Anyone Have Panniers/Saddlebags For Their Dogs?

We've just come back from a couple of days Fell walking in the Lake District.When we were in Keswick I came across a shop selling Ruffwear dog products, & was very taken with the saddle bags for dogs.The more I thought of it, the better the idea seemed...after all, we do an awful lot of hill walking, & I don't see why Dexter can't earn his keep & carry his own stuff with him!

The top of the range ones at Ruffwear are around £85

, which is a helluva lot of money, & Im afraid that if I buy it, & Dexter doesn't get on with it, it'll just be a waste.I've seen others on E Bay for about £25, which are probably ok, but, like most things, you get what you pay for, so may not necessarily be any good.

Has anyone had any experience of using packs like this, or can recommend me any?.Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks muchley,

R.x

On the SYSSR walk I met the couple who owned Spud and he had a good backpack on - I think it was from Outward Hound, if that helps.

I have a set of panniers from Outward Hound. I think they are very nice. Well made with lots of features. They have a good harness with extra padding for the buckles, the back of the harness is well padded from the pack. The packs come off (velcro) so you don't have to remove the whole thing if you want to drop off the load for a walk. The fabric is of good quality as are the fittings.

You will want to be sure to fit them to the dog. I purchased these for Casey who was a 65#, 25" stunner. They fit him well. Now that Casey is gone my three boys are smaller and they don't fit as well. If I remember, I have the large size. Chip has a long body so he has the best chance of them fitting him.

My only criticism is that the back strap hits the boys right in front of their willie.

It might get "wet"

Hope that helps! Mine cost me around $50.

I had some panniers from Ruffwear dog products for my Great Dane bout 8 or 9 years ago and they are still going strong.

I found them of great use when I use to show her and she could carry her own stuff and water etc. It took a while for her to get use to it, I started by just placing it on her back no straps done up and no weight and then graually did the straps up and then added her stuff bit by bit.

She use to love it when I got the bag out as she knew she was going somewhere nice.

I bought the Ruffwear Palisades Pack today - horribly expensive! But I thought it great that you can take the bags off and have the dog wearing just the harness. It's exactly the Webmaster Harness, which I fancied anyway for alpine hikes, so I needn't buy that extra. Since Rhian will want to take a swim in any available lake or stream, being able to take off the bags quickly seems like a good idea...

Can't wait for piccies of Rhian in her baggage and for a review.

Ruffware is great I got a lock lead and some boots for barney and definatly reccomend them.

Barney has a saddle bag but I got it custom made by someone who does doggie clothes

He loves it I get it out and he gets excited (shh he think's he's an assitance dog with it

)

Thanks for all the relpies everyone, you've been a great help!

I decided to go for a cheappie set of pannies from Pets At Home costing just £15.Im pleased to say that Dexter dog took to them straight away, & despite them not having all the whistles & bells on like the ones I *really* want from Ruffwear, they'll do the job for the time being,& I'll buy him some better ones later on now that I know hes ok with them.
The only problem with these ones I can see is that they aren't waterproof, so I have to make sure I whip them off him pretty sharpish if we are out walking near water, as I can't keep him out of it!

R.x

Anyone want to add a review of their panniers? I've been looking at getting a nicer harness before we go up to the Lakes in a couple of weeks, and then that led me on to thinking about panniers. I'm very tempted by the Ruffwear ones (hey, I just discovered Child Tax Credit, I can afford it

) but I'd love to know how swissspringer and teamdexter have got on with their purchases.