help with dog backpacks

[otakupunk]

hello everyone its been awile!

I am going to be taking Loki (3 years old) hiking and camping this summer for the first time and was thinking about getting him a pack to help share the load. I have noticed that packs are generally sized by weight of the dog and/or chest size. His chest is 34 inches around and his weight is about 75 - 80 pounds when he is at his perfect weight. Going by those measurements his chest typically puts him in the medium size pack and his weight puts him in large. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on picking a pack size for a boxer considering their body shape is a little unique. Also any recommendations for brands would be great. I have been looking at the granitegear "ruff rider" packs do to the few reviws i have read on their newer models but haven't really found reviews on other brands.


thanks in advance for any wisdom you can share.

 

[Zannie]

check out Planet Dog ,i seen one in a book that looked realy cool...

ann

 

[Jan]

I think you would have to go by chest size to get a good fit.

 

[Jill's boxer]

Not sure which brands they were, but Petsmart had a small selection--maybe you could check them out at least to determine sizing and try a few on your boxer before ordering elsewhere? A friend of mine does alot of hiking and outdoorsy stuff and he had a backpack for his dog (border collie cross) and it worked out well for him and the dog did great with it! He carried his share of water, etc!

 

[TheDuke]

I would check to see if you have an REI store in your area. www.rei.com

I bought Dukes backpack there and it is great. The company that makes the backpack is Kelty. Just look for one that has a v chest strap for better weight distribution. There is a picture of it in my picture gallery. Also, Ruffwear makes some great backpacks as well.

 

[otakupunk]

thanks everyone I've contacted some of the makers (wolfpacks and ruffwear) and they suggest ordering a size smaller then what i was originally going to get.. the ruffwear approach II has the y straps in the front but I am probably going to get the wolfpack bonzai on the recommendation of a friend of mine and a couple backpackers I talked to on the net. I am excited to get my bud out for his first camping trip