Backpack Weight

[Vertragi]

Hi all,

I have kind of a health question, but for "training" purposes,

so I thought I'd ask here

 

I've heard of giving a dog a weighted backpack to

"give them a job to do" and to increase the benefit from exercise.

 

So the issue is that my non-grey sighthounds have more endurance and stamina than Belen,

(and sometimes me ) and I am considering adding a weighted backpack

in order to suitably tire one and/or both of them. Neo needs about a 1 to 1.5 hr walk to tire,

and Amani will still be out in front after a 2 hr walk, all while Belen will be looking for

a spot to lay down after 45 min.

 

Has anyone tried a backpack? My dogs are sighthounds, not cart-pulling Great Pyrenees,

so I'm concerned about what an "appropriate weight" for their frame would be.

I'm not looking for any hard & fast rules,

but any general guidelines or pointers, instead of just trying a hit or miss approach.

The specifics are: Neo is a skinny 50# Saluki, and Amani is a fat 45# Azawakh.

 

Thanks in advance

-C

 

 

 

 

 

[NeylasMom]

I found my female grey did not do well at all with her backpack when I tried it on her. She basically started losing her balance. Granted, I made the mistake of putting it on her reasonably loaded, but it wasn't super heavy - I think it had the equivalent of a freezer bag full of kibble and a kong or two (she weighs 60#). Point being, you may need to work them up to the weight you want to use since they don't have a low center of gravity and will have to adjust to carrying some weight.

 

I know that doesn't answer your question specifically, just throwing my two cents in. FYI, I ended up carrying the backpack that time and then getting rid of it.

[Guest shelbygirl07]

My vet said for Greyhounds, the max you should go is 10% of the body weight. You have to start out slowly around 2% and work your way up. if you use it daily, start with just the back pack so they can get used to wearing it before you add the weight. add 2% weeks 2&3 and then add 1% more (total of 3 %) for the next 2 weeks until you find a weight good for the dogs that gives them a workout but doesn't strain their backs. The weight should include the weight of the backpack. also, only increase by 1 % increments and let them get used to it over a couple week's time.

You can use water bottles for this because you can adjust the weight by adding and emptying the water bottles.

 

If you had a beefier breed like a rotty, you would go up to 20% because their backs could sustain it.

 

I have a Doggles back pack for SHelby. Hope this helps..

[BootsyCollins]

Several pitt owners near me use backpacks for their dogs for that very reason. Granted, pitts are a lot stronger than your average sighthound, but they seem to have a lot of success using them. I'll have to ask how they worked up to it. I'd probably try with an empty pack at first so they get used to the sensation of having something on their back - like when you're training a horse to saddle. Then gradually increase the weight and see what amount has the most effect without causing them to change their gait or otherwise show discomfort.

 

Good luck!

[Guest Ola]

Yes, you definitely want to start slow. I would first go with an empty pack and then very gradually put things in it. Also, make sure that both sides of the pack are balanced.

 

ETA: Backpacks should only be used on dogs that are fully matured (I'd go with 2 years in large breeds) otherwise it puts too much stress on their joints and can cause problems later in life.

Edited April 18, 2008 by Ola

[Vertragi]

Ah! Very good suggestions! Thank you, all

I must admit, starting slow/empty completely skipped my mind.

Glad I asked on the training board

 

NeylasMom:

Lol! That's one of the things I'm afraid of, starting out with a weight I'll end up carrying the rest of the walk

 

Cmoon75:

Gait changes - good point to watch out for, thanks for mentioning it.

 

ShelbyGirl07:

Excellent numbers! Varying the weight with the volume of water

is a practical tip, too. Thanks

 

Ola:

I most definitely agree, re: mature bones & bodies. Although in my case it is more the opposite, these two are my seniors with no arthritis or back problems, and I'm hoping if I'm sensible it stays that way.

 

 

 

 

[Guest laceyj]

I have used a backpack for my retriever/husky mix and was told a maximum of 30% of his body weight. I never put nearly that much in it however. I would have to agree with a previous responder that 10% sounds reasonable for a healthy sighthound. I started out by putting the empty backpack on him for a few minutes in the house. He plucked at it and seemed distracted by it at first. We worked up to taking a short walk with it on, but empty. Even empty, I saw a difference in our walk. When I did add weight I used water bottles and made sure both sides were balanced and contained the same weight. By using water you can drink the water or pour it out if you feel you need to 'dump' weight for the walk home. It helped tremendously for us.

[Guest CBDTherapyDogs]

I'm working on building an arena for our horses that will be all sand footing. I can't wait to do it because that's where the hounds will get to go run once/twice a week to build up muscles. Sand footing is great for wearing out hounds. If you have a back yard large enough, perhaps you can build your own "sprint path"? For one hound, 5' wide x at least 50' long but the longer the better. I've seen a Sighthound owner who made a sprint path that was 5' wide X 200' long and let two hounds run at a time, she swears that she's never had a problem. I wouldn't put more than two in something that narrow.

 

As for the weighted back packs... I've also got Luki's so I know what you mean. I wonder if its even possible to wear a Luki out! I'll be at the Saluki Nationals in June, with a few of mine entered in as much coursing as I can. Singles stakes, fun runs, practice runs, and JC's. I would start out easy... perhaps take two water bottles and put one on his left, one on his right, in the pouches. Then in two weeks, make it four water bottles. I wouldn't go more than 10% of his body weight though, and TAKE IT SLOW!!

 

Keep in mind that ONE POUND on your dog is like adding TEN POUNDS to you!! So your 50lb Saluki carrying 5 pounds in his back pack is like him carrying 50 additional pounds!

[Guest Vix]

Can you post some pics of Amani?

 

 

Hi all,

I have kind of a health question, but for "training" purposes,

so I thought I'd ask here <img src="http://forum.greytalk.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

 

I've heard of giving a dog a weighted backpack to

"give them a job to do" and to increase the benefit from exercise.

 

So the issue is that my non-grey sighthounds have more endurance and stamina than Belen,

(and sometimes me <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> ) and I am considering adding a weighted backpack

in order to suitably tire one and/or both of them. Neo needs about a 1 to 1.5 hr walk to tire,

and Amani will still be out in front after a 2 hr walk, all while Belen will be looking for

a spot to lay down after 45 min.

 

Has anyone tried a backpack? My dogs are sighthounds, not cart-pulling Great Pyrenees,

so I'm concerned about what an "appropriate weight" for their frame would be.

I'm not looking for any hard & fast rules,

but any general guidelines or pointers, instead of just trying a hit or miss approach.

The specifics are: Neo is a skinny 50# Saluki, and Amani is a fat 45# Azawakh.

 

Thanks in advance <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

-C

[Vertragi]

Can you post some pics of Amani?

 

 

Hi there, sure I can, thanks for asking! Here's her pretty face

 

 

Most of the time she enjoys resting

 

 

 

This is when she first came to us (a little chunky)

 

 

and here she is a few months ago

 

 

 

Best wishes,

-C