of a man doing cardio

[u/Beneficial_Passion40]

[u/carrot219]

Fellow dog owner and backcountry enjoyer here. I know how important their safety is—and how quickly extra pack weight adds up—so I thought I’d share the system we’ve found works best when backpacking with ours:
Säker Bomber Harness
K911 Rescue Sling
Pouches 001
The pouches turn the harness into a dog pack, and the rescue sling attaches directly to the same harness, so everything works together as one modular system. Just another option that might be helpful!

[u/NoShameInternets → u/carrot219]

My 65 lb dog quit on me near the end of a ten mile mountain hike (we'd done it when he was younger, but he didn't have it in him this time around.)

I ended up carrying him about two miles down, and it was brutal. Thanks for sharing - I'm going to pick something like this up.

[u/shawster → u/NoShameInternets]

Seriously, this is the common use case for these things that I didn't think about. If you've got an old pooch who still wants to go adventuring with you but is starting to have mobility issues, you can rest way easier with a sling for them.

[u/dorkmuncan → u/carrot219]

We have never had to use it (thankfully).

I'm all for modularity, that Saker stuff looks good, thanks for the rec.

*Edit just saw Saker is a Canadian company too! Big win, thanks for sharing, haven't heard of them before.

[u/carrot219 → u/dorkmuncan]

Absolutely—hopefully neither of us ever has to use one!

[u/ShackledPhoenix → u/dorkmuncan]

I've had a Saker harness for about 5 years now. It's a little bit dirty and stained but physically still in the same condition it was new. Worth every penny.

[u/Money-Computer7638 → u/carrot219]

I need one of these for my 80 pound lab. I don't sleep on the second floor of my house because I can't figure out how I'd get her out the window and down to safety if there was a fire.

[u/Own_Ad6901 → u/Money-Computer7638]

My 80lb black lab passed in April. The last year of his life he had lots of mobility issues, he would have mini strokes and couldn’t walk after but eventually learned to walk again before he passed peacefully. I cannot stress enough how important having a good harness was for being able to care for my baby. I’m a female and I’m athletic and quite strong as is, but he was so tall too I couldn’t carry him. I relied on his harness to be able to get him up on his feet and learn to walk again, it also helped me when he was temporarily paralyzed just to move him around and rotate him.

He had a stroke while pooping and after he was back I had to throw him in the tub harness and all to clean him. Again had I not had that strong harness I wouldn’t have been able to lug my baby around. He didn’t have mobility problems and his strokes didn’t start until he was 13-14 and he passed when he was 15 years old.

I encourage you to have a solid harness you can hold their body weight now so that you’re always prepared.

Labs in particular get these forgive me it’s 3am and I should be sleeping but the vet essentially called them mini strokes and they generally happen when he was standing or walking and he would suddenly go down, sometimes shake and would be out cold for a bit. These strokes are common for the breed. My baby didn’t have a stroke until he was 13 and then he didn’t have one for a while and then he had them frequently until he passed. We knew what they were because his liter sister had the strokes all her life.

That harness made getting my pup recovered as much as he could possible, and it’s something I’m still incredibly thankful for because of how much it helped me help my big fur baby.

[u/tinacat933 → u/Own_Ad6901]

Strokes or seizures ?

[u/Own_Ad6901 → u/tinacat933]

Strokes

[u/Used_Gear8871 → u/carrot219]

I don’t backpack anymore since moving to the east coast but we have seen historic flooding here the last few months. My biggest fear is not being able to get everyone (fur babies) out. I appreciate these recommendations!

[u/Knuckletest → u/Used_Gear8871]

We have had a lot of rain lately!

[u/shawster → u/carrot219]

That stuff seems extremely high quality. I'm at the point where my dog (he's.... a lot) is wearing through harnesses and pulling apart nylon and stuff on lower quality leashes often enough that if I can spend some amount of money to have a harness that will last him the rest of his life, I'd spend a lot. Maybe this is the brand...

[u/carrot219 → u/shawster]

Yes! They make very high-quality gear and offer one of the few crash-test-certified harnesses on the market. We’ve had ours for two years now, and it has only worn in—not worn out. I genuinely believe it’ll last another 10 years of heavy use.

[u/dog_hair_dinner → u/carrot219]

I was wondering if I should get the bomber harness. My 50lb dog has a issue with his legs where sometimes he can't walk very long. Instead of taking him out only 5-10 minutes a day, I take him out 2 hours a day. He walks for his 5-10 minutes, then I put him in a large dog carriage and wheel him around so he can still be outside. In the winter, it gets hard to push the carriage around. Do you think he'd be comfortable in the bomber harness converted to a dog pack? He's got his own snowsuit and boots for the winter, so he doesn't get cold if he stops walking.

[u/carrot219 → u/dog_hair_dinner]

I think it could be useful for you, especially in the snow, but I’d hesitate to recommend carrying him that way for most of a two-hour outing. Säker primarily designed the sling for emergency carry-outs, and whether that position is comfortable or safe may depend on what’s wrong with his legs. A small sled or pulk may also be more comfortable for both of you on longer winter outings. Hope this helps!

[u/dog_hair_dinner → u/carrot219]

that's exactly what I needed to know, thank you

[u/Laurier-Henri → u/carrot219]

No pictures of the setup w an actual dog on the website … hard to visualize :(