Need Help with large dog when backpacking

[frieden]

I think you would be surprised what kind of pack animal a dog could be if trained right. Whenever I grocery shop my dog and I wear our packs and carry the food home.

All you have to do is follow some basic rules.
2) Never backpack more then 50% of body weight.

There is a huge difference between going to the grocery, and hiking day after day over rough terrain. I'm sure you weren't suggesting someone try to thru hike with their dog carrying 50% of their bodyweight, but I just wanted to clarify. From what I understand, it is 10-20%. Ed never carries more than 5 lbs (he weighs 73 lbs), but that is just because I don't want weight on him.

[shelterbuilder]

There is a huge difference between going to the grocery, and hiking day after day over rough terrain. I'm sure you weren't suggesting someone try to thru hike with their dog carrying 50% of their bodyweight, but I just wanted to clarify. From what I understand, it is 10-20%. Ed never carries more than 5 lbs (he weighs 73 lbs), but that is just because I don't want weight on him.

I'd heard 20 - 30 %. 50% seems a bit on the high side. I used to let my 50 pound husky carry about 13 lbs., and sometimes he'd balk at that much. (Then you know who gets to carry it!)

[peanuts]

its 10 -20% of their body weight!!!

[FatMan]

Please don't put more than 15% of body weight on your dog. Up to 25% might be OK for a couple of hours, but for a day of hiking I would keep it at around 10%-12%. It is your burden to carry the load. Treat you dog as a guest as he can't complain or leave.

[kohburn]

dogs are all built differently. different breeds will have different comfort limits for pack loads. a 15% load on a grey hound would be like a 30% load on a pit or rotty since their musculature is different.

[Adam B]

In reference to 50% weight, I only reach that mark when I am hiking without a hope of restocking, short hauls or training. Never put that amount on a dog without having slowly trained up to that level and never if it can be avoided. I have carried a 100% of my body weight on longer hauls and my dogs have carried 50% on longer hauls, neither is ideal but on certain situation it happens. If the terrain gets rough I have to carry whatever is on the dog so it is in my interest to keep it light.

My dogs all carry a 1.5-2lb harness in their daily life and have a base hiking weight of 10-12lbs on most trips. If you include water and food then the weight goes up. I don't generally thru hike where I have resupply points and I can be gone for a long time. I have to carry or find my food and water. I carry fruit, veggies and seeds dehydrated that weigh about .5lbs a day for both of us and try to fish for our meat but if I know that I won't be catching anything i.e. no water sources, we have to bring 4-6lt of water plus meat which all adds up. It gets lighter the further into the trail we go and generally my dogs packs weigh in at 12lbs when we leave the trail but I would rather my dog have the proper nutrition then starve because I wanted to lighten our packs.

The above situation rarely happens though, I plan our hikes so that we go by water sources at least once in a 3 day period and can carry enough water for a 5 day period. I bring my line and permit and catch enough to feed us. We are travelling to North and west africa shortly and there we will be in desert conditions where I must ensure 6lts a day of water and at least a 5 day supply at any given time. That is 66lbs which will weigh a good 33% of body weight for my currently 100lb dog. Most of the time neither of us will carry it but if something goes wrong my dog is capable of shouldering the weight because of careful vet supervised weight training. If it does happen, then I will make a sledge and drag the weight behind us. Either way short hauls with lots of breaks are needed.

That said there is a simple formula to this, no more than 10% body weight on the dog normally, 30% is the limit of a dog for periodic work and 50% is the extreme for a well trained and conditioned dog in unavoidable conditions and only with a careful eye. Anything over that and you get to carry it instead of the dog. I am not suggesting that other people use this guideline though. All of my dogs have been in perfect condition, extremely well muscled, healthy and vet cleared on joints and muscle problems and slowly trained to handle the weight, if you haven't gone to that extreme with your dog then stick to a max of 30% and try to keep it lower still.
Hope I didn't confuse anyone.
Adam

[Uncle Silly]

I'd agree with Adam B on this one. 10% of the dog's body weight if they aren't conditioned to it; max of 30% if conditioned; and 50% as an extreme, for dogs built, trained, and conditioned to handle it. Check with your vet first if you have any doubts.

[SteveJ]

I'd heard 20 - 30 %. 50% seems a bit on the high side. I used to let my 50 pound husky carry about 13 lbs., and sometimes he'd balk at that much. (Then you know who gets to carry it!)

Yeah, 50% seems too high, even for a working dog...to qualify for it's "Working Pack Dog Program," the Siberian Husky Club of America says that a dog must begin a hike with at least 25% of its body weight, with an ending pack weight of no less than 10%. I think I remember reading that sibes are easily capable of carrying 30% of their body weight.....

http://www.shca.org/shcahp6e.htm

....dogs are different, breeds are different....Phoebe's pack usually weighs 12 - 15 lbs for a weekend hike, with the pack weight varying based on the amount of food she's carrying and the amount of water she needs to carry.

We were out last weekend, and she (and we!) had a ball!

[SteveJ]

I should finish the thread before posting! Great post, Adam! What kind of dog are you hiking with?

[chiefdaddy]

I switched my dog to chicken and rice home made and it is working very well at home, I figure instant rice and chicken from a pouch can feed us both. Just a thought. I wanted to make our food double it's duty.

[shelterbuilder]

Yeah, 50% seems too high, even for a working dog...to qualify for it's "Working Pack Dog Program," the Siberian Husky Club of America says that a dog must begin a hike with at least 25% of its body weight, with an ending pack weight of no less than 10%. I think I remember reading that sibes are easily capable of carrying 30% of their body weight.....
http://www.shca.org/shcahp6e.htm
....dogs are different, breeds are different....Phoebe's pack usually weighs 12 - 15 lbs for a weekend hike, with the pack weight varying based on the amount of food she's carrying and the amount of water she needs to carry.
We were out last weekend, and she (and we!) had a ball!

Sibes - if they conform to breed standard - are not that big physically, but if they are properly trained and conditioned, they can do some incredible things. Carrying 30% of their body weight is not difficult for the breed. It should be noted that many judges in the show ring are favoring a smaller sized siberian, while many of us who use these dogs in the field for mushing and weight-pull prefer a dog who is near (or even a little over) the upper limits of the breed standard in terms of size. A little more muscle mass and bone density can be a good thing under those conditions.

[shelterbuilder]

I switched my dog to chicken and rice home made and it is working very well at home, I figure instant rice and chicken from a pouch can feed us both. Just a thought. I wanted to make our food double it's duty.

That's a great idea! Just remember to have a back-up plan in case one of you decides that they've had enough chicken and rice! (One of my dogs ate lamb and rice for years, then suddenly, she turned up her nose at the stuff, and won't touch it to this day. She just decided that she doesn't like lamb anymore.)

[Adam B]

My current dog is 3 and a half years old, named Timber and is a cross between a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and a Rhodesian Ridgeback. He is the result of an accidental breeding and we like to joke that he is a well bred mutt. He has the build of the ridgeback with the coat and sense of humor of the duck toller. At around 100lb and 28 inches at the shoulder he is a large dog. My last personal dog was a pitbull X staff. I work as a working dog trainer and specialize in multipurpose service dogs.

Great to hear the switch to homecooked diet chiefdaddy. You might want to include a few different types of grains and make sure they are whole grains. When your boy is working you should also include liver or kidney for an extra b12 boost. Also if you are not going to feed fruits and veggies then you need to supplement with a multivitamin from your vet or green tripe. If you vary the types of meat you and the dog will be happier and less likely to decide that they don't want a meal one day.

[gypsy97]

My black lab started off at 75# but lost 10# in 3 mos. I set food down for him whenever we stopped for any length of time. I started out with Puppy Chow but took what I could find in some places. He shared my snacks on the trail, and especially loved slim jims & jerky. He also ate chocolate with no bad effects, and cleaned the cookpot at night-I always left some for him. If I had it to do again I would buy a can of Alpo to add to the dry food at every town stop. He got through the 900 miles we hiked, but I believe it shortened his life by 3 or 4 years. My best trail friend though. He carried his own food, and was responsible for guarding it from the mice at shelters. I never saw a mouse in a shelter we stayed at.