Backcountry K-9

Those of you that have been following along with my blog for the last few weeks will remember that I've written several times about our upcoming camping trip and the great gear that we've been testing to get the boys ready. What you probably don't know (because I was saving this great secret until now) is where we get all of our camping gear. A few months ago my husband found Backcountry K-9, an awesome online store that features a great variety of camping and outdoor gear for dogs (and humans, too). We have made many purchases from Backcountry K-9, and I cannot say enough good things about their terrific customer service and great products.

I don't really need any additional reasons to recommend Backcountry K-9, but they gave me one anyway. As you know, the Humane Society of Jackson County is one of my favorite rescue organizations. To help out HSJC, Backcountry K-9 has offered a special coupon code that will directly benefit HSJC. Here's how it works...

Check out the great products at www.BackcountryK9.com. When you go to check out, use the coupon code 5HSJC to save 5% off your order and Backcountry K-9 will donate an additional 5% of your order directly to HSJC! How sweet is that?! You get a discount on incredible products AND the HSJC will get a donation!

Oh, and one more great thing - Backcountry K-9 offers FREE shipping on every order over $75!

Getting the Right Gear

In preparation for our upcoming camping trip, we bought each of the boys a pack about a month ago so that they could carry their own food & water. After a lot of research my husband ordered each of the boys a Palisades Pack (shown above) made by a great company called Ruff Wear. Actually, we ordered both the Approach Pack and the Palisades Pack to see which one we (and the boys) liked best. Both of the packs were great...made from durable material featuring lots of spacious pockets and plenty of padding to make the packs comfortable to wear. The pack attaches to a harness, so you can easily remove the pack when stopping for a swim or water break. Ultimately, we ended up choosing the Palisades Pack because it features two water bladders to make it easy to stop for a quick drink along the way.

To get the boys used to wearing the packs, we started taking them on walks with just the detachable harness. A leash easily attaches to a hook on the top of the harness to make walking even easier. After a few days with just the harness we added the packs for added weight, but didn't put anything in them just yet. At first, the boys seemed a little confused about why they couldn't walk as close to each other as they usually like to, but they adjusted pretty quickly. In fact, they seemed to have an added spring to their step and tried to pull us like they were part of a dog sled team. Last night we added water to their packs for added weight, and although Cooper tried to stay put at first, after a minute, he decided it wasn't so bad, and they both got moving pretty quickly. As long as the weather is nice, I'll take pictures this weekend of the boys in their official gear. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this cute picture that we took last year after their first bath...

Happy Friday!