I have a Border Collie/Australian Shep mix that I'm going to start training with a pack. What brand(s) have worked the best for you? Various sites I keep reading give mixed reviews so figured this would be the best place to ask .
Thanks!
I have a Border Collie/Australian Shep mix that I'm going to start training with a pack. What brand(s) have worked the best for you? Various sites I keep reading give mixed reviews so figured this would be the best place to ask .
Thanks!
Kelty K-9 chuckwagon (medium) for a cattledog weighing 45 lbs. Good balance and sits well. The material is pretty durable. The dog flying up Cat rock in NY on the upper right of the picture is my dog with a loaded pack on.
You can never appreciate the shade of a tree unless you sweat in the sun.-- Author Unknown
A Kelty Chuckwagon has worked out pretty well for my mutt.
I started Barney with a cheapo, about $15 or 20 IRRC. I think it's a good idea to start them young so that they get used to a pack, but load it very light. Don't want to screw their physical development up or build a bad attitude by making them miserable.
Last edited by Two Speed; 02-08-2008 at 17:43.
used a mountainsmith, but it fell apart, it looked like the stitch had just missed the bottoms straps, but they rushed a replacement to me, no questions asked, and not just the pack, they rushed their whole dog kit, the pack, bowls, leash, and bed.
Gaiter
homepage.mac.com/thickredhair
web.mac.com/thickredhair/AT_Fall_07
My dogs have used the Mountainsmith pack, Granite Gear Ruff Rider pack and Ruffwear Approach Pack II & Palisades Pack II.
We've had the best results with the Palisades Pack II. I like that the pack detaches from the harness for rest breaks and stream crossings. It also rides the best on my dogs - which are a shepherd/lab mix and beagle/ridgeback mix.
" beagle/ridgeback mix."
I bet that is an interesting looking dog. Do you have any picks?
Stumpy
You can never go wrong with butter or bacon!!!!
(whats Best) Is You Put All Your Dogs Gear And Food In Your Pack. So Fido Wont Die! Or Just Leave Him/her At Home!
I agree with doggiebag, it's a good pack... My pup learned to hike in a Chuckwagon. He's about 50lbs and would be a size medium also. The only things that I don't like about it are how the belly straps pull forward off the padding and there are no drain holes in the bottom of the pack. I made some modifications to our pack to fix those issues that were very easy, but IMO Kelty should have made those standard.
One issue I wasn't able to find a fix for was stretching in the straps. I had a really hard time anytime the pack got wet keeping it balanced and tight. It would just slide all over. This may be an issue no matter what brand pack is used though.
All-in-all it's a good, low profile pack and considering it costs less than other packs on the market, it's a great buy. Very well made and functional without too many frills.
I'm not sure yet if I'll get another Chuckwagon now that he's outgrown his or if I'll get a Wolfpack.
I usually keep an eye on him for the first ten minutes regarding the pack balance issue when we start hiking. After moving some items from one side to the other the pack will balance it's self out without too much fudging with the straps - after the pack is balanced and the straps properly adjusted. I would usually tie off the extral webbing from the straps into a square knot to keep it from slipping loose.
You can never appreciate the shade of a tree unless you sweat in the sun.-- Author Unknown
Oh I did that too, but every stream crossing the straps would stretch and then it would shift from side to side. I could stop and re balance the thing 10 times easily until the straps dried completely again.
But I'm pretty sure any pack with a similar design will have that problem, not just the Chuckwagon. It's kinda like dealing with wet shoes... well, they're wet, whatcha gonna do 'bout it?
my dog pepper uses a backpack made by wenaha that was a hand-me-down from our previous canine companion. the pack has served our family well for over 25 years over thousands of miles of hiking. as you can prolly tell in the photos, it is pretty beat up these days, but considering how many slabs of granite it has scraped along and all the streams it's been immersed in, it still performs it's function rather well. i have no experience with other brands so i cannot make any comparisons, but i can say that this pack is very durable and the large size has more than enough room for a week in the woods.
well, i guess i did something wrong when i tried to add the photos to the last post, but they can be viewed in my gallery.
post 13 that packs too big for that dog
doggiebag: thanks, i appreciate it!
crumbsnatcher: the pack has to be that big to fit the family sized canvas tent, the coleman two-burner stove, the cooler with all our food, and three gallon jugs of water.
joking aside, "that dog" is 110 pounds and the pack fits him very well. perhaps it is hard to judge proportions since our beloved pet is reclining in that picture. unfortunately, i don't have any other shots of him with the pack on.
It's an old school pack. As twentybelow said his dog is reclining. I'm sure he knows his dog's capabilities. Those are Wenaha dog packs.
It's just their design. Here's a view of one with a dog that's not reclining:
Last edited by doggiebag; 02-09-2008 at 01:10.
You can never appreciate the shade of a tree unless you sweat in the sun.-- Author Unknown
They call this urban mushing.
Kinda neat. Here's a video link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHenO...eature=related
Last edited by doggiebag; 02-09-2008 at 01:11.
You can never appreciate the shade of a tree unless you sweat in the sun.-- Author Unknown
THANKS FOR RESPONDING,I'M A HUGE DOG PERSON,AS YOU ARE. AND I'VE SEEN ALOT OF A**HOLES HURTING THIER DOGS ON THE TRAIL. HAVING THIER DOG CARRY SOME OF THIER GEAR TOO. I GAVE MY DOGS PACK AWAY IN A HIKER BOX IN MY DOGS FIRST 100 MILES OR SO AND CARRIED EVERYTHING MYSELF. THATS ME THOUGH. I ENJOYED SEEING HER HIKE WITHOUT IT. I THINK IF SOMEBODY USES A DOGPACK THEY SHOULD ATLEAST TAKE IT OFF THE DOG FOR THE LAST MILE OR TWO, EVERYDAY. GOOD HIKING TWENTY BELOW.......