How much weight to put in a doggy back pack?
lucy g asked:
I have two Pitbulls, but with the snowy and wet weather coming, I need to make the most out of our excersise time together, so I am purchasing them each a doggy back pack. But, I was wondering just how much weight to add. Did anyone ever us one, and how do you know?
I have two Pitbulls, but with the snowy and wet weather coming, I need to make the most out of our excersise time together, so I am purchasing them each a doggy back pack. But, I was wondering just how much weight to add. Did anyone ever us one, and how do you know?
Start with nothing at all in the backpacks for a couple of weeks. They need to get used to them before you put anything in there. Then gradually (very gradually) move up to putting more and more in their backpacks. They should never carry more than a third of their bodyweight.. So if your dog weighs 60 pounds it should never carry more than 20 pounds total. When there is weight in the packs make sure it is evenly distributed. It is also extremely important that the backpacks have a very good fit and are very comfortable to the dogs.
Dogs should not carry more than 25% of their weight, and they should be at least two years old.
Dogs that have been bred to haul, like Malamutes, can carry a bit more weight.
Start with 2 or 3 lbs on each side. Pit bulls are strong so they may be able to take a lot more but you should ease into it. You can increase and decrease the weight depending on the length of your walk and the temperature (when it starts getting warmer outside). Obviously, you’ll have to take your dogs’ age and health into consideration as well so you can play it by ear- if they seem like they’re being over exerted, decrease the weight. If they’re not fazed by it at all, increase the weight.
Good luck, I’ll be doing the same with my Siberian Husky this winter.
The advice to start with an empty pack is correct.
However, the weight limit for a dog to carry is 15%of their body weight or 10% if they are performing any other type of task.
I started out with empty packs until they got used to wearing them. Then just added water bottles in each side. 1 to start with and then 2 now they are upto 3 in each side. I will not go over that for my dogs.
I have a back pack for my 2 large dogs to use and I started out with 2 water bottles, 1 on each side plus a folded water dish. Dogs should be full grown to carry real weight and it needs to be worked up to gradually as do the hikes. I only use mine on nature walks for water for us both or on Dog Walks for a cause type things. You can also use a sledding/hauling harness and teach your Pits to weight pull. I had to use a harness with a 1lb weight dragging the ground in one of my MinPins rehabs when his injured leg was never rehabbed by his owner. Field trialers use small tires which the dogs pull.
No more than 20% of their body weight.
Chose wisely, 80% of the stuff available in petstores is crap.
Start gradually. Most will say a dog’s pack can weigh up to 10% of dogs weight. (60lb dog – 6lb pack)
However, considering the breed’s athleticism, you could probably work up to a heavier weight.
My pit mix is EXTREMELY athletic. He weighs 45lb and wears 15lb in weighted packs.
A weighted pack MUST fit well. There is a nice one from The stuff you’ll find at the pet stores are crap.
Your dogs will get more exercise out of weight pull (drag weighting) and the snowy season is the perfect time. Your dog will need a special harness for pulling the weight. You can use a tire for weight and add onto the tire as your dog gets stronger.
I used one and I loved it! My dog had energy to burn, but that used to sorta-kinda wear her out. (Mind you, this dog would be the one that could go for 2 hours pulling my ex who was 200 lbs on a skateboard and would come back still bouncing off the walls). Anyways, I started off by only putting a one litre water bottle on each side for her to get used to it. That is equal to 2 lbs. Once she got used to the idea that walk time meant backpack time and understood the weight, I slowly increased the weight until she was carrying about 25lbs (over a period of a month or more).
HOWEVER, the weight you put in depends on the dog. I talked to my vet and she said about 1/4-1/3 the dogs weight is standard, but to increase it if you feel you need to. My dog weighed 60lbs, and when she carried 25lbs, you could tell it was giving her a good workout.
For the main part, the backpack wasn’t so much about having her exercise more, but more about dominating her, because she was a dominant dog. With the bag on it was easy to walk in front of her, simple to control her and it generally made walking her a lot easier (no bolting or jumping around) and eventually made walking her without the bag just as simple.
Life Happens is correct,typed in the same thing and got the site that said 15%of dogs body weight .