Bugging out with dogs

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Brianm96

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My wife and I are huge dog lovers, and as silly as it may sound, wouldn't leave our dogs behind. I'm interested in hearing from anyone with thoughts or experience in bugging out with dogs, specifically, how they can carry their own weight a little....

I was in REI the other day looking at backpacking tents for my BOB and noticed they had dog packs, and it hit me - I could get one of these for each of our two dogs and fill them with as much gear as the dog could reasonably handle! A BOB for my dogs!

I try to shop around for the best deals on stuff, and I know REI is generally pretty expensive. The packs at REI STARTED at about $50, but I've since seen some on Amazon starting around $20.

Has anyone purchased these packs for this purpose? If so, what did you get, and what was your experience? Also, if anyone has any other thoughts in regards to prepping to bug out with pets (specifically dogs), what steps did you take/do you plan to take?
 
If you get packs for your dogs, seriously pay the money and get the good ones otherwise you're going to hurt your dog's back. I don't know how big your dogs are, but consider a cart for them to pull. Many of the large herding breeds were used to pull milk wagons in the past. My oldest girl is having a cart built for her Shepherd. For a harness, you want to get a harness especially made for pulling, a regular one from Walmart won't cut it because it puts pressure in all the wrong places and your dog is liable to quit you due to pain. When she gets her cart, I'll try to get a picture of it and if you like it, I can put you in touch with the maker. She is getting sized so she can ride in it. Dogs can pull unbelievable amounts for greater distances rather than packing it. With a pack, they are going to be carrying their water supply (maybe) and some kibble, they just aren't made for packing unfortunately.
 
Old Anorak,

Thanks for the idea, that is a great idea indeed. We will be bringing some water, but not a lot because we have two water filtration devices (lifestraw and Steri-Pen). I do like the idea of a cart though, but not for my wife or I to ride in. Our biggest dog is right at 30 lbs, I don't think he could realistically pull us for any real distance. That being said, he could probably pull a small cart type deal with his stuff and some of ours....great thinking! If anyone else is thinking about or has executed on this, I'd love more feedback. Thanks!
 
That's kind of small, what breed is he? I shouldn't say that though, I have a pit bull that weighs in just a little over 40 pounds and she does weight pulling and does pretty well with it.
 
My dogs are either too small or too old for packs. I would never leave them behind if Ihad to get out, and I would never go to a disaster shelter.
 
That's kind of small, what breed is he? I shouldn't say that though, I have a pit bull that weighs in just a little over 40 pounds and she does weight pulling and does pretty well with it.

I have 2 dogs, the one who will carry a pack is a golden doodle... The other is a dachshund and he won't have a pack because of the breed's sensitivity to back issues.
 
I've been breeding, training and providing Great Danes as service dogs to disabled veterans for awhile now. We've tried all of the different backpacks for them. None of them will do more than carry the dog's necessities for a couple of days - food, water, collapsible bowls. Even with a dane, any more than that would hurt their back for any length of time. The cart idea is very good, but you don't want to ask your dog to pull more than about double their own weight.

I recently placed all but my favorite girl with another breeder and it will take a lot to convince my husband to bring Mercy with us if we have to bug out. (that's her picture on my profile). I am looking for a miniature pony cart to teach her to pull. That's not something they learn overnight. Another positive to having a dane with us - they are excellent hunters and are big enough to take down most animals. It's what they were bred to do.
 

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