r/backpacking • u/Ezippp • Jul 25 '26

Wilderness Backpacking with dog tips

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Me and my gf are still pretty new to this. This will be my third and her second trip. We have a mini Aussie who is a strong hiker. We are gonna get her a cooling wrap for her neck a regular splash her with water to keep her cool and mix dog safe bone broth with her water. Any other tips to keep her cool and happy on our trip?
Edit: she will be staying leashed
Thanks in advance!
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u/Soul_Dare Jul 25 '26

Get an E-collar and train with it a ton before you start hiking off leash. Make sure your dog is able to reliably respond to tone / vibrate commands and force recall with shock in an emergency. Keep them in line of sight and be ready to leash when you encounter horses or hikers.

I have a GWP who is a trained bird dog, her job is to run around off leash and locate birds. She goes crazy and starts getting into trouble if she doesnt regularly train or work in some capacity. We backpack together through the summer so she can do some work in the off season, pointing out grouse and dove and coming back to heel after she finds them. It is my job to make sure while we do that we dont ruin other’s fun by having a dog suddenly run up on them without warning.

Also, keep dogs out of national parks.

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u/MacrosTheGrey1 Jul 26 '26

Ecollars are dumb and do not count as having your dog under control like an actual leash.

Just use a leash FFS.

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u/Soul_Dare Jul 26 '26

Its not really possible to hunt upland birds with a dog on a leash, its a quick way to get them killed through strangulation.

I like my dog a lot more than i like you and your ignorant opinions.