Dutch Shepherd Forum

Just wanted to share these. We took Tyson out to the Green Way yesterday (in between rain showers). He loves the Green Way and we haven't been for a couple of weeks due to all of the rain. Anyway, we decided that since it wasn't boiling hot outside, and in an effort to have him work just a bit harder to release some pent-up energy, we'd put his backpack on him and have him carry everyone's water. The comments from the kids walking with their parent were great: "LOOK, dad!!! That dog has a BACKPACK!!!" To which my husband replied: "Yep, every dog needs a job." The best response to that was from a little boy about 4-5 who said: "I sure hope he gets paid a lot!" Kids are too funny. The looks we get from other people vary... we get: cool, cute, hmmm, and the occasional disgusted look (as if we are abusing him). His current backpack seems a little big...he is in between sizes right now. It is a Kyjen Outward Hound...if anyone has any thoughts on other brands, I'd love to hear recommendations. Also, I am looking for one that is more breathable for warmer days, yet big enough to hold a couple of bottles of water. This one really can't be used when it is too warm or he will overheat...we just got lucky and had a cool morning.

Marco has the Aussie Backpack. Since we are always in a hot climate, I liked the fact that it is made out of sturdy cotton and has a mesh on top. It can be washed (which already came handy, when Marco decided to jump with backpack and all into the bushes to chase a skunk ).

Since I didn't have a pic on file, we took a quick one in the house. I disturbed his beauty sleep. He doesn't look too happy.

The Aussie Backpack is featured on the cover of the latest Jeffers Pet catalogue. You can purchase it at http://www.jefferspet.com/dog-backpack/ ... p/0036019/

LOL...he does look a bit perturbed. Thank you, Marco, for showing me how it fits!

I told him it's for the greater good
He is a good sport, as always I must ad, and back to his beauty sleep............

BTW I ordered size L based on their weight chart but I think size M would have been large enough. I had to shorten the straps quite a bit.

Schlussdibusti wrote:I told him it's for the greater good

Hahahaha!

Thanks for the tip on sizing. I checked out the link and I really like this pack...it seems like it would be much better for warmer weather. Tyson is currently 9 months old-ish (since he is a rescue, it's all a guess) and weighs just under 40 lbs. His current pack is a medium as well, and like yours, the straps are way long. Our DS guys have such a trim, sleek frame. I think most of these packs are made for larger girth dogs.

What a good boy !

Greetings Stacy, Tyson, and the pack!

Thanks for sharing the pictures! Looks like you two are having a fun time!

Regarding your request for advice on backpacks. I did a good deal of hunting on the internet a while back, before I decided we were going to skip the idea for now for several reasons.

I read a lot of reviews on each pack I was considering, and found many packs had reviews that varied so much that I was right back where I started basically. Some people say they didn't last long enough to get out the door or down the street, while others say they had theirs for years and so on. It was quite frustrating. People here recommended some, including the one I had decided on. The Ruffwear Palisades Pack, is of course the most expensive one out there too! But it seems to be quite well thought out and improvements on the original production seemed to address some early design flaws. I'll leave it to you to decide what is best for you - I'm certainly not recommending this pack since I've not owned one, but it does seem to be the best one.

I did speak to a representative at at Ruffwear, and he confirmed I could fit one liter bottles of water I had frozen into the pack after I informed him it gets very hot here and I knew I wouldn't be able to freeze the two bladders made to fit into the pack to carry water. My idea was that carrying ice around would keep Rorhin cooler, and as it melted there would be cold water to drink.

So as I said I did a lot of hunting about, and happened upon a site from a person who at one point designed saddlebags for motorcycling and had actually done research and tried most of the dog back packs out there! It was very helpful to find all of the information in one place with a non biased review of them all. Here's the link!

http://www.agilepooch.com/

Perhaps you can find something to help you there! I know the page this sends you too says the seat belt information was updated June of 2012, so realize that it may be slightly dated, but I found the back pack reviews to be good enough for my purposes, and found a lot that I hadn't been aware of despite the amount of surfing I'd done already.

I hope this is useful to you guys! Much Peace.

Marco's photo looks like a mug shot for his arrest as a drug mule !

I must say it is so obvious most days how almost everyone here on the forum tries so hard to be helpful at every turn to the DS community. it is really great.

johninny wrote:Marco's photo looks like a mug shot for his arrest as a drug mule.

That, John, was hysterical! Eva, i believe you have your caption for that photo... ROFL too funny!

Thank you, Nordis. I will check it out!

Amber carries the Ruffwear Palisades backpack, which is honestly the best I've ever seen. The best parts are (1) the saddle bags detach from the harness so when she stops for playtime or training, I leave the harness on her while I take off the saddle bags, and (2) two 1-liter water bladders (similar to CamelBak made for people) are included in the bag and they have their own little water pocket inside the saddlebags.

I fill up the water bladders full for a long walk and it's good exercise for her. Normally, Amber carries two balls, two frisbees, poop bags and my phone to the dog park and back all the time. I always walk empty handed and it's wonderful. She loves it and I love it too!

The only downside is that the backpack is expensive (about $129 on Amazon), but I've never regretted it and it's been extremely useful and durable.
http://www.amazon.com/Ruffwear-Palisade ... supplies_6
A DS would most likely wear a medium.

Thank you, Annie! I love how it detaches. His current one does that, but it detaches from something that looks more like a saddle than a harness. I will check it out.

does anyone know what happened to Marco's mug shot?

i was thinking the same thing...