Winston's pack for our backpacking trip came today.
Before I tell you about it, let me tell you a little bit about Winston. He was a rescue that I adopted three years ago from the national Lhasa Apso rescue. He was wandering the streets, with matted, filthy hair and a face that only a mother could love when a local ASPCA found him. Although he was supposed to have had all medical issues cleared up before he came home with me, he had roundworm and hookworm, and was a pretty sick puppy for a while. Technically, he's a Lhasa/Shih Tzu mix, but he probably has more breeds in him than that. My vet and the rescue estimated that he was somewhere between one and two years old. I suspect that he was closer to two.
I had a Lhasa in high school, and she was a sweet, obedient (except for housetraining issues), mild-mannered dog. I used to take her hiking with me, and I could just let her off leash, and she'd never go further than 4 feet from me.
It took me a long time to decide to get another Lhasa, because I thought I might be comparing another Lhasa unfavorably to Silva. After a lot of research, though, I realized there was a reason she was such a good dog. Lhasas are smart, independent dogs. They are small, but without the insane energy levels of a terrier, so they're fairly low-maintenance as far as wear and tear on the house, but they're not wimpy animals. That's why Silva was such a great hiking companion. Even though she was only 12 pounds, she had stamina. Their generally independent natures make them great for someone who wants a companion that can live without constant attention.
I discovered quickly that Winston had to be crated at ALL TIMES when not supervised. He will eat anything, and I mean, anything. Within the first week of bringing him home, I left him in the bathroom with a baby gate to keep him contained. He got out and ate the metal weather strip off the metal back door trying to get out. My roommate came home to a disaster. There was trash everywhere, and Winston was freaking out. I worked 10 minutes from home, so I made it a point to go home at lunchtime, bring him into the office, or take him to the groomer during long days.
Winston's way of checking things out is to try to eat them. I've taken rocks out of his mouth that he was crunching away on. His terrible teeth fit the name Winston, but I could have called him Hoover.
He also has aggression issues. He's fine most of the time, but it takes constant awareness to keep him behaving. One treat from the FedEx driver and he's a punk for a few hours. Ray and I are on the same page, and we both work to keep him in line, but he pushes the limits any chance he gets.
If he's off leash, he'll take off to whereabouts unknown. We had to run an electric fence around our existing fence because he kept getting out, and we couldn't figure out how. One of our neighbors returned him one day, put him in the back yard, and then watched him
climb our 4 foot fence like a ladder. Fortunately, we seem to have that cleared up. Now that I'm home most of the time, he sticks around.
Despite his flaws, he is a perfect dog. He has a great sense of adventure. He loves to go anywhere. He likes hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and playing fetch. The dog park in Orlando we used to go to had a big lake, and he'd try to out-swim the Golden Retrievers.
So when I decided to take this trip, I decided that even though he'll pose some challenges, such as a need for constant leashing, Winston will be the perfect backpacking companion.
I found dehydrated food from the
Only Natural Pet store. It'll be light but high-energy, so he can carry it himself.
There are few packs that come in Winston-size, but I found the
Ruffwear Approach II pack on sale at Backcountry Edge. At 18 pounds, he's right in between xsmall and xxsmall. I guessed that the xsmall was the right size, but it's a little big.
I'd never tried putting a pack on him before, but he was great with a doggie life jacket, and I didn't have any worries about this.
I filled two platypus bottles partially with water, then the rest of the way with air, and put one in each side. He acted so excited to put on the pack, and when he saw the leash, he went a little nuts. We went for a stroll around the front yard - the backpack is a little too big, but I took a few photos of my poor, long-suffering puppy before sending it back. He was almost ok with this one, except that the bags hang down really far on the sides, and stick out kind of far. The harness is completely at its smallest settings, so he'll be better off with the xxsmall. I can't wait for it to get here!
