Sleeping pad for dogs

Big dogs or little dogs?

–B.G.–

Bigish dogs. The smallest is around 50lbs, the other two are around 70lbs.

Noble Camper, based in Boulder, is relatively new on the scene with a combi dog pad that converts to dog sleeping bag. Although advertised at 24oz, mine (medium size) was a bit heavier at about 29oz. The medium is perfectly sized for my 55lb dog.

Wait a second. What do these dogs have for a base weight load?

–B.G.–

My best hiking dog was a whippet lab mix. She never grew tired throughout the day. She had very low body fat, so she really needed a pad to be comfortable. I used 1/3 of an old z-rest, and I cut about the bottom third of a fleece bag liner off for her to lay on or cover up. She was a slim dog, and would get cold easy as well. If it was a cold night, she would get in the bag with me – which kept us both toasty.

Honestly, most dogs are comfortable without a pad, unless you have a breed with a higher muscle to fat ratio – such as most sight hounds, where they could be uncomfortable on harder ground.

The most mine ever carries (total, including dog pack) is 8 lbs. I carried his sleep system, which is only needed below freezing. We used it on 5 overnighters this winter ranging from 10*F to 24*F for lows and it worked well. When it's warmer I just use a small CCF pad and throw a jacket over him.

I plucked a piece of wood flooring underlayment from a construction site dumpster for the pooch I'll be hiking with this spring. I doubled over the pad to be about 30"x24" and it seems like it'll work wonderfully. Super light and can be folded to allow the dog to carry it herself, along with her food.

Their base weight will probably be between 7-10lbs….I haven't figured it out exactly yet.

The three dogs are a Yellow lab, Golden Retriever and a Weimaraner. I think the lab and retriever would be OK without a pad, but the weimaraner might be pretty uncomfortable.

BUT…some of our nights will be well above treeline and camping on granite, which may be uncomfortable for any dog.

The pads are also an attempt to get them off of me and my sleeping bag.

The dog bed/sleeping bag from NobleCamper looks pretty cool, but I don't see anywhere where it says its packed size…?

"The pads are also an attempt to get them off of me and my sleeping bag."

let me know if you find something that works! 3/8" CCF and jacket didn't work for me.

Nothing will keep a dog off a 900 fill down sleeping bag; dogs know what's comfortable! Just keep his claws trimmed short and don't leave him alone in the tent.

Assuming the dog, like my late pooch, curls up in a ball at night, the Gossamer Gear Torso Length Nightlite pad is just perfect (mine was a 75-lb. Lab-Golden cross). Because my dog would periodically wake up, shift position and then turn around three times before lying down (I called him my Robert Benchley dog), I couldn't keep a cover on him, so I just used a lightweight doggie coat on him when it was down to freezing or below. For the Weimeraner, you might want to sew a nice fleece coat or cut down a child's fleece jacket to fit.

I actually carried the Nightlite pad, since it really helped pad the back of my pack. My dog carried a piece of equivalent weight. I don't know about carrying three Nightlite pads, though–might be overkill.

I've spent a few cold nights in which I'd loved to have two more dogs! They do add considerably to sleeping warmth–but unfortunately also to the condensation.

My last dog used a 3/4 length z-rest and a woobie poncho liner as his sleep system. My current dog has discovered that it's more comfortable to commandeer the bottom of my inflatable- I have a BA Q-Core SL wide/long which I got for the width, not the length, so there is some extra down there. And I still bring the woobie so she has her own blankie- she's NOT getting in my sleeping bag with me. Haha.

I like the looks of that "Noble Camper" set up, tho.

The most I used in the winter, on snow, was a couple beer flats. Although the next AM, you could see that was not adequate. My dogs were used to being outside. In the summer, no pad.
How do you keep them off a sb? :)
Duane