Topic
Winter backpacking with a dog
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Home › Forums › General Forums › General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion › Winter backpacking with a dog
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
Sep 5, 2009 at 2:33 pm #1239084
Who out there goes winter backpacking with their dogs? What do you use for insulation for your pet to keep them off your sleeping bags?
For 2 adults and a dog, is a 3-person shelter needed?
For the record, I will probably only be out this winter in the Tahoe area and when no storms are expected. Temps will most likely be around 0-15F overnight.
Sep 5, 2009 at 9:36 pm #1525362Try car camping with your dog
first. If you need snowshoes or skis they will wear themselves out in fresh snow, transitional snow is best. You need to protect domestic dog's paws with booties. They need water a badly as you do and if you have to wear sunglasses they are struggling too.Sep 5, 2009 at 10:29 pm #1525371Why car camping first? I've camped with my dog before just not in winter, and since we live in Tahoe I snowshoe and ski with her on a daily basis. When it is really deep, she just follows my tracks.
As far as booties–she absolutely hates them. I trim the hair between her paw pads to resist balling and she doesn't seem to have problems. I also put a sort of balm that I got at the local pet store on her pads as it resists snow and cold well (at least I think…). I plan on bringing booties with me to put on her if she shows signs of discomfort, but she never has so far.
I have a synthetic vest that fits her well, and I'm thinking an old fleece sleeping bag would be good for her when it is quite cold. For shelter I'm considering getting a new 4-season tent (Hilleberg Nallo 3) as I currently have a 2-person Bibler Eldorado w/o a vestibule that isn't big enough.
Anyone else have experience winter backpacking with dogs? Insulation? Shelter type and size?
Sep 6, 2009 at 7:58 am #1525404Good housekeeping will go a long way with a dog in a tent, different temps, snow conditions, and type of fur lead to possible mess. I tried to keep mine in the vestibule but he finally pesuades me to come all the way in. Car camping is just a way test run everything with an escape clause, doesn't sound like anything you need.
The booties came from seeing the blood trail off his paws after crossing a hillside of breakable crust. He had been skijornig for two months and still cut up his paws.
Good Luck. -
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Our Community Posts are Moderated
Backpacking Light community posts are moderated and here to foster helpful and positive discussions about lightweight backpacking. Please be mindful of our values and boundaries and review our Community Guidelines prior to posting.
Get the Newsletter
Gear Research & Discovery Tools
- Browse our curated Gear Shop
- See the latest Gear Deals and Sales
- Our Recommendations
- Search for Gear on Sale with the Gear Finder
- Used Gear Swap
- Member Gear Reviews and BPL Gear Review Articles
- Browse by Gear Type or Brand.