Backpacks and Dogs

Do you have a link to the belt you use now? Might be helpful to see it.

Teach her to heel? I know that is a challenge for a husky programmed to PULL. I tried attaching a line with my Aussie and I didn't like it, as he could tug at the wrong time and upend me. He will stay close on voice command, so I keep his lead handy on top of his pack and just hand-hold it when there are others on the trail.

If you are set on attaching the lead to your body, I would just use a separate webbing belt for the lead if you're concerned with damaging the pack belt. You could rig up some sort of breakaway, so it lets loose before ripping the pack belt. That could happen at the wrong time too!

I take it you are worried about her chasing bears or other wildlife?

Here is the belt I use when skijoring with the dog. Just a d-ring with a quick release snap in case of a wipe-out. Might be kind of hard to see the picture.

Dale,

My dogs line includes a 3ft section of bungee which prevents jarring pulls and makes it much easier to avoid getting pulled off balance. She has also spent a lot of time in harness and knows to keep the line taught when we are moving. As for heeling, well, let's just say it's not going to happen. Honestly, I prefer having her pull anyways. It gives me more opportunity to train (ie: gee, haw, whoa, on-by) for skijor season. It gives her a sense of responsibility and she's a lot more focused on the trail as well.

She still runs off leash most of the time, but the Chilkoot trail requires pets to be leashed at all times. Besides, after spending a few afternoons picking porcupine quills from her face and paws, it'd be nice to have a reliable and comfortable way of keeping her on leash when we need to.

I guess another option is to wrap a section of 1" webbing around the entire hipbelt, and have her line attached to that?

Thanks for all the input…

Well, if you don't absolutely need the hip belt pockets on the pack, then it could be a relatively easy solution. I'm pretty sure all ULA packs have a removable hip belt that goes through a channel in the back. Just run a separate piece of wide nylon webbing through the channel on the pack that holds the hip belt, on the outside of the hip belt and attach to the front of your skijor belt in front of your hip belt. I don't have a ULA pack to look, but depending on how the hip belt pockets are attached, you might be able to run this strap behind the pockets and still have use of them.

Would that work?

Edit: looks like you already thought of that!

Can you explain what you mean by this Dale?

Looking at the trekking belt on this page: http://www.nooksackracing.com/skijoring.html

Not sure when you need it by, but perhaps you could call Chris at ULA and talk about a custom belt made for the pack (so with all the support of the regular belt with additional webbing added with 'towing' in mind). He's pretty accommodating.

Nothing like a good belt around lunch time :)

I use some stout line with a loop in one end to lark's head onto the dog's collar and a small carabiner to hook it onto my belt. Or I can flip it around and use the carabiner on the collar and hold the loop, just like any leash. If the lead is long, you could just go around your waist and clip on the carabiner. The same lead can be used in camp.

This is a 6' version and weighs 1.2oz

Dogs *can* be stupid at times and I don't relish the though of him tugging me over a cliff or something equally fun. If I really don't want him to tug, a Gentle Leader head collar takes care of that. Some dogs need a little work to get used to them on their muzzle and will paw and rub on them. A treat each time they put it on makes for a good association. Plus they learn that collar = fun outside stuff. I've used the Gentle Leader with a Springer Spaniel and the Aussie and the effect was nearly instantaneous, walking with a slack lead and very easy to control. I've used the Halti collars with equal effect.

Doug,

Yeah, those two short straps w/ d-rings that come off the pack are exactly what I had in mind. I think I'd want the d-rings right on the belt though, so that when I don't have the dog on harness I don't have those straps flapping around. Can you see any reason why the d-rings couldn't be sewn directly on the hip-belt that comes with the pack. I'm sure the ULA pack belt is just as durable, if not moreso than those skjor belts. There is room on the inside of both hip-belt pockets that would be perfect for it.

Thanks Doug…

I have some webbing laying around, so I'm going to try that first. Because the ULA belt is removable, I can wrap the webbing right around the belt and attach the line to that. It should distribute the weight of the pulling well too.

If I don't like that I'll look at adding a few d-rings right onto the ULA hipbelt.

Thanks guys.

Oh, and Dale, we have had some success using one of those chest harnesses to stop our dog from pulling. The only time we use it is if we are in town though. I find it's actually more of a pain to have slack in the leash when we are on trail. One of us is always tripping on the lead and I hate having to hold onto the lead with my hands.

Our dog is a bit sadistic too. With any type of collar I think she pulls harder because she likes feeling lightheaded. Her favourite spot to nap is on the couch with her head hanging off so all the blood flows to her head. Weirdo..

Huskies that have been trained to pull are a whole other order of dog. You teach them to go and that's what they do, and well. Sounds to me like you need one more dog and some off-road roller skates :) You'll be up and over Chilkoot Pass before lunch!

I switch to one pole in my right hand and the dog on my left in standard heel position if I'm walking with him on a lead. Trying to manage him, passing folk on the trail, meeting loose dogs, etc is too complicated with the lead and two poles.

They have rocks and logs for the dogs to play on at our local dog park. I've trained him to jump where I point and say "up." That has been a great help managing blow downs and other obstacles. He's a little clumsy, so I watch him closely and help with trickier bits. He has no concept of cliffs, so I definitely have him on a lead where there are drop offs. The grab handle on his pack is a huge help with logs and stream crossings.

I've been pushing my girlfriend for months now to get another dog. With two dogs pulling I wouldn't have to do any work at all on the skis. Probability of crashing head first into a tree would increase exponentially though. She hasn't come around yet on getting another dog, though I can't say I blame her given the additional hassle having two sled dogs around would create.

We got our dog from the shelter so we don't know her lineage. Though she is short-haired and build similar to sprint-sled dogs. We are guessing she has some Euro-hound mixed in there forsure. She's smaller and more slender than the usual sled dogs you see running the Quest and the Iditarod, but she's agile, and man, is she fast. She runs behind me on the snowmobile when I'm out ice fishing, and if I slow down beyond 25-30km/hr she'll pass me to let me know to hurry up.

Regarding cliffs – Yeah, that was a worry of mine as well. Freya chased after a pika on a day hike last year and tumbled down a 15 foot embankment. Then she had the gall to look up at me as if I had pushed her down it. It's funny how quick they learn though, now she climbs like a mountain goat and is always cautious and looks for the best route down on descents. I have much more faith in her judgement after a year of solid hiking.

So I ended up using a length of 4mm accessory cord I had lying around. Just added bowlines to each end and passed the line through the entire length of the hipbelt. Used a carabiner to attach the lines. Worked just fine and dandy. Oh, and Dale, I went out for our walk tonight with just one trekking pole, and man… much more enjoyable than two when the dog is attached.

A webbing belt may be more comfortable than 4mm line in the summer when you have fewer layers on. Glad to hear my single pole strategy works for you. Managing dog, terrain, brush and two poles is quite a juggling act. Add a chipmunk for more fun :)

I ran the line through the entire hipbelt because it's removable. So it's essentially an extension of the hipbelt and when the dog pulls the weight is spread out against the entire belt. Can't articulate it well, so maybe a picture will help.

I think it's going to be a great set-up for when we have her on leash. Thanks again for the input.

Oh, and my dog handles chipmunks and squirrel's fine. It's the porcupines that are her mortal enemies.

Cheers…

Excellent idea, running it behind your hip belt. I'll keep that in mind.