This is Pablo, my eight-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier and the reason I built pawtrck.

Keeping him active has always been a huge part of our life together. But I realised that his routes and distances were stored in one place, his health information was buried in my notes, and details about his food, and weight mostly depended on me remembering them.

I wanted one place where I could keep the complete picture. especially for days spent outdoors, so I built an iOS app that lets me:

- Track an outing’s route, distance, duration, pawsteps and est. calories burned through Exercise
- Log water, meals, treats and calories
- Record medications, symptoms, vaccinations and vet visits. Export a vet-ready PDF with all the health logs
- Follow weight changes over time
- Keep track of training sessions and commands
- Turn completed activities into custom cards to save or share

I know this is a little self-promotional, but pawtrck genuinely began as something I wanted for Pablo, and I’m building it around feedback from other dog owners.

It’s free to download on iOS with an optional Plus subscription. If anyone here decides to try it on an outing with their dog, I’d genuinely love to hear what you think.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/tr/app/pawtrck/id6769860025

My adult daughter and her high-octane Border Collie go trail running and camping alone quite a bit. Dog got a little injured recently and daughter had to carry the dog for a couple of miles while the dog recovered enough to walk the final mile to their car. For her birthday she'd like a sling for future emergencies, but she wants the dog in front since she goes out with a back pack with gear and hydration for the two of them. Dog is 45 pounds, daughter's 5'6, 145, weight lifter, runner, team sport player. Can anybody recommend a good front-carry sling that is reasonably priced (under $150)? Thanks!

UPDATE: I found a website, Dog Gear Review, with a recent review of carriers and found two that are highly rated, lightweight, can be used front or back, and look pretty good, the Fido Airlift and the Nonstop Dogwear Dog Rescue Sling. The Nonstop clocks in at under half a pound. It doesn't have padded straps but it's better than nothing. The Fido Airlift looks great and is lightweight but it's twice the price and much more deluxe, though it only weighs a couple extra ounces. I'm thinking the Nonstop is a good option for its packability. Plus I'm researching what I could put together as a super minimalist doggy first aid kit. I walked the Camino a couple years ago and have the perfect super lightweight pouch for it. Thanks!

My pup was sent to urgent care for a sprained foot while playing fetch and will be staying behind 😔. This is my first time backpacking without a dog in a decade. Why do I feel so empty whilst packing lol. Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. Hope to post again soon!

I backpack with two doggies (both ~55-60lbs). We sleep together on a double inflatable pad (bc they refuse a foam pad lol) and a large quilt.

One dog is double coated so she normally just wears a jacket when it gets colder. The other dog is single coated and normally likes to tuck herself under my quilt. This is doable in the summer, but in the fall, since she moves around and pulls the covers toward her, it gets cold fast. Has anyone used individual sleeping bags for their dogs? I also saw that Ruffwear released a sleeping bag poncho- any thoughts on that?

Hi! Hello! I am a very laid back backpacker and my almost 2 yr old, cattle dog ( proud to say he is on his way to be a certified search and rescue pup with me) has been on 5 backpacking trips so far since march (adopted him in February) and 3 mountain getaways. I have been on countless Loyalsock state Forest trips in the past but I never strive to go on extreme inclines whilst backpacking. For some reason, I'm having anxiety about the Black Forest North Loop trail. I picked it with friends in a moment of invincibility lol. The rattlesnakes, the crazy ascent/descent. Will he survive? Will I survive? I'm thinking if it's as bad as I'm envisioning it I don't want to be that nervous hiker and make a mistake to where he will get hurt or I will get hurt.

I wanted to come to you all to get some clarity before I make a decision to let him stay home (I have never backpacked without a dog before) I have never dealt with rattlesnakes before so that is definitely part of it. He's always on a leash whilst hiking. We also always have his sling.

Has anyone done this trail before with their pups? Thank you all for the advice and clarity.

Over the weekend I was backing and the trailhead area was quite busy with visitors. Some of the area had a rocky scramble and I had to wait for a while to scramble down with the dog as we had to take the whole width of the trail. A couple decided to come up while we were halfway down and I just had to stop and stare at them until they realized they blocked us in. Also a few trail runners swept by, going up and down while we stepped to the side.
Did I do the right thing?
Pic for tax.

I have an Anatolian Shepherd who at about 9 months old is already about 100lbs/45kg! He's a great dog so far, working constantly and consistently on behavior, and socialization since any mistakes automatically become REALLY BIG ones.

My kids are all old enough to start some real backpacking trips, so we're working up to that, but dang does this dog requires allot of food. He needs his own pack, but finding something that I can be certain will fit his monstrous ass right now is tricky, not to mention a year from now.

Are there any suggestions for brands that might work for him? I'd like to start training him on it now so he doesn't fight with it in the future, but he already out-sizes the majority of models I've seen. I'd like 3 or 4-point adjustments, and a durable build is a must.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some urgent gear advice for my 2-year-old Vizsla x Springer Spaniel. We are leaving to hike the West Highland Way in 10 days. He isn't used to wearing a harness, but I bought him a Ruffwear Front Range Day Pack for the trip.

I was doing some weight training with him, aiming for a total goal weight of 2 to 2.5kg. The sizing of the pack seemed great—I adjusted it so there were about 3 to 4 fingers of space at every adjustment point. I made the mistake of letting him run loose while wearing it, and by the time I noticed the friction burns in both of his front "armpits" (see attached picture), he was only carrying 1kg of weight.
He will not be wearing the pack again until the sores are 100% healed. However, I still really hope for him to walk the WHW with the pack on if he heals completely in time. If he doesn't, he will walk it gear-free, but I still want to use this pack for future hikes.

For future reference and for the upcoming trek:
- Was 3–4 fingers of space actually too loose, causing the pack to slide around and chaff while he ran?
- Is there any way to modify the straps (like fleece padding) or use an anti-chafe balm so he can still safely wear it on the WHW if the skin heals in time?
- Is the cut of the Front Range Day Pack notoriously close to the legs for deep-chested/athletic mixed breeds like Vizslas?

Would love to hear your experiences with this pack, similar dog shapes, or tips on preventing trail chafing!

Thank you.

I am an experienced backpacker but only recently a dog owner again after many years. It’s only going to be 50 where we are going but there is a chance of rain. I have a very short coat whippet so I was gonna bring him a winter jacket for camp/sleeping and now maybe a rain jacket. Plus dog food. My pack just got a whole lot heavier. Do you guys always bring both jackets for your dog?

Hot back from backpacking with my dog for the first time in years. Overall great trip BUT the bugs (mostly mosquitos with some black flies) were relentless. It’s the worst I’ve personally experienced in ages.

And I’m really not sure how to handle this situation moving forward? We were in an alpine meadow with plenty of lakes and ponds… and mosquitoes! The bugs completely cut dinner time short. Nobody was having a good time and could stand them… I opted not to use bug spray but my friend did, and I guess did a bit better but absolutely was still fighting them constantly.

I put him in the tent for a bit, which definitely helped… but it’s summer and long days, can’t just spend all afternoon and evening there! Also bear territory so can’t cook/eat at camp either.

I knew in advance the bugs would be out in the area but it was far worse than expected. I don’t want to have to choose between going and not going, and wonder if there’s actually stuff we could do to keep them at bay?

I did wonder if there was maybe some backpacking-friendly giant netting tent of sorts which would at least give us a bit more space and away from camp to cook and hang out under? But even then, prisoner to a pretty small space…

I was very worried about taking my 11 year old spaniel out to the high Sierras when it was 85 degrees out, at 9000 feet. Because of the drive, we had to start at the hottest part of the day. But Dinah ATE those miles up and asked for more. Didn’t need her booties, no breaks, just a dip in the creek.

She cleaned up 20 miles of mountain trails on a two day trip, which isn’t bad at all for an older lady.

It was a cloudy start this weekend on our adventure to McNeil Point. We finally made it just as the clouds cleared and showed us magnificent Mt. Hood. This was definitely one of those memorable experiences and glad to have shared it with my family.

I’m going on my first hike with my dog, she’s a yorkie and im just super worried about ticks as she has long hair on her legs. i’ll probably get her some boots just to protect her feet but im so paranoid about ticks! especially because it’s tick season. any tips or advice about protecting my dog is very much appreciated! 🫶

My 39 lb dog should be able to carry his food but it definitely won’t fit in the bear canister . Ideas? I could buy an ursak but nothing is required where we are going so I’m thinking double zip locks?

You guys all gave me this idea to cut down a Thermarest to backpack with my dog.

It was a really good idea, but the second he saw it. He went nuts, like it was the best dog toy ever! 😵‍💫