I’ve covered location and safety in previous posts. This post will look at the equipment we take when our dog goes backpacking with us. Jaxon carries some of his own equipment in his pack and we carry the rest.

The pack

You’ve reached the point that you are ready to take your dog backpacking. It’s helpful if your furry friend can carry some of it’s own gear. Maximum weight a dog should carry is 25 percent of it’s body weight. Jaxon weighs around 70 pounds, so he shouldn’t be carrying more than 17 pounds. Because of his age and health, he only carries about 10 pounds or so.

So if your pet is going to carry his own gear, he needs a pack. Like a pack for a person, it needs to be the right size. Jaxon’s pack is an old Kelty pack. There are a number of brands that make packs for dogs, such as Ruffwear and Kurgo. You want to measure and fit the pack according to the instructions.

Jaxon’s pack is a two piece design. There is an inner harness, on the left above. It has D-rings that allow you to clip it to a leash or seat belt in a car. We like this as it means we don’t have to use his regular harness in the car or at rest stops on our way to the trail but can just use his backpacking one. The harness also had a padded handle in the middle of the back. This is helpful if you need to assist your dog while crossing a fallen tree or the like.

You can see him with just the harness in the left photo and with the full pack on in the right picture. The second part is the “pocket” section. It Velcros and clips on to the harness. It has some netting inner pockets and dividers that keep the load balanced and stable in the pack. This pack is red with reflective strips on it. I prefer a bright colored pack to make it more obvious that this is a domestic animal, not something to hunt.

The contents of the pack

Jaxon carries baggies with his food and treats. He also carries two small (12 ounce) bottles of water. There are a few other things that he carries in his pack. There is a large trash bag in case it is super muddy and we need something for him to be on to clean up before he comes into the tent. He also has a couple of pack towels to dry him off with. Collapsible bowls and some clean up bags complete the load.

We tried a number of different bowls before we found ones we liked. First we used the tubs from frozen whipped topping. They worked well, but took up a lot of space. We then tried three or four different types that you could purchase. One that zipped together was light and compact, but we found it difficult to dry completely after use. You can see an example in the pictures below.

We ended up with these ultra-light bowls. They come with a clip on them so you can attach them to your pack if they are wet. They seem very sturdy for as light as they are and pack down next to nothing. We use the blue for water and it doesn’t get the food bowl wet like the zip bag did. One of the water bottles has a squeeze top on it. We have taught Jaxon to get a drink from a squeeze bottle while we are walking or hiking. This means we don’t have to get his bowl out on a break.

The rest of his gear

We have to carry some of the equipment for Jaxon. He uses a section of a foam sleeping pad as his bed. We also take a piece of fleece blanket for him to use. On a long hike, we like to take regular breaks. Since the pad is attached to outside of one of our packs, we can take it off easily and let him rest too.

He always has at least a lightweight jacket with him. I made him the jackets he takes camping with us. You can read more about them in this post. We have a down vest for Jaxon as well. This was an experiment that worked out well. We had been looking at various ways to keep him warm, but items were fairly expensive for us at the time.

Walt found a returned men’s down vest in the garage sale area at REI. We tried it on Jaxon, putting his front legs in the arm holes and zipping up along his back. I sewed some darts in to make it fit better around his chest and neck. I also stitched the lower edge to clear it for him to go to the bathroom.

We do let him sleep near our feet in the tent with us. We can use some of our spare clothing to help keep him warm as well. Plus having him at our feet helps keep us warmer too.

Boots

The last thing I am going to discuss is boots. We rarely use boots on the trail because we aren’t in locations where there is a high risk of injury like a rocky beach. We tend to use the boots more in the winter around home to protect Jaxon’s feet from the ice and chemicals used to melt ice. The chemicals can cause irritation and the ice can freeze in the hair between the pads on his feet.

There are a number of different boots available. Like boots for people, boots for pets need to be fitted. Often, a dog’s feet vary in size from front to rear or even foot to foot. There are also boots for snow and ice and cool summer boots for harsh terrain. Check the brand you are using to find out how to measure your pet.

We have a couple of different sets for Jaxon. The ones on the left are simple slip on boots with Velcro straps. They are similar in design to the leather wraps used for many years. The ones on the right are by Ruffwear and are more fitted and have rubber soles.

It usually takes a bit to put the boots on a dog and a while for them to get used to wearing. It’s not uncommon for a boot to come off when a dog is running around like crazy in the snow. I try to keep a close eye so I can track them down if they do come off.

Hopefully all this information will help you decide on whether you want to take a pet hiking or backpacking with you and the things you need to consider. Let me know in the comments if you have questions.