The Best Outdoor Gear for your Favorite Dog

When it comes to winter months, many breeds may not need a winter jacket, but if you feel your pup would benefit from it, this is certainly a good option to have.

While ours have hoods, I wouldn’t opt for the ones with a hood. Our dogs hate the hoods and they’re never on. Look for a properly sized jacket that fits their whole back and isn’t too tight when wrapped around their torso.

You may also want to look for a waterproof one as well, if you think you’ll be in snow or rain.

When I say we take our dogs on all of our adventures, I mean it. We throw their life vests on and hit the river in our canoe. They love it.

And don’t worry, I had a life jacket on, too, I think I took it off while we were stopped for a moment for the pic.

I do think the life jacket is important though, because while dogs can swim, much like humans, we need to make sure we have a little bit of extra support to help us along.

When looking for a life jacket make sure it has a handle. This helps you hoist the dog back into the boat easily. I’ve had to use it a couple times once they were done swimming around and it was so helpful.

Like most dog clothing, make sure it’s a proper fit. Not too tight, not too loose.

Let’s do our part to pick up after our pups when we’re out in nature. Leave No Trace, right?

The dispenser couldn’t make it any simpler to attach it to your belt loop, backpack, whatever.

I would also recommend carrying another larger plastic bag, like a grocery bag, or even a ziploc bag, to keep the poop bags in until you can reach a garbage can.

Need something more than just the poop bag dispenser? Get a whole fanny pack! This is great for those training opportunities as you can stash some training treats away in an easily accessible fanny pack.

Plus, you could stash the poop bags in there, as well, and even the ziploc bag where you place the used poop bags.

Fanny pack for the win.

When our dogs were younger they would have saddlebags all the time on our hikes. If you have strong dogs that are capable of carrying a saddlebag, then why not. Let them carry their treats, food and water!

When looking for a good saddlebag, you want something streamlined, as in, you don’t want it to stick out too much and have it moving around a lot. Think about if a backpack was swinging around all the time on your back, it’s annoying and throws off your balance.

I prefer the saddlebags that are snug to the body.

Make sure they’re properly fit as well so they don’t slide off one way or another. Take the time to measure your dog and compare it to the measurements that the company provides.

A handle on top is also important for easily grabbing them in case of any emergencies. Many saddlebags will also come with a D loop for your leash.

Find a saddlebag that is going to fit your dogs body size and ability.

I’ve seen a lot of pet first aid kits and this is by far the absolute best one on the market.

Most pet first aid kits try to pack way too much into it and most of the contents would only be good for a human.

Dogs don’t need bandaids.

They do need gauze, though.

This kit includes everything you’d need for immediate assistance while out and about and in travel size!

This kit does have a ‘sting relief’ which is really nice because My dog was once attacked by ants and had a terrible reaction, the only thing that saved him was antihistamine, topical and oral. I would also add some oral antihistamine to this kit.

Otherwise, as far as pet first aid kits go, especially travel size, this is the best you’ll find.

I would also encourage you to look into pet CPR and pet first aid skills, can be found through the Red Cross, they even have smartphone apps.

I love collapsible anything, especially dog supplies because I can easily pack it into just about any space, then pop it out when needed. It’s not some giant, bulky bowl.

We have one for water and one for food.

They’re lightweight, collapsible and durable. What more could we ask for in travel gear?

I’ve used a lot of dog booties over the years and these are by far the best because of how tall they are.

Dog pads can be affected by all kinds of different environments and terrain. One of my dogs isn’t affected by anything except extremely hot pavement (which most dogs are) while my other dogs pads start to bleed immediately after being in the snow for just a few minutes.

Every dog is different. But just as we protect our feet, we can protect their pads.

Dog booties are great for either snow or hot pavement.

It’s going to take time for them to adjust, it’s a very weird feeling for dogs to not be able to feel the ground directly underneath them. I recommend putting them on

Check the size to make sure it’ll be a good fit for your dog.