Dog Backpacks – Advice sought

I use and highly recommend the Ruff Wear Pallisades pack. It is the largest pack they make, so if your needs are smaller you can buy a smaller version. But, I really like the pallisades. It is very well made, the pack bags are removeable from the harness. Harness and pack bags, as long as the weight is even, will remain in place and not rub and create hot spots.

My Siberian Husky Juno has put probally 300 miles or so on hers and it is very much worth the money in my opinion. She usually carries 2 liters of water and up to a weeks worth of food, some treats, collapsible bowl and a tieout cord with a little room to spare. The pack can be cinched down pretty tight also, so if you don't need all of the space it you can compress it. I use this pack for overnighters and week long treks.

In my opinion, no other dog pack even comes close.

Another Ruffwear Palisades fan here. I really like having the pack detach from the harness, especially for stream fords or if I have to take him through tight places. The harness with its handle makes it easy to assist him. It's also easier to get the pack off the dog at rest stops–you don't have to undo the breast collar and belly straps. While I wouldn't want that much of a bomber pack for me, my dog persists on bashing his pack into rocks and logs, so he really needs a sturdy pack. I've found that the Ruffwear pack is much easier to balance than other makes. The water bladders are convenient, too.

Be sure to start with a lightweight pack and work up gradually. In fact, it's best to start with an empty pack until the dog gets used to it. Treats with the pack help, too. If you put the pack on the dog for his exercise walks, you not only build up the dog's weight-carrying capacity but also the dog learns that the pack means a WALK! Mine starts jumping up and down and barking every time I bring the pack out.

Yeah, the Ruff Wear Pallisades Pack looks pretty sweet.

But…that's a lot of money for a dog backpack. Nice to hear that it seems to pack some bang for its buck though.

Choices, choices…

I use a Wenaha pack for my Australian Shepherd. It has a saddle with a harness that has padding where the buckles might rub. The pack bags are held on the saddle with Velcro strips, so you can remove the pack and leave the saddle on breaks, stream crossings, etc.

It is made of heavier Cordura and I recommend that, as the dog brushes up against rocks and logs and gives the pack a pretty good beating. It takes a while for them to learn to gauge the extra width of the pack too.

My dog likes the pack and it is a sign he is going out, so there is a positive association with it. He knows his treats are kept in there too, adding to the positive association. He doesn't carry much– a little water, food, p**p bags (he carries it out too), and treats. I use an old Sierra Cup for a water dish and food bowl. He seems to think it is "special" — getting to eat out of a "people" dish. Get the pack out and he's doing back flips.

It needs to be loaded evenly and the load should be on his shoulders. The straps will need to be snug, but not too tight. Don't get a pack with huge bags– fit is as important as your own pack gear.

I like the look of the Granite Gear packs, but haven't tried one. They are compact and neat and the harnesses look good.

Please be a good neighbor and keep your dog on a lead on the trail. Not everyone loves dogs and some have dogs with them that are unruly. Some people are just plain scared or annoyed with dogs. You will know the dog lovers on the trail. I've been working on light leads and experimenting with lengths. I have let him off lead when no one is around, but it gets to be a pain if there is sporadic traffic on the trail and I have to stop and get his lead out. I usually tuck the lead into the pack for times like this. Ruff Wear makes a short lead with Velco tabs, so it stows like a collar and deploys with a tug.

My Great Danes use the Ruff Wear Approach pack, which I think is the less "featured" version I believe.

Also an expensive pack, but it carries very well on our dogs and the sizing seems right for them, there does seem to be a fair bit of fitting into the Ruff Wear packs, which helps alot with slightly unbalanced loads. Most of the cheaper packs I've seen on people large dogs tend to really see-saw.

I wouldn't skimp on this one, your dog needs a good pack to be comfortable as much or more than you do.

check out granite gear ive tried ruff wear didnt like it as much as the granite gear dog pack its simple adjustable all around and if i remember right a hell of a lot cheaper than the ruff wear pack i bought

the Ruff Wear Approach is the perfect dog pack.

I cannot recommend this pack enough. My dog Icarus used this pack for 1500 miles during our Southbound AT thru hike last year. If you have been through northern Maine you will understand the kind of abuse this pack took (constant scraping and rubbing against sharp boulders) this wore a small hole in one side that i patched with duct tape that lasted the whole time.

I actually had a conversation on the trail with Ray Jardine about it, although i didnt know it was him at the time.

I am confidant that this one pack would have lasted the entire 2100 miles.

a little more pricey than the rest, but a top quality product, incredible fit. I've got the approach pack as well.

I did a lot of looking a few years ago for a pack for my Aussie Shepard, and ended up going with a Wolf Pack.

Simple, bombproof, and most of all, it fits and rides really well. Most of the online discussions I ran into had really strong reviews of the pack design (esp. the ride/fit) and the company/customer support.
…they don't seem to be very weight conscious…

He is close to outgrowing this one.

Was looking for a pack with removable side pockets.
Problem was that my dogs have been Shelties, and too short to be comfortable with packs that hang down more than five inches. I did find a short Ruffwear pack without the removable feature, but with shorter panniers, but they stopped making it. So have only one, and have two dogs.

Bought some heavy weight Velcro and made some packs with removable side pockets from inexpensive pockets and harnesses from packs from Campmor and Sierra Trading Post, but they wore out, and hang down too far anyway for my current Shelties, who are quite small for the breed.

Looked at Wenaha, but the panniers also hang down too far.
Then looked at the Outward Hound model with Velcro removable panniers, and the smallest size was perfect, with two wide straps that go underneath, and one around the chest. And they are very inexpensive. When they wear out, they will be cheap to replace. Did have to do a little sewing on the straps to get them just right.

Found that all of the packs must be cinched more tightly than I would like to be stable. The ones with only one belly strap and one chest strap, like the Kelty, were the least stable. The Outward Hound model was the best I could find, and works reasonably well.

I too am a satisfied user of the Ruff Wear Approach pack. When we got our first dog we bought a him a Granite Gear pack and it worked alright but it swayed to much and I wasn't completely happy with it. When we got our second dog we bought a Ruff Wear Approach pack and loved it so much we replaced our other dogs Granite Gear pack.

The Approach will cost about $20-$25 more then a lot of other packs on the market but it is WELL worth it. The pack is solid and extremely secure.

Thanks to all of you for your input.

Looks like my decision was made for me though: I took my dog to the local gear shop to try on some packs (didn't even know they carried them when I started this thread) and most were too big for him. Even the size small in the Granite Gear line. The Ruff Wear harness (they didn't have any packs) was too big in size small as well. So I ordered an XS Ruff Wear Approach Pack. Hopefully that will do the trick.

It's odd that a 35 pound cattle dog is an XS, but so be it.

Yeah my dog Icarus was about 35 pounds as well and i had the size small cinched as small as it would go and just barely fit her.

Great choice though, there is nothing else like hiking with a dog.

>>…there is nothing else like hiking with a dog.

Yeah, I think it'll be great. And this dog (I *really* have to decide on his name) is really something special. We've only had him a short time but he's already super loyal and eager to please. And he's just really smart.

Aside from hiking with him, I think my wife and I are going to train him to become a therapy dog.

I bought a Mountainsmith Dog Pack I for our red ACD. I didn't want to spend much until I knew he would tolerate a pack. It fits him well. It doesn't have anything to stop the pack from sliding forward when going down a steep incline but I plan to make a "crupper" of some sort. For $35 I can't complain….Now that I'm sure he is full grown I may spring for a RW Palisade. The price and the lack of color selections (he is fashion sensitive) have kept me from getting one so far.

I use the rei dog pack on my 60lb lab/husky. works great, sits well when evenly weighted.

Just thought I'd post a belated thank you here. As I said previously, I ended up going with a Ruff Wear Approach Pack. I tried a lot of packs on Ringo and this one fit far better than the rest. So far it's working out great. Now that I've used it a bit, I can see that the design and construction really ism better than most of the other dog packs on the market. I can see why it got such endorsements.

Here he is in action with it:

Edit: Well, that last photo won't rotate for me for some reason, but you get the idea.

Thant's better! Looks like a rascal to me :)

Thanks Dale! I rotated the photo, saved it, and uploaded it three times, but got a sideways dog each time. Weird…

He's a total rascal, but man, I love having a dog again.

Next up: gotta figure out a dingo sleep system. I tried to put him in my Megalite with me today and it didn't work. Not enough room, not surprisingly. Also, despite his willingness to throw down with 90 pound rottweilers at the dog park, he's apparently terrified of sleeping bag zippers. Weirdo….

Nice looking ACD….Ours, Pablo, turns two next month and still a ball of puppy fire…just a 55lb one now! He loves his pack. I may spring for a Palisades or Approach now that he is full grown, but so far the Mountainsmith is still fine for now.

Thanks Chris.

So your cattle dog is 50 pounds? Ringo's only 30. I think a lot of that is due to the rough start he got though. Before I adopted him, he was a malnourished stray in the woods of South Carolina for a while and then, after animal control found him, he was a resident of a kill shelter for 7 months before finding his way into the VT foster agency.

Other than being a little small and a little bit too bada$$ for his own good at times, you'd never know he had such a tough start. I've even trained him to respect my cats.

If you get a chance, I'd love to see a picture or two of such a big cattle dog.

My ACD/Border collie is about 50+lbs and he absolutely loves his Mountainsmith dog pack. They run a bit big. He has a small and there is lot of strap left. When we pull it out of the basket he knows he is going for a walk. Most of the time it is empty, but on our long nightly walks he carries 4 12oz. water bottles.

We ordered a Ruffwear Palisades for our new Border Collie. He's 45ish lbs and measured right in the middle of the small. We mostly wanted the ability to use the harness with or without the bags.

DAve…
Love this pic! What did you decide for a sleeping system?
We are just starting out hiking with our dog..will be doing many short overnights leading up to 10 days! Thoughts?