Doggy Backpack: Day 1

Since adopting Athena a little over three weeks ago I have been OBSESSED with reading doggy blogs.  This obsession with dog blog reading has made me want soooo many cute doggy things!  Toys, treats, rain jackets, beds, you name it-- I want it!

One item that I keep seeing on different doggy blogs is the doggy backpack!  Many dog owners claim that their dogs that wear backpacks soon see themselves as having a doggy "job" making walks much more pleasant for the owner, dog, and passerby's!

I decided that we definitely needed a doggy backpack (and a bajillion other things that I've read about on different blogs)!  I looked for a backpack at a few local pet stores as well as the big box stores.  After not really being able to find Athena's size (medium) anywhere I decided to look at REI.  I found the backpack that I reallllly reallllly wanted, but didn't know if I wanted to spend the $80 for it.

Well, we bought this fancy $80 doggy backpack by Ruffwear called the Approach Pack.  I didn't feel so bad about spending the $80 since the company is local (from Bend, OR) and the backpack is very well made.  Athena has been losing some of her fur from her armpits due to wearing the Easy Walk Harness and I'm in the process of sewing her some pit pads to cushion the harness.  The Ruffwear Approach Pack has major padding so it doesn't seem like it will rub and cause her to lose fur.

As far as wearing the pack, we slowly introduced the pack to Athena.  She is known to bite anything that goes over her head (harness, car seatbelt, leash!) and since the front of the backpack has to go over her head we thought that she might try to bite it.  So, while B put the backpack over her head, I sat in front of her and gave her lots of praise and fed her yummy treats at the same time to let her know that wearing the backpack is a reallllyyyy good thing!  Athena did awesome and we got her all snapped into the backpack easily.  We let her wear it around the house for a while with nothing inside.

OMG I'm so excited!  Let's gooooooo!

We then took her on a short walk using the backpack (still with nothing in it...except for a roll of poop bags) and she did excellent!  She still pulled a bit on the leash, but she seemed to really like wearing the backpack!  Not to mention that she looked SO cute waddling around in it!

Don't be jealous of this professional backpack

We will continue to put her in the backpack for walks to get her used to wearing it and slowly increase how much weight is inside the pack.  It is recommended that the weight of the backpack doesn't exceed 1/4 of the weight of the dog.  So we will never go over 10lbs for Athena.

Stop taking pictures, I've got my job to do!

Does your dog wear a doggy backpack?  Have you seen a change in your dog's behavior on their walks due to their "job" of wearing the pack?

-A