Adventure Dog Blog

When I took my dogs to live in a small village along the coast in Mexico, I didn’t realize that swimming in the ocean with a collar on was going to prevent problems. My big dog Anna is a real water dog, she’s always in the water if she can be. Living near the ocean meant she was always wet, almost 24/7.

Soon, I noticed my dog smelled terrible, like something was dying. It took almost a week to discover a spreading rash beneath her collar. The vet said it had started because the collar was wet and keeping her skin beneath it moist all the time, a perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

In Mexico, I was able to just remove Anna’s collar for the duration of our stay, but had we been adventuring somewhere that she needed to wear one, it may have become a problem.

At ActiveK9.com I found a neat product called the Spiffy Dog Collar and it might have been nice to have one when we were in Mexico.

The Spiffy Dog Collar is made with small air chambers, designed to wick away water and cause the collar to dry faster when wet.

If you have a dog that loves the water, you might want to give a collar like this a try. You can find it, and other products, at ActiveK9.com.

Something I’ve always found difficult when adventuring with my dogs is having to carry a massive water supply. My dogs drink a lot of water, so when hiking, I can easily find myself carrying two litre pop bottles of water. Considering how heavy water can get, I was pretty excited when I saw this item on the ActiveK9.com website.

The H2O On the Go Hydration System Dog Pack is a backpack your dog can wear that carries water. This way, your dog can carry his/her own water supply when hiking or adventuring. The custom designed valves provide water for pets AND people, so you could even have your dog carry water for you as well. The pack holds 56oz of water.

I’m giggling just thinking about tricking my dogs into carrying MY water now!

Visit ActiveK9.com and make your dogs carry water too!

My dogs were in need of some travel dishes for when we take long trips by car, or for those days we want to do more than just hit the park for one hour.

I saw a set of canvas travel bowls for dogs made by Outward Hound at the store before leaving for a long road trip and thought I’d try them out. This particular set is a food dish and water dish all in one easy to carry bag. Put food into the bottom compartment, zip the top half back on, and then fill the top with water and use the handy drawstring to close it up.

I wasn’t sure whether the drawstring would keep the water secure in the bag while driving around, and I didn’t know if Mr. Meaty would want to put his head into a bag to lap up his water, but neither of these things turned out to be issues in the end.

I filled up the bottom with food, zipped on the top and filled that with water. I closed the drawstring and stood the bag up behind my seat in the truck. We travelled for seven hours, getting in and out several times, and using the bowls twice. Water didn’t spill anywhere as the bag stayed upright without any issues, and Mr. Meaty was happy enough to dive his face into the bag to drink when he was thirsty. My issue was keeping Anna’s big nose out of the bag long enough for Mr. Meaty to drink too!

So far I’m really pleased with the Outward Hound Food n’ Water Port-a-Bowl. If you’d like to give one a try, you can buy them at Active K9 online.  Get travel bowls for your dogs!

I’ve always wanted to take my big dog Anna bike riding with me in the summer, but the thought of trying to ride my bike while she’s straining to run as fast as she wants, and possibly trying to cross in front of me… well… it doesn’t sound like fun at all.

The WalkyDog is an attachment for your bike that you can attach your dog to. That way, you still have your hands free for riding but your dog is on leash and under control. Your dog can run along beside your bicycle, but isn’t free to run in front of you or take off chasing a cat.

Attaching with a simple clamp, the WalkyDog is easy to attach and remove as you need it. It actually has internal springs for shock absorption should your dog jerk away to help prevent you from losing your balance. You can remove the WalkyDog with a quick release for when you aren’t using it, or to easily start walking your dog after you park your bike.

Apparently you can even attach two WalkyDogs to your bike and take two dogs out at a time. Now that sounds a little bit like too much trouble to me, but using a WalkyDog for one dog sounds like it might make the whole issue of riding a bike with your dog a lot easier.

You can view movies of the WalkyDog in action, get more information and purchase this item at SitStay.com.  Ride your bike and take your dogs!

I’m not sure I could ever do any mushing with a dog like Mr. Meaty, but Anna is a big dog who I think would thrill at the idea of pulling a sled. If you’re a “beginning musher”, the page says this is an excellent sled for you and your dogs.

This sled was designed by an eight grade technology information class. They used conventional drafting techniques along with a computer to do the drawings. At the end of the article, there is an image of the finished product.

I don’t think I’ll ever have the initiative to build a dog sled. In fact, I probably won’t ever try to make Anna pull me around on anything bigger than a regular tobaggan in winter. But if you’re looking into mushing and have some talent working with wood, you might just get a kick out of this project!

Visit this page to learn how to build your own dogsled for your dogs!

Do you like to take your dog motorcycling in a sidecar? Maybe your dog likes to ride in the back of your truck or go boating. The Helmet is perfect for dog adventures as it will protect your dog’s head from wind blown objects.

The Helmet comes in “Bone” white or “Wet Nose” Black. The Helmet will even fit dogs with stand-up ears as it has customizable foam pads that are designed to fit between the ears.

The Helmet sells for $26.95 and you can buy one at Zoomer Gear.

My dogs are well protected against ticks, fleas, ear mites, and mange with their Revolution treatment once per month. However, they still get hassled just as much by mosquitos. But what can you do for a dog that’s getting bitten? If you spray them with repellant, they are likely to ingest it by licking themselves.

The Buzz Off Bandana (made by Buzz Off)is made just for dogs and provides protection by repelling mosquitos. It also says that it’s good for repelling ticks and other biting bugs.

You can purchase the Buzz Off Banada at places like Orvis, check out their site for details.

Maybe you like to go camping but want your dog to sleep somewhere other than on top (or inside!) of your sleeping bag. The Mutt Hutt is a tent for dogs, designed just like tents for people except it has a dog door!

This tent uses an EasyPower frame, meaning it sets up in seconds, and has zippered doors, ventilation panels, and a clip on rain fly. It also has something they call a “dog activated” dog door, meaning your dog can come and go as it needs to when nature calls!

Now you can have a little house for your friend no matter where you go! Check it out at Ruff Wear.

Little Mr. Meaty finds himself getting cold in the first ten minutes of a walk outdoors in the snow. Anna, on the other hand, can handle even long walks in winter as long as it isn’t ridiculously cold. On the worst days though, even she can been seen shivering and lifting up her feet one by one.

I’ve begun the hunt for booties for my dogs and have discovered that dog boots don’t come cheap. I have been hesitant to buy just any old boots, because I want something that is quality. If you’ve ever tried to keep a sock on your dog’s foot to protect it you might have an idea why just any old boot probably won’t do. Dogs have uniquely shaped feet and require not only something that will fit properly and stay on, but also something very durable along with warm.

Muttluks makes a line of footwear for dogs that comes both in all-season and fleece-lined versions. The fleece-lined boots come in black, blue, green, pink, orange purple and red. They have waterproof fabric on the exterior, an inner fleece lining, an easy quick fastening strap, quick drying cuffs, reflective material on the strap, leather toe cover, heavy duty stitching, and boot bottoms made from treated water and salt resistant leather.

Visit the Muttluks site to get more information.

Living in Mexico, there have been several occasions where I’ve wished I had some sort of light on my dog’s collars. Sometimes Anna will hear a noise in the bush and take off in the night, chasing away some perceived threat (probably a lizard or chicken). Other times, we’ve been going to a fire at the beach or the disco on the weekend, and the walk involves several dark trails.

The Beacon, made by Ruff Wear, is a flashing safety light that you can fasten to your dog’s collar, making them visible up to a half mile away. It has a 130 hour battery and a lightbulb that never needs replacing. Plus, it’s waterproof and submersible up to 300 ft.

To purchase or learn more about The Beacon, visit Ruff Wear’s website.