(And the coolest brand name ever.)
During the recent discussions on bug-out bag supplies (here, here, and here), several people suggested I should teach the dogs to pack.
Though I don’t think it’s realistic to plan to strap all three dogs into packs, then try to manage them all on leash during a “head for the hills” emergency, it did make sense to train at least one to carry a backpack.
The pack arrived today and here’s Ava wearing it:
Ava is the smallest of my dogs. I chose her because she’s the youngest, sturdiest, and best on leash of all my kids. Robbie, the biggest and toughest, is 10 years old and recently developed knee problems. Nadja, six, is good sized, but she’s neurotic and sure to behave badly in an emergency. Ava has no problems other than an excess of energy and a dearth of brains, neither of which should be a drawback here.
She doesn’t look at all like the smiley dog on the package. So far, she looks more like a condemned murderer being led to the gas chamber. (“No! No! I’m innocent, I swear! Innnnocennnnnt ….”) But that’ll pass once she associates the pack with walkees and treats. I often walk her into town and will gradually accustom her to carrying small weights.
And about that brand name …
OMG. Is that not the best brand name ever, bar none, no competition? I’ve bought outdoor gear for my dogs only a couple of times. But I always go for Outward Hound just because it makes me smile. No matter how often I look at that logo, I grin.
It also didn’t hurt that an eBay seller had this pack at about half the price everybody else was asking for it.
Now if I can only get my cat to do that.
kevin m — LOL — By all means send pix and a description of your secrets for success if you manage that!
I thought at first you’d bought a gun for your dog! And wondered how you’d trained her to shoot. 🙂
Glad you’ve got some help for your bug-out.
Earth-tone green and safety reflective white! You can always quickly duct tape over the reflector if you need to be discreet.
I don’t know, when your other two dogs see all the extra attention and treats that Ava will be getting won’t they want even one minute wearing a pack like that so they can get the good stuff too? Once Ava is trained, I’d make the other two jealous, if just a bit.
LOL @ Kevin…..my cat is still trying to master walking on leash without the tippy-toe reaction to that…..
Ava’s pack looks comfortable….the fact that she’s not on the floor on her back rolling around trying to scratch it off means it may just succeed……Does it hold alot, enough for all the dogs?
We used to have an Outward Hound folding water bowl for Lucy. I have no idea what happened to it, but it was tough stuff.
I love it! And Ava’s expression … and Outward Hound makes really good quality stuff!
Standard Mischief — Now all I have to do is spray paint Ava in woodland camo. 🙂
That’s a cute idea about making the others jealous. My vet would kill me if I actually made Robbie carry anything. (And as I was typing that sentence, my vet called. She had just read this blog entry and wanted to tell me she’d also just gotten a backpack for her dog — who gave her the exact same condemned-prisoner look Ava put on. And yes, she said never to make Robbie or Nadja bear weight, except for short distances.)
Well, there’s a nice picture!! I love seeing dogs with packs!
And since you bought the same one my dog Powder has been using for the past three years on our hiking trips, I’d like to give a few tips and suggestions if you don’t mind.
First, balancing these packs is REALLY important! If they are loaded unevenly, the heavier side will slide down and hang between her legs. I usually divide Powder’s food into “half-ration-bags”(I use pint size ziplock bags) so when suppertime comes, all I have to do is grab one little baggie out of each side and the packs stay balanced.
Second, make sure the harness is snugged down good to prevent “flopping”; this is best done with the packs taken off for the first time. Once adjusted you’re good to go.
Third, even with semi-soft items like kibble I still put a folded piece of old bathtowel on the inside of the packs to prevent any pressure spots on her flanks; this is most important during longer outings (such as a bug-out situation); the towel comes in handy for paw cleaning after a muddy day and weighs hardly anything.
Fourth, keep in mind a dog’s “weight-rating”: If I remember correct it is 10% of the dog’s bodyweight for regular dogs, up to 15% for the “athletes”. Although, from my experience it’s impossible to overload her with these packs, unless you fill them full of water. Powder weighs 65 lbs. and for a three night hike her packs (including food, her bedroll, K9 first aid kit and a baggie of treats) weigh in around 5.5 to 6 lbs.
One great “added bonus” is that packs make a dog look cute in the (non-dog-owning) public eye. Before Powder had packs I could see a lot of anxious faces (she’s jet-black) when coming up on other hikers; now all I hear is “awwww, how cute, a puppy with a backpack”. Some folks even think she’s a service dog.
Lastly, don’t worry too much about Ava getting used to the packs, she’ll love them in no time (pack=walk=all kinds of interesting smells=FUN!!). I was all worried about it with Powder, figuring I’d have to do the gradual routine. Well, the first time I put them on her she stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds. I told her:”Go ahead, try it out!” and she leapt off the porch, did five laps around the yard at a blistering pace, stopped two feet in front of me with a look on her face that said:”All right, hitch up the wagons, I’m ready, what’re you waiting for?”, tail wagging a hundred miles an hour.
Have fun and please include some more pictures:-)
P.S.: After just proofreading this I realized I got a bit carried away. If this is too long, please do edit as you see fit.
naturegirl — The pockets seem pretty generous. And according to what my vet just told me, once a dog is trained to pack, it should be able to carry up to 1/3 of its own weight. So yes, I think this pack could carry food for all the dogs plus maybe a bottle of water on each side.
velojym — I used to have one of those Outward Hound folding water bowls, too — and it also disappeared. Could some cosmic force be collecting them? Should we notify Charles Fort?
Mary Lou — LOL, yep, when I put that pack on Ava, she wouldn’t even lick the skillet full of buttery remnants of stir-fried veggies I offered her. Poor, pitiful Ava! Thanks for seconding my judgment on Outward Hound.
Kyle MacLachlan — Thank you for the tips! I really appreciate those, especially since the pack came with no instructions at all — not on fit, position, weight, or anything. Ten to 15%? Hm. My vet just told me up to 30 — but the lower figures do sound more merciful. Ava is unlikely ever to put on a lot of miles with a full load, in any case.
Cool that Powder and Ava have the same pack. And never worry about useful comments being “too long.” I’m often more long-winded with less good cause. Those tips of yours are really good. Now if Ava will just become as enthused about her backpack as Powder …
What are your thoughts about putting YOUR contact information on the pack?
Very nice, she looks like she has a pretty good build for carrying things.
Out of my 4, I have one who could physically carry anything, but she has too much basset hound in her to remain active for more than a couple hours before reverting back to being a big snoring blob sprawled across the nearest soft object and/or sunny spot.
ff42 — Hm. Good question. I probably should have some contact info in/on there. Have to think about what it should be. The good thing (if anything can be good about getting separated from my dog during a disaster) is that lost dogs in this area always end up going to my vet, who would recognize Ava, Robbie, or Nadja instantly. The bad news is that the vet clinic is likely to be wiped out if there’s a tsunami.
winston — A basset hound. OMG. Your description is perfect. I had a basset once. Never again. Dumbest, most stubborn animal on the face of the earth.
Good stuff. I’m not a pet lover, unless they’re for dinner, but it seems wise to at least have one dog carry some of its own food. If you do get separated and the animal is found by someone else at least they will have some food to give it.
I’d go with the lower weight amount just in case Ava ends up walking (or treading) thru water……
Contact info, keep in mind cell phones/towers will be inundated as well….everything may end up not working, for days, if not entirely gone/washed away….usually there’s a local community center/temp disaster shelter designated somewhere & it’s possible the local Red Cross (or similar group) will be the first to man that center ~ it’s possible to pre-register info with them ahead of time (like a head count ahead of time)….the info you’d have to give could be minimal and controlled by you, as well, so don’t panic about the opsec……(Local fire dept may have that knowledge in the meantime)…..
In the midst of our drama, someone came around and got total person per house counts, as well as pet counts & descriptions….and we still had a lot of disconnected animals afterwards, mostly due to kind people taking them in but not having a centralized place to keep the info of who has what……
Ancient technology warmed over. American Indians have been using dogs for packing for millennia. Traders used dogs to move trade goods all over the Americas.
We have 3 terriers and one of those packs, and are less than thrilled with them. My best advice is to make sure the pack is balanced in each pouch and fitted well to the dog, otherwise the poor thing will be shaking it back into place every ten yards.
“A basset hound. OMG. Your description is perfect. I had a basset once. Never again. Dumbest, most stubborn animal on the face of the earth.”
Well she’s half…Her mother was a genuine, AKC pedigree Bassest who was seduced by some mystery mongrel terrier type dog whose bloodline is completely unknown. She’s the result. The ASPCA gets a lot of dogs with that backstory apparently.
I wouldn’t call her stubborn, she’s pretty obedient overall, but she’s totally lazy and kinda selfish. For instance when she’s inside the house…she resuses to sit her butt down on hardwood or tile or anything not soft. Not just “doesn’t like to”, she literally WON’T do it. Also one time my mom got all the dogs some toys to give them on christmas morning…she hoarded them all and just sat there on the dog bed guarding them with a haughty “this is my birthright” look on her face. Pretty funny.
I didn’t notice anyone mention what type of dog food they’d be packing for their dog in case they needed to bug out. I know there are freeze-dried, ultra light alternatives, but I’ve also heard cat food is a good alternative. Smaller kibble size= smaller air volume between pieces and cat food is higher in protein than dog food. Cat food is also within my price range; unlike the freeze-dried dog food.
Hm. Good point, Desiree. I never considered packing anything but their regular food.
I can see taking regular food + some lightweight alternative if you expected to be away from home and away from stores for weeks. But changing the dogs’ food abruptly (especially in a situation that’s already turned their world topsy-turvy) … well, I’d hate to cope with doggie diarrhea or vomiting along with everything else.
As a former dog breeder, I’d suggest being very cautious about using dry type cat food for dogs. Might be ok for a day or two in a serious emergency, but any other food source would be better.
Dry cat food IS much higher in protein and can cause kidney damage as well as liver damage in dogs. The older the dog, the faster the damage.
Do consult the vet for the most reliable information, of course. 🙂
I usually pack my dog’s food in small ziplock bags. The suggestion to split the portions in half so that the load stays balanced, half a meal from each side, is great. Hadn’t thought of that!
My dog usually has half kibble and half dog food roll (Natural Balance for both) at each meal. Natural Balance packages their dog food roll in small tubes, as well as the large size I usually use. The smallest should work well in my dog’s emergency rations. I’m sure a couple of other dog food companies package moist food in a roll as well. The great thing about Natural Balance is that Dick VanPatten has demonstrated that I can eat it as well. LOL 😉
Great topic. Notice how many comments you get? Lots more than most other articles. BTW, completely agree about Outward Hound as a trade name!
@MamaLiberty: Yes, I’ve heard dry cat food can be problematic for dogs. I’ve been pretty lucky with my Bloodhound, Virgil. He eats anything he can get and never seems to have a problem with it. I don’t feed him cat food on purpose- he steals it out of the cat’s bowl if we don’t watch him and will do the same with the raw vegetable scraps we give the rabbits too. He especially loves raw carrots. He’s still young though (just over a year old). If we had to bug out, Virgil would have to eat whatever is available. The vet said I can’t start him on a pack yet because he’s still growing too fast.
My three all have Outward Hound packs too! The Border Collie mix doesn’t care for it, but does a “if I have too..” mope and then cooperates. The Lab mix and the Sheppard/Husky do just fine.
The other thing you may want to consider for you “bug out” kit is a dog life jacket. I bought them since we take ours Kayaking. They can all swim without, but, just like people they do get tired and if there’s a current, even more so. Might be just the thing in a flooding situation.
I’ve never thought to try to put their packs over the lifejackets in case of emergency, but I think I’m going to try that experiment just for a reference point.
MK- If you make the packs tight enough to stay in place and not slide around, would that negate the buoyancy of the life preservers underneath the packs? I don’t know the answer, just wondering.
rustynail — your dogs eat better than mine do. I’d love to feed them Natural Balance, and indeed those rolls would make convenient packing.
MK — Hey, Ava’s a BC mix, too! (BC/ACD) Maybe it’s in their genes not to want to be pack animals. But I took her for her first trial walk with the backpack yesterday. Two miles and she never tried to scrape it off or anything. In fact, after the initial pout, she never even seemed to realize it was there. Next step will be to add a small water bottle to each side.
Life jackets. Hm. Never thought about that, though Ava and Nadja are such water dogs I’ve worried about them falling or jumping into rivers that might be swifter and more forceful than they know. And poor Robbie with his heavy bully-dog body and short legs really could use the lift a jacket would give. Have to think about that.
Pat – been noodling that around in my head. Buoyancy is buoyancy regardless of what on top of it. However, what I don’t know is if the additional weight offered by the pack is greater, less than or equal to buoyancy of the life jacket.
I can’t think of any situation I’d want both on the dogs except in an emergency. And I think that having the addtional buoyancy of a life jacket under the pack would still be better than just the pack and trying to swim with it in a flooding type situation.
As I said, I’m going to try this experiment – as soon as it’s a little warmer here (I’m in upstate NY) I’m actually more concerned about the pack having straps long enough to go over the lifejacket too…Hmmmm…..things to keep noodling….
Claire – yeah the BC is definitely her own dog! We’ve tried many different activites with the dogs – she rejects most of them. How funny is 8 dogs hooked up to a sled with 7 going forward and 1 trying to go backward? – Yep, that would be her! We haven’t had the opportunity yet, but I think she’d be great at lure chasing.
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