the pack, it's on the harness. It's for the dog

 Quote: jennifer mullen

I'm assuming this is the Outward Hound pack Jeff's dog uses:
http://www.doggonegoodstuff.com/outwardbackpack.html

I like them, the only thing about them I think is that they're attached to the harness with Velcro only - so it's good that the pack is removable, but the one trip I've been on with a dog wearing one he kept running into the forest (not under the best voice control, but that's a whoooole other issue w/that dog) and the pack ripped off so many times my friend ended carrying the pack instead. Again, if you had good voice control on your dog and it doesn't keep running into trees probably not a problem. Not sure how the velcro performs as it gets older and has gotten wet, but Jeff could speak to that....I do really like the stretchy shock cord. That is a really nice feature I wish the Ruffwear packs had.

Yep, that's the pack Casey has, and it's held up pretty well (one of the zippers is a bit wonky <-- that's a technical term for "broke the heck up!) but otherwise it's served our needs just fine. I can put a liter bottle of water in each side, a ziplock bag of food in each side, and her sleeping pad on the top. It takes some practice to keep it balanced (hint: pour water equally from each bottle on the trail) but otherwise I'm happy.

Can't really speak to the velcro vis-a-vis rain, for a couple reasons: We don't hike in the rain unless absolutely necessary, and I've never had cause to detach the pack from the harness, and thus haven't "worn out" the velcro.