I'm going on a hiking trip to the Wind River Range in WY later this summer (end of July) and am planning on bringing the dog with. The current plan is to stay out for 5-6days.

This will be the first such trip with the dog. She's a ~5 years old lab cross, between 70-75lbs, with an average lab build.

I have started to up the walking schedule a bit and will be running with her to get her (and myself) a little better prepared.

The plan is to get her a pack of some sort so she can at the very least carry her own food.

What is a dog of this size capable of carrying?

Any recommendations for packs? Brands that work well, or more importantly ones to stay away from.

Any tips or tricks that would be of help? I've just started researching this so any references to a decent book (or websites) on the subject would be appreciated.

Here's a couple that are adjustable to dog size:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?type=pod&cmCat=MainCatcat603205-cat603207-cat20866&id=0058164

This is my dog's pack:

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/accessdetail.cfm?PRODUCTS__ProductID=GG2000&code=GF2

It works well. He's a 130# Rottie, so the pack is pretty big and he can handle the weight. He carries all of his own food and water and totes some of our stuff as well. We usually load him up with about 20#. I would think your dog could easily handle 15# or more. You'll probably run out of room in the pack before you load the dog down too much.

I mean, hell, I weigh about 180 and my pack usually weighs in at about 50 pounds. That's nearly 30% of my body weight. Of course, I get stuck with all the heavy stuff because I'd rather tote the weight than hear my fiance bitch and moan. She's usually loaded at around 20# carrying the sleeping bags, sleeping pads, and clothes.

Thanks for the info guys.

I stumbled across this last night:
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Animal%20Companion%20Gear/Dog%20Packs/

I was looking at this one for the dogs. Make sure you get the extra beer carrier.:D

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/greatoutdoorsdepot_2042_68801087

I have the ruff Wear Palisades II pack for my lab, she is about the same weight as yours and a medium fits her well. Its a bit expensive but one of the nicer packs I have found. It has its own water bladdes and enough room for a few days worth of food. The pack can be removed from the harness and used by itself. I had a cheap pack I picked up at the local pet store to see if Kahlua would wear one, it shifted all around and was a real pain in the ass. Spend the extra on one that fits your dog well. I bough mine from backcountry K-9 as an open box buy.

443803

443804

I did a lot of searching and talking with people and was extremely impressed with the Wolf Packs brand. This is a small company with great customer service and very good advice. Call and ask for Paul (I think that's his name).

http://www.wolfpacks.com/

I just bought two of thier latest high end packs called the "Native" for my labs and Chessie (around 65 to 70 pounds). I have four that can exchange packs throughout the day and envision each having thier own pack once we get to the long distance stuff. I will eventually be doing long distance hiking of about 2 - 4 weeks with resupply at various points. H2O is to be filtered.

I estimate with high energy dog food (i.e. the high quality food designed for hunting dogs - high in calories, etc.) carried in the packs - each dog would be able to carry a load good for 14 days (with extra weight in water). However, I would estimate about 10 days to allow for feeding modification depending on difficulty and duration of hike per day. Of course, the weight in the pack decreases daily as the food is used. Please check my math though.

65 pound dog x 25% = 16.5 pounds
1 cup High Energy Food = .25 pounds
3-4 cups a day = 1 pound per day
16 days capacity (in food only with moderate difficulty and length per day)
10 days conservative (in food only to allow for difficult and long days)

They have a section detailing how to prepare your dog and weight recommendations. Rough weight carrying is about 25% of your dogs body weight. http://www.wolfpacks.com/products/dogpacks/guide.html



There is a great site that compares them all and is a good place to start...

http://www.agilepooch.com/dogstuff/dogpacks/dogpacks.html

I've also got some suggestions about additional items to bring for your dogs (I hope to post up in a few weeks with a detailed list of stuff I bring once I got my new packs)...

Pain Killers - Aspirin for mild aches. Deramaxx in 75 gram pills. The Deramaxx is a step up in pain killers and helps with more serious pulls and soarness. Remember a 65 pound dog is a lot to carry if he goes lame.

Giardia (stomach cramps/diarriaha) - Dogs are dogs and will drink from any water source if thirsty. Panacur C (http://www.dog.com/item/panacur-canine-dewormer/) can be carried and administered if your dog contracts giardia. One packet contains a three day dose.

Sutures/Staples - ask your Vet for a couple of sutures - I use the ones already treated with anti-biotic.

Boots - Just in case I carry a set of dog booties (see any hunting dog place) if one of them splits a pad.

Nail Clippers and Stipic Powder - I've had dogs split a nail and was lucky to have the clippers - that thing was painful to the dog b/c it was hanging up on everything.

Frontline - Frontline (anti-flea/tick) drops right before the trip.

Dog whistle - train him to come consistently. I'm still freaked about losing one...

The rest is basic stuff covered in your kit...

X2 on the Ruff Wear Palisades II, I run it on my 85# Weimaraner with 15# of sand in it. It is holding up great and fits him perfectly. They are very well built.

As a general rule of thumb they say a dog can carry about a third of his weight in a pack safely.

I decided to get the Ruffwear Palisades pack.

I stopped by the local sporting goods store and got to check out some of the Ruffwear products. They didn't have the Palisades in stock but liked what I saw in their other product so ordered it online. Backcountry K-9 had the best price that I could find.

Will post up some pics and a quick review of it after the trip.

Thanks for the additional information cinco. I hadn't thought about boots.

I've also got some suggestions about additional items to bring for your dogs (I hope to post up in a few weeks with a detailed list of stuff I bring once I got my new packs)...

Pain Killers - Aspirin for mild aches. Deramaxx in 75 gram pills. The Deramaxx is a step up in pain killers and helps with more serious pulls and soarness. Remember a 65 pound dog is a lot to carry if he goes lame.

Giardia (stomach cramps/diarriaha) - Dogs are dogs and will drink from any water source if thirsty. Panacur C (http://www.dog.com/item/panacur-canine-dewormer/) can be carried and administered if your dog contracts giardia. One packet contains a three day dose.

Sutures/Staples - ask your Vet for a couple of sutures - I use the ones already treated with anti-biotic.

Boots - Just in case I carry a set of dog booties (see any hunting dog place) if one of them splits a pad.

Nail Clippers and Stipic Powder - I've had dogs split a nail and was lucky to have the clippers - that thing was painful to the dog b/c it was hanging up on everything.

Frontline - Frontline (anti-flea/tick) drops right before the trip.

Dog whistle - train him to come consistently. I'm still freaked about losing one...

The rest is basic stuff covered in your kit...

Get silver nitrate sticks instead of powder, works way better to cauterize the nail. Or just let the fucking dog run around in some dirt... The nail will clot and all will be fine... It's a dog, it's not going to hurt it. When I'm trimming my dogs nails, if I nick the quick I just throw them outside and let the bleeding stop on its own, I've never had a problem.

Have you ever actually sutured/stitched anything? I doubt your dog is going to sit nice and still while you fumble your way through a couple stitches. Get the stapler, it will work much better if you actually need it.

Painkillers, I highly doubt you can push a dog hard enough that it's going to need a pain killer unless your dog is ancient. Sure take some Aspirin,especially since you can take it yourself, but anything stronger is going to wind up hurting the dog more by letting it push itself to far imo. You wouldn't load up Oxycodone if you were feeling tired and sore and push yourself a few more miles, don't do it to your dog.

Get silver nitrate sticks instead of powder, works way better to cauterize the nail. Or just let the fucking dog run around in some dirt... The nail will clot and all will be fine... It's a dog, it's not going to hurt it. When I'm trimming my dogs nails, if I nick the quick I just throw them outside and let the bleeding stop on its own, I've never had a problem.

Have you ever actually sutured/stitched anything? I doubt your dog is going to sit nice and still while you fumble your way through a couple stitches. Get the stapler, it will work much better if you actually need it.

Painkillers, I highly doubt you can push a dog hard enough that it's going to need a pain killer unless your dog is ancient. Sure take some Aspirin,especially since you can take it yourself, but anything stronger is going to wind up hurting the dog more by letting it push itself to far imo. You wouldn't load up Oxycodone if you were feeling tired and sore and push yourself a few more miles, don't do it to your dog.

Numidian - you make some great points, but misundertood one of 'em...

Silver nitrate , no experience with it. But the stipic always worked .

Staples - good point, I mentioned it but forgot to add that. Yes, I have sutured two of my dogs and wasn't a big deal, they've been trained and conditioned to allow me to handle them... Granted they weren't deep muscle requiring double layered stiches. Staples would definitely be easier.

PainkillersDuramaxx - read my quote. I should have expanded on the comment, so I will... Its only for as needed basis if something were to happen - not for general use. Duramaxx is painkiller/anti-inflamatory used for arthrititis and joint soreness. Both of my older dogs (retired from hiking) have been on Duramaxx - so I understand the usefulness. This is perfect for hiking injuries (such as sprains, moderate pulls) that would require the equivalent of Ibuprofen in people. It does not dope up the dog. Of coarse you don't push a dog past its limits where it would require the meds - but stuff does happen. If the dog is hurt/in serious pain, I'd not personally push the dog onwards, we'd stop and evaluate the options for the immediate return to starting point - but, I sure don't want him in pain either.

Numidian - you make some great points, but misundertood one of 'em...

Silver nitrate , no experience with it. But the stipic always worked .

Staples - good point, I mentioned it but forgot to add that. Yes, I have sutured two of my dogs and wasn't a big deal, they've been trained and conditioned to allow me to handle them... Granted they weren't deep muscle requiring double layered stiches. Staples would definitely be easier.

PainkillersDuramaxx - read my quote. I should have expanded on the comment, so I will... Its only for as needed basis if something were to happen - not for general use. Duramaxx is painkiller/anti-inflamatory used for arthrititis and joint soreness. Both of my older dogs (retired from hiking) have been on Duramaxx - so I understand the usefulness. This is perfect for hiking injuries (such as sprains, moderate pulls) that would require the equivalent of Ibuprofen in people. It does not dope up the dog. Of coarse you don't push a dog past its limits where it would require the meds - but stuff does happen. If the dog is hurt/in serious pain, I'd not personally push the dog onwards, we'd stop and evaluate the options for the immediate return to starting point - but, I sure don't want him in pain either.

I'm impressed if you can get your dog to sit still for stitches...even if it is just a superficial cut. I could probably do it on my dog, but I'd have to have someone holding her most likely. I can do stuff like trim nails and clean her ears by myself, but if it's something painful she doesn't like to hang around LOL

I worked at my brother's animal hospital for 5 years, started as a kennel bitch and was head tech by the time I moved on (Just so you know where I'm coming from, not trying to say I know everything, because I definitely don't and that was also almost 5 years ago when I was working there LOL)

I know what Deramaxx is, usually just given to an older dog as a daily medicine if they have arthritis/joint pain that aspirin alone doesn't help, your comparison to Ibuprofen is actually a pretty good one, but unless it was something my dog took everyday normally, I personally would just stick to carrying aspirin. Lets face it if the dog is in enough pain that the aspirin doesn't help, the Deramaxx probably isn't going to be that much more powerful to help them. If it's just soreness in a young dog, aspirin and some rest should do it. But hell, I'm arguing a moot point here... If you've got the stuff, throw it in your pack, worst case is it doesn't do anything more then the aspirin, but at least you'll know you tried :cool2:

Numidian - no worries... I think you made some great points:beer:

Can you school me on staples? I've not had any luck finding a kit in the past to bring along and I hadn't talked to the vet about a set up. Are there different sizes for various injuries, special tools for stapling and then removing (or would a leatherman or such suffice for removal), etc?

Since you have some vet experience - could you post up any other items that might be best to consider getting from the vet? I would really like to get a better education on things that you have experienced in the vet hospital...

I was lucky that my two dogs I had to suture (1 barb wire the other a duck blind nail) were mellow to start with and pretty damn tough. I would have been wimpering like a pussy if it was me:D

Oh yeah - 1 more item if I could ask... Good info you shared on the Deramaxx. What might be a better med for a bad situation (God forbid) where a dog type painkiller would be needed (i.e. like in humans Tylenol with Codene (sp?)) where you need to zonk the dog out? Of coarse dosage would depend...

Numidian - no worries... I think you made some great points:beer:

Can you school me on staples? I've not had any luck finding a kit in the past to bring along and I hadn't talked to the vet about a set up. Are there different sizes for various injuries, special tools for stapling and then removing (or would a leatherman or such suffice for removal), etc?

Since you have some vet experience - could you post up any other items that might be best to consider getting from the vet? I would really like to get a better education on things that you have experienced in the vet hospital...

I was lucky that my two dogs I had to suture (1 barb wire the other a duck blind nail) were mellow to start with and pretty damn tough. I would have been wimpering like a pussy if it was me:D

Oh yeah - 1 more item if I could ask... Good info you shared on the Deramaxx. What might be a better med for a bad situation (God forbid) where a dog type painkiller would be needed (i.e. like in humans Tylenol with Codene (sp?)) where you need to zonk the dog out? Of coarse dosage would depend...

If you're buddies with your vet you might be able to talk him into selling you a stapler... Otherwise I really dunno where you could find one.

I'd also get the little tool for removing the staples, it would be small and light enough and could stay right with the actual stapler and with the tool there is almost no pain involved in removal. It's like a pair of scissors with two up stroking blades and one down stroking blade, so each side of the staple is lifted up evenly. They could be removed with a leatherman, but i'm willing to bet it would be painful and possibly rip some of your newly healed skin...

Here's a pic of the stapler and the staple remover and the boxes at the top are "Vetbond" surgical glue...aka super glue in a different packge... which reminds me another good little thing to throw in the pack for things like split pads and such... That way you aren't stapling every little nick and cut, you could just glue smaller ones or ones where a staple wouldn't work.

http://www.terrierman.com/staplervetbondremover.JPG

I'll be honest I've forgotten a lot of what I used to know... I know we used to give my mom's chihuahua Chlorpromazine and that would zonk the dog out during thunderstorms...but I don't know how much of a narcotic/analgesic effect it had. That would also be easy to get from the vet by just telling him that your dog was flipping out during thunderstorms (just make sure it's a nice sunny day outside when you're visiting haha) But I have no proof of it's analgesic properties. But I guess if you're just sitting there drooling, how much pain could you be feeling :laughing:

Where is SilverZuk when you need him...He's the one to talk to about caring for dogs in the field and his knowledge will probably be more current(and I know it will be easier for him to remember LOL... It's amazing how much fog can develop in 5 years :()

I take back my comment on where to find a stapler... A simple google search turned up plenty of hits

http://www.revivalanimal.com/store/p/1570-Skin-Stapler.aspx?feed=GoogleProductSearch&gdftrk=gdfV2457_a_7c543_a_7c1841_a_7c121_d_161

And something else just dawned on me... I know my dogs have gotten into beehives in my woods... Maybe a few benadryl tablets in case they get stung up a bunch... It probably wouldn't save them if they had a real bad reaction, but it wouldn't hurt to have if they started to have a minor reaction.