HOW I’M PREPPING MY DOGS FOR BACKPACKING

Getting acclimated to wearing their backpacks at Garden of the Gods.

My dogs have been backpacking on a few different occasions. Our most notable trip was 34 miles around Dolly Sods in West Virginia. I captured a fun video of that trip here!

I’m sad to admit that trip was two whole years ago. We’ve done a few shorter trips since then, but it’s still been a very long time since the dogs have had to carry backpacks.

Why make the dogs carry anything at all? I’m very particular about keeping my dogs’ gear minimal. They much prefer to be naked and I respect that. But on an overnight trip, there are limitations to what I can physically carry, especially now that I will be carrying a baby in addition to a ~30 lb backpack.

A good rule of thumb that I’ve heard is that dogs can safely carry 10-20% of their body weight. Both of my dogs weigh ~60 lbs and I like to limit them to about 8 lbs in their packs. As each day progresses and they drink their water, eat their food, etc. their packs get lighter. I can share some more in the future about the specific items they carry, but today I want to talk about how I’m preparing Samson and Xena physically for backpacking.

As of now, I have two trips planned that the dogs will definitely go on and one more that they might go on (and I’d love to plan more trips if you have any recs!). None of the trips will be longer than 5-10 miles total hiking, but I still want to make sure the dogs are conditioned for that kind of mileage, with packs on, in the heat of the summer.

Remember that dogs can’t verbalize consent. If they could, I think Samson might ask to stay home. Ha! I think it’s our responsibility as dog owners to plan ahead and physically prepare dogs for the conditions we know they’ll experience.

I’m not a vet or a canine fitness specialist, but here are a few things that I’m doing to prepare them:

1. Hiking… a lot!
   Neighborhood walks are great, and treadmills are awesome if you have one, but nothing is going to replace time spent on the trail. Walking on uneven ground, jumping over obstacles, scrambling on rocks, etc. is going to work muscles and stress joints differently than just walking on even sidewalks.

2. Getting the dogs used to carrying weight.
   I don’t want the dogs to dread wearing their backpacks, so slowly adding weight is very important to me. Today was the first day that I reintroduced packs so I left them empty and I rewarded frequently throughout our walk! Next time I’ll add a small amount of weight on each side and build from there. Water is an easy weight to manipulate, but water sloshing in half empty bottles might weird out your dog if they’re not used to it. I like to use collapsible water bottles that I can fold in half and secure to prevent sloshing.

3. Increasing the duration and difficulty of our hikes… but not at the same time.
   There are multiple factors that impact how hard a hike feels - mileage, distance above sea level, elevation gain / loss, temperature, wind, pack weight, etc. In order to prepare, we must work on all of these things, but to pull too many levers at once could lead to injury. If we’re going to work on elevation gain, I might choose a shorter trail. If we’re going to up mileage, I’ll choose a trail with less gain. If it’s really hot, I might keep the hike short and sweet. As the dogs get stronger and their endurance increases, I’ll start to challenge them more.

4. Adjusting their caloric intake as needed.
   I’ve always been someone who adjusts my dogs’ food regularly. It just makes sense to me! They have very active days and very lazy days. Their needs are never the same from one day to the next! I like to keep an eye on their body composition and adjust as needed. Knowing that I intend to increase their physical activity, their food intake will likely increase as well!

5. Getting them acclimated to sleeping in a tent.
   In the past, the dogs have done well with camping. It’s been a while, though, so I want to give them a refresher before we head out into the backcountry. We have a few car camping trips coming up, including one later this week. Stay tuned for more on that in a few days!

6. Working on getting and keeping their nails shorter.
   If you’ve ever met Samson, then you know he’s got some mega thick rottie nails. I have spent his whole life battling to keep them at a reasonable length. I typically trim and dremel them every two weeks but I’ve upped it to every 7 to 10 days. I’m still having trouble getting them any shorter, but I know I’ll see progress if I stick with it. They’re just so DANG healthy! A nail injury would be very problematic on trail so this is a top priority for me.

7. Getting them used to pulling on a harness.
   I’m hoping there will be opportunities to have the dogs off leash, but at least one of the places we’ll be backpacking (Maroon Bells) will have crazy busy trails. I’m thinking about trying a handsfree leash and encouraging the dogs to walk in front of me instead of on my left so that it will be easier to use trekking poles. This will work best if they wear harnesses and keep tension on the leash (so I don’t get tripped up). They’re allowed to pull on a harness but we rarely use them. Getting them to do so will definitely take some refreshing and reinforcement!

Backpacking with dogs definitely takes some prep work and planning, but it can be so rewarding! Have you backpacked with your dogs before? Planning any trips this summer? Let me know below!