We get asked about hiking gear for dogs a lot. There has been a boom in recent years of new and innovative items for dogs on the trail! For years people had to make their own stuff! I don’t have time for that, and my skills are lacking anyways. Here are the things that we use almost every hiking outing, and since we are on a budget we often use the same items for everyday life as well. Since we hike almost everyday, many of these items have 100’s of miles on them, some of them have over 1000 like his harness.
Comfort Flex Harness
I’ll admit that when I bought this, I thought it would be temporary until I got a Ruffwear Harness. Chico was 6 months old and got a light case of Kennel Cough despite being vaccinated. It’s like the flu, not every shot will prevent every strain of Kennel Cough. So I had to go out and get him a harness that day, as his training collar would aggravate his throat more. Also, as a smush faced dog, he should have been in a harness except for brief training sessions anyway. I went to a big chain, and most of the harnesses seemed flimsy, and like they would hurt if Chico did pull at all…or if I used the harness to quickly grab him in an emergency.
Then I saw this Comfortflex sports harness, it is thicker with light padding, has a quick release, is easily adjustable, and has reflective striping. And it is Made in the USA! It is really sturdy. I found this out as I had to wait til he was 1 years old to get him fixed, I caught him by this harness to pick him up quite a bit when he was fixated on playing with another dog. He has had this for 14 months now, and it has really held up, even though he sometimes gets salt water on it. It also doesn’t seem to retain any smells. You can see it in many of his photos. When I got it I was lucky that he was basically leash trained anyway, and wasn’t a puller. If you have a puller, I would try a harness with a front loop on the chest. Chico wears a size small, it fits great across his chest, and I cut the extra length of the adjustment strap off. Because the leash ring is on a strong nylon loop that comes out from the harness, it is easy to use under his back pack if I want, or put a seatbelt through it.
I also prefer this harness because it doesn’t cover very much of him, as a smush faced Boston Terrier he can run hotter than other dogs in warmer weather, he also likes to cool down by laying frog legged with his belly and whole underside on the ground. Chico like to climb rocks, and sometimes slips, the material on the underside of this harness is still in great condition, He has only had one incident of rubbing with the harness, it was a cold day that I had it on too tight over his hoodie. The redness went away in a day. We use this day in day out.
Flexi Explorer Leash, 26 feet long 110 pd
If you don’t know, a dog who is off leash and orbits can do 2-3 miles as it’s hooman, This means that your pooch will also need more resources. Especially if you have a dog that you have trained off leash to mean “GO CRAZY.” So for some longer or more strenuous hikes, many hikers choose to keep their dogs on leash, even if it is an off leash area. There is an old saying that says something like don’t hike with what you can’t carry out, and I have seen too many hoomans struggling to carry out their exhausted dogs, we can at least prevent this kind of unfortunate incident with some forethought. And then there are the trails that are off leash, but really aren’t that safe for dogs, or for safe all dogs. Sometimes on longer hikes, we encounter sections of small local trails where people only walk a mile a day on it, and these people will question why your dog is leashed. Tell them for it’s safety, or for training, it is really none of their business. In the end you know your dog best, and your dog relies on you to keep him safe.
Besides longer hikes where I don’t want Chico off leash, I also take many leash only trails. I love the Flexi Leash, the one that I use is 26 feet long, and for up to 110 pound dogs, I use it for the length and because it is flat tape instead of cord. The cord can burn both you and your dog, and seems flimsy. I trail trained Chico with the smaller cord one when he was a puppy, I wish I would’ve purchased the larger tape cord first, but live and learn. If you are going to use a retractable leash, your dog has to be leash trained first, otherwise you’ll have many issues. I just attach it to his harness. Chico adapted to the long lead very quick, he soon learned that if he pulled at all, that I would stop, and the party train would stop, no more new sniffs for him! You might have to put in 10 minutes training the first few times you hike, but it is really worth it. It is also a great way keep your heels and recalls in practice. A trainer taught me to give a little tug when I say the commands, so he automatically feels that tug towards me even without a lead. AND the leash handle is awesome for planting a knee on while taking photos:)
Gulpy Dog Water Bottle
Not only do I love these, Chico will actually drink out of them. There is no fumbling around trying to fill a collapsible bowl, or any bowl for that matter with a separate water container, maybe even one that also has caps or lids. I have several of these in both sizes, and will use 2 in his backpack to balance it, or my pack, etc. I keep one in the side of my backpack and just slide it out and use it without taking my backpack off, they are wide enough to not fall out when I bend over, which us dog owners have to do quite a bit. And as soon as I take it out, Chico will let me know right away if he wants water, he will back away if he doesn’t. If I really want him to drink, I just use one small squirt and make sure he takes a sip. No wasted water, no pouring out too much water by accident. Easy to refill. Chico doesn’t seem to like bowls while we are out on the trail, he often times won’t drink out of shared water if its at a trail head or at park. Only shared water at our house or a friends house. I guess he is an elitist! There are all sorts of tricks to get dogs to drink water on the trail, but with these water bottles I don’t have to use them. Maybe because they almost look like my water bottles 🙂
Seresto Tick Collar (it’s good for fleas as well)
There is probably nothing that scares me more than Ticks, and Lyme Disease, sounds kinda nuts when you think that we are often in areas where bears, coyotes, and rattlesnakes also live. I was reluctant to get an 8 month collar that Chico had to wear all the time, but I didn’t want to use Frontline as many dogs have problems with it either becoming sick from it, or immune to it. I also tried a collar that I just had to put on an hour before hiking, but I was supposed to use gloves to handle it, so I didn’t feel good about that, and kept forgetting it. And then I found an embedded tick…So, I tried this collar. 5 months and so far so good!
It repels ticks before they can attach and bite. I still examine my dog and carry a tick key, but I haven’t seen one yet. Chico wears his tag collar 24/7, so he doesn’t mind wearing the Seresto, and it is also can be quickly removed in case your dog is trapped. My Vet said that it was ok for him to sleep in my bed with it, and I didn’t see anything in my packaging for it that advised against it, but some people have said that they read it. Anyway, he sleeps in my bed every night, and we have had the collar for 5 months. The collar can handle occasional swimming and monthly baths, heavy swimming shortens the time period to 5 months. It is also odorless. Chico is 25 pounds and wears a large. We paid $49 at our discount pet store, is is $45 on Amazon at the time of this writing, and I have seen them as much as $67 at chain stores. It is really a great value, even at $67.
Outward Hound Backpack
When I first got this pack Chico was only 8 months old, and I got it so he would focus more while learning on the trail. I wasn’t sure if it was something we would use, so I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. It was less then$20 when I bought it, and I had always planned to move up to a more expensive pack if a pack worked out for us. But here we have another product that I thought would be temporary that is holding up quite well for us, and it’s very easy to use. It also has a holy shit hand on top lol. Chico is light enough to pick him up by it. I am not sure if the larger packs work with larger dogs this way, but then again, people prob don’t have to quickly pick up a larger dog. The pack is a bit big in the photo below as it was taken at 8 months old. Chico uses a Medium, but could prob use a small as well.
Ollydog Tilden Collar
This collar is vegan leather, unlike plastic type collars which fade, this one has held it’s color for over a year. It’s water proof, it doesn’t smell, you can wipe it right off, and it has the all important quick release in case of an emergency. It also has a little rubber thingy on the tag holder, that keeps your tags from making too much noise. I love the red. I see a lot of cute collars out there, but most are made of material that will absorb smells, and don’t have a quick release. It will start out a bit stiff but break in.
Thick 6 ft Leather Leash
Some trails will require a 6 ft or less leash. I chose a heavy leather 3/4 leash for many reasons. It won’t burn my hands like nylon if I have to grab it for some reason and Chico is pulling, it can be used as a strap to carry things, or even Chico if he gets hurt without it digging in as much as other leash types, and it can be used in defense, both the leather and the heavy clasp. And I like leather:) This one felt good in my hands at the store, it wasn’t as hard and stiff as others. I came home and found it online. We have had this since Chico was 3 months old, about 1 and 1/2 years.
Outward Hound Treat Bag
This handy little bag can slip in your pocket or clip on your pants or back pack,it also has a drawstring to keep the treats in.
Bear Bell with Silencer
We use this on Chico’s collar, in areas where noise is good. THe magnet silences it while it’s not in use. I keep it in our pack. The handy silencer and attachment it is what makes this. Sure you could make your own bells, and silence but it’s only $4. Thankfully I have not head to fully test this yet:)
Ruffwear Summit Trek Boots & Ruffwear Socks
We’ve only used these boots once so far, and with the socks they stayed on and did their job. We will use these on hot trails/surfaces, and the few trails around here that can be hard on his paws. When Chico wears these, I expect to either have him on leash, or in a calm state. Some people say that their dogs run and play in boots just fine, I will test them out more, and update. You can go to the Ruffwear Website and watch a video on how to measure your dog’s feet, you measure them across the paw. Also, if you need to order them in 2 different sizes for front and back you can do it through Ruffwear,.Bonus, it’s good to have the socks in your pack in case your dog injures a paw on the trail. We practiced first around our gravel parking lot. This is Chico when we first put them on.
Safety Seatbelt Harness
If you’ve ever had to slam on the brakes with your dog in the car and it wasn’t restrained, you know that they become a projectile, imagine that in an accident. There are a lot of choices out there, I use his regular harness, or I use this one because of the soft fluffy padding. It also has the quick releases.
Hiking with Chico the Boston Terrier 
Hey! I take my Boston, Bentley hiking quite a bit! Has the backpack really helped your dog stay focused? And how much weight do you add to it?
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Yes, he loves to wear his backpack! He doesn’t use it all the time, only certain hikes now, but it really helped him focus when we were first starting out and he wasn’t fixed yet. For most dogs it’s 10 to 12% of their body weight…but always start out slow. We used the empty pack first and only did a short distance, and then worked our way up. Chico weighs 25 pounds and I usually put 2 small gulpy bottles in his pack, one on each side. Also many busy people use packs for everyday dog walking, as the dog expends more energy wearing it, and can focus more on their owner’s training them.
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Ah! That’s great! I’m definitely planning on getting Bentley one now! He is rescued, but fixed. He gets so distracted with people and other dogs so hopefully this will hep him as well! Thank you so much! BTW, love your blog!! 🙂
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