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How do I Make a Dog Backpack?

How do I Make a Dog Backpack?

dog image by Ramona smiers from Fotolia.com

If you take your dog out on the trails with you regularly, it's a good idea to lighten your load by making your dog a backpack so that it can carry its own supplies. Once your dog has its own pack, it can tote its own water, food and treats, leaving more room in your pack for items you might not normally bring, like a good novel or your journal. You'll be surprised at how much carrying even the lightest of backpacks will improve your dog's fitness level in a short period of time.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Chest strap

Things You’ll Need:
  • Canvas saddle horn bag (available at feed stores)
  • 5 feet of 1-inch wide nylon webbing with heat sealed cuts
  • 2 side release buckles, 1-inch
  • 2 triglide sliders, 1-inch
  • Polyester thread
  • Denim rated needle
  • Safety pin
Step 1
Cut off 2 feet of nylon webbing and thread it through one of the male ends of a side-release buckle (the male end is the end with the prong on it) and then thread it through one of the triglide sliders.
Step 2
Sew the piece of webbing that ended up on the bottom of your triglide slider to your canvas pack by laying 3 inches of the webbing flat against the seam at the front of the pack.
Step 3
Sew the webbing onto the pack by hand with polyester thread and a needle rated for denim as the canvas is thick. Be careful only to sew through one layer of canvas.
Step 4
Thread a 6-inch piece of nylon webbing through one of the female end side-release buckles. Fold the webbing over and sew through both pieces of the webbing along the front seam on the opposite side. Test your chest strap by snapping both ends of the side release buckles together.

Belly strap

Step 1
Cut a 4-inch piece of nylon webbing and put it through one of the female ends of a side-release buckle. Fold the webbing over and sew through both pieces of the webbing against the seam of the backpack's storage area in the back of the pack without encroaching on the storage space itself.
Step 2
Fold the backpack in half so that you can see where the female side release will meet the male side release to snap together.
Step 3
Cut off 1 foot of nylon webbing and thread it through a triglide slider and a male end side-release buckle. Safety pin the edge of the webbing down alongside the seam on the back of the other storage section of the pack and try the backpack on your dog. Make any adjustments necessary.
Step 4
Remove the safety pin and secure 2 inches of the webbing down flat against the back seam of the storage area of the backpack with needle and thread.
Step 5
Try your backpack on your dog and make sure that it fits correctly and that all of the release buckles and sliders work correctly.

Tips & Warnings

 
You can customize your dog's backpack by having its name embroidered on the side.
 
Never overload your dog's backpack. Heavy items can cause spine damage.
 
Check your dog often while out on the trail to make sure that the backpack has not slipped or that the straps have not come loose or gotten tangled.

Resources

Article Written By Elizabeth Grace

Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Elizabeth Grace is a freelance writer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in public relations from Pepperdine University, and has 15 years of experience developing marketing campaigns for universities and multinational corporations.

Write for Trails.com

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