Megan,

How do I join that local club?

Message me Jason, I can give you more information.

I was wandering when i should get a back pack for my husky Leo he is 1 year old. I do want him to get used to carrying one even if its empty, till hes old enough to actually have stuff in it. at what age would it be a good time to get one for him? and which one is best to get, that is has decent pockets?

has anyone have is back pack : http://www.amazon.com/Ruffwear-Singletrak-Backpack-Medium-Cloudburst/dp/B00HBFC7UI/ref=sr_1_11?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1432748968&sr=1-11 i was wonder how well it would hold up and what kinds of things fit in side it?

i have seen the singletrak in person, its not an all day hiker unless you plan to carry their water or food. the sides are not large, will hold a bottle of water each side and not much more.
at a yr old he can start carrying light weight it will be good training.
I have had S&J out with their packs 3 days a week the last month training for our summer summits. heaver water on our short walks to build them up for the hikes.
Always start light and build it up, just like you would lifting weights.

the design looked good but the pockets look tiny compared to the other packs I've looked at. I'm not to sure which backpack to get, i did wont one that he could carry water and some food but still have a secure area for the leash or could go over his harness and be comfortable. he wares and urban trail harness in dark green. here's a picture  

anyone have a suggestions?

The other 2 packs ruffwear make are great. I have the palisade pack, i like the removable sadle bags for the dogs. Its like a 2 in one deal. Both hold way more stuff. Im not sure how long we have had jacks pack 4yrs maybe been to hell and back, shows wear but zippers and snaps still work! Jack wears a med at 62lbs. Sierra is in a small at 46lbs.
Everything RW makes holds up, unless someone chews it!!!
For you a hiking belt and line would be useful.http://stores.adanacsleds.com/skijoring-and-canicross/
ask them about custom lines with handles they made for a girl in CO

i did have one more question has any one seen a review of the urban trail pack from Alpine Outfitters? was considering this just because could use his existing harness but not sure how much it would hold

I'll defiantly get one of the ruff ware packs, and have him carry my wallet and keys to start on are morning walks and build up thanks for the wonderful advice

RedFlashFire05 wrote:

i did have one more question has any one seen a review of the urban trail pack from Alpine Outfitters? was considering this just because could use his existing harness but not sure how much it would hold

I'll defiantly get one of the ruff ware packs, and have him carry my wallet and keys to start on are morning walks and build up thanks for the wonderful advice

Wolf Packs are another brand that I personally swear by. Great quality. I have the banzais.

The difference:

Wolf packs can go over existing harnesses, as it doesn't have a built-on harness. So you use with a collar or your own harness of preference.

Ruffwear packs have a built in harness, so you want have room for a different one underneath, but if you get Ruffwear you just use either a collar or attach it right to the pack.

What you choose should be based on what will be easier for you and what will work better. Ruffwear has the built-in harness, but I found it harder to get in. Wolfpacks are easy to get on two snaps, but no built-in harness. I mostly use collars when hiking and occasionally use a front-clip harness for hikes when I'm reminding a dog not to pull me down the trail, so the wolf packs work best with me since they go over my existing harness.

i got his backpack. a few weeks ago. i put my keys, small Kong, and clip on one side and a very small muliti tool on the other. i let him carry that for about  3 weeks every other day. then i put marbles in there it was a bout a pound total ; he only carried that once on a short walk. well about 24 standard marble and one shooter is about a pound. so, then i reduced it to half a pound total . how much should i put in there to start? not sure if one-half lb is to much . with even about on both side with one extra shooter to make it even, so it was about 6 marbles and one shooter per side .




i ended up getting the alpine outfitters pack, though its not water resistant, but it dose have a lot of room for things (gotta see how much fits in there soon) and it attaches to my harness, witch is very cool.

i was curious   so...i was very surprised that the small slow feeding bowl fit in there and it zipped closed.  


then i put in a collapsible blow, brushes, pooh bags, treat bag and 2 water bottles and it still had more room. what else will fit...


so, then i decided to see how many bottles of water fit, about six 16.5 oz water bottles inside one bag.  



that's a lot of room for many useful things in there.

Ronin,
those saddle bags are huge. To give you an idea, Jack carries 1 liter in each saddle bag, Sierra carries 17oz in each bag for training, on trail she does not carry water anymore. they also have 1 cup of food in each bag and fabric food bowls in just Jacks.
I should put them on the scale to see what it weighs.

for daily training we are out for 30min and they each carry that weight as well as that weight on our all day hikes.

you can use water bottles and just start with each one half full and then work up the weight by adding more water to each one as time goes.

Just don't give your keys to the dogs!

and the packs are nice so they carry their own poop to