Dog Hiking FAQs

What’s the best breed for hiking and packing? As with any activity, there is no best breed. Some breeds tend to be poorly suited for hiking and carrying a load- long backed breeds such as Bassets and Dachshunds for instance. Some have coats that pick up burrs and debris, or coats so thick they can’t…

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Gear For Your Traildog

Lucy Tested and Approved. Now entering the SECOND Generation of testing with Beau. All prices are in US dollars but are subject to change without anyone bothering to tell me Detailed Reviews for much of this gear is available at BackpackGearTest.org

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Make Your Own Ditty Bags and Stuff Sacks!

You can make your own ditty bags and stuff sacks from leftover nylon pieces from other gear for a fraction of the store prices. As a plus they are an EXACT fit for your gear. You can make them out of anything you want- nylon packcloth, poly fleece (good for sleeping bags as it will…

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Working Dog Programs

For dogs of various breeds to prove they can do the work they were bred to do. International Weight Pull Association Weight pulling competitions and titles open to any breed Siberian Husky Club of America packing and sledding titles open only to Registered Siberians

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Skunk Odor Remover

a.k.a. Dog De-skunker a.a.k.a. Dog De-skunker of Science Beau got skunked this year. Again. He has not yet learned the skunks are NOT little black and white kitties to chase. The wild kitties don’t run up trees like his kitties.

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Make Your Own Solar Cooker

This is a real simple project that is a lot of fun to make and use. It’s especially good for day camp projects or to keep kids busy for the day. This is the type of cooker shown on Mr. Wizard’s World in the mid-1980’s. I spent many summer afternoons as a kid cooking hot…

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Make Your Own Gear

A small request: The patterns are free, but if you’d like to see more, please support this site by visiting the Online Store or click the “Make a Donation” button at the top right of every page. More patterns are coming soon! The Patterns have been used to outfit dogs, hikers, assistance/therapy dogs, SAR teams,…

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Make Your Own Dog Collar

Flat Buckle Collar The great thing about these collars is the hardware is recycleable, they’re cheap, easy and virtually disposable. If you totally trash one out in the field or on the trail you can cut the hardware off and use them again for a new collar. In fact, everything used to make the collar…

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Make Your Own Dog Booties!

If you are looking to help the NYC/WTC SAR dogs, click here. I put up this for traildogs in general… though if you want to use it for other dogs that’s great too. It’s been up since some time in April 2001. Uses for booties: -Icy trail conditions. -Protect feet from road chemicals and salt….

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