Trekking with Canines

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Aaron,

When backpacking (vs hiking) I've put any dry dog food in the dogs pack.

I recall from your article (or was it a blog?), you aren't into dog packs. My Newfies are bigger, and were breed for carting along with their original job;water rescue. Dry dog food isn't too heavy and doesn't shift around too much, so it works well in a dog pack. I would always then supplement the dry food with something I fixed for myself.

On a day hike, I just carry a snack for the dogs. as well as their water of course.

Hey Gary, yeah...used a dog pack for a while but eventually started carrying everything myself. Although my dog didn't have too many issues with it, you could just tell she wasn't happy even with very little weight. On one trip I took her pack off and strapped it to mine, and you could just see the near instant shift, my dog was instantly back to herself...I've carried everything since then. However, every situation is definitely different and all dogs react in their own way...And as you said, dry food is a great item for them to pack! Conforms to fill whatever space is needed and is easily balanced side to side.

[grizzled]

I use dry food at home and have always packed the same on the trail - Have it at about 8-10 ounces of high quality food per full day for my 50lb heeler. It hasn't been too bad even for longer trips but I can definitely see the weight becoming a factor with 2 or more dogs on the trail and even in my situation saving weight is always appealing. Any idea regarding how much weight-wise you're taking in your case? Interesting that nothing is cooked...Are you heating the water just to speed up the rehydration process?

Aaron, we give the B Collies about 7 oz (dry weight) of Sojo/day. They weigh in at 40 to 45 lbs. I suspect it could be mixed cold but using warm water does make re-hydration happen much quicker and the canines seem to appreciate a warm bowl of food-especially on cold mornings. We just use a couple of MSR bowls to mix it.

A decade back, we had six border collies along on several trips and that certainly upped the logistics a bit.

At home, the girls get a couple cups a day of either Science Diet or Kirkland "Nature's Domain". They much prefer the Kirkland salmon.

Thinking back over better than 5 decades of canine companions, all of them were "working" dogs, aussies, heelers, border collies and a coupe of crosses within that group. The aussies and bc's were the biggest kick from the personality aspect, the heelers were actually the most useful doing actual work, especially with cattle. But then there has never been any sheep on the place other than the neighbor's escapees.

[Gary M]

Aaron: If you'll excuse my sometimes out of control dog pasion..............

Yes, individual circumstances dictate what works best. You have a Blue Heeler, an Australian herding dog. The whole working dog herders group are very intelligent, and again have an instinct to herd cattle,sheep, even ducks or kids!

Newfoundlands were bred (in Newfoundland of course) by fishermen. They had to get their nets and supplies to the boats, so they developed a powerful dog to pull their stuff. Horses cost too much money and even more to keep fed. They also used the dogs for rescue in case someone fell into the rough sea. Newfoundlands are the very best canine swimmer, and there have been hundreds of documented water rescues by Newfoundlands. The Heart of America Newfoundland Club believes these dogs need a "job", that is they need to be more than just good looking dogs. We don't want to loose the inborn instinct of what makes them special.

That's just a long winded way of saying my wife and I like to train our Newfies in pulling carts, with (light) packs, and water rescue. I can promise everyone, they just love it! They also do great on the trail, although I've spent the last 6 months on developing another trail dog as the two Newfies are getting a bit older.

Debbie water training with Katie

Gary M

Olathe,Kansas

(and yes, the dog is trained to pull you to safety by the tail)

[Gary M]

Bobo..............

Since you insisted, here are a couple of photos of my Newfie pair working on their water training (see also my rant to Aaron on Newfoundland dogs). Notice the "beautiful" green/brown Kansas water.

Gary water training with Maximus

Katie water training

Gary M

Olathe,Kansas

[Bobo Uzala]

Thanks Gary - they're beautiful (and big) dogs! It would never be a three dog night if I hiked with one of your pups!