9 Pieces of Essential Adventure Gear For Your Dog

9 Pieces of Essential Adventure Gear For Your Dog

To us adventurers, there’s something about being out and about in nature that makes us feel refreshed and enthusiastic about the challenges of life.

 

But, what could be better than adventuring alone?

 

Why, taking your dog along with you, of course!

 

Several studies prove that dogs reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, encourage you to exercise, and improve your life in general. Plus, having your furry companion with you prevents the occasional lonely thought from even creeping in. 

 

The thing is that you can’t just bring your dog out in nature and expect them to be perfectly suited to the wild. 

 

Gear Up Your Furry Adventure Buddy 

Dogs may have descended from wolves, but centuries of selective breeding means they’re no longer as equipped for outdoor survival. In this article, you’ll find the essential gear that your dog needs to keep up with your adventures. 

 

So let’s get started: 

 

1. Sleeping Bag: Ruffwear Highlands Sleeping Bag 

If you plan to take your dog camping, they’ll need their own sleeping bag. After all, you wouldn’t want to have them sleep in your sleeping bag nor would you want them to freeze while you spend the night all toasty and comfy. 

 

Much like your sleeping bag, your dog’s sleeping bag has to be lightweight, warm, comfortable, durable, and with an easy entry/exit point.   

 

For this product, we recommend Ruffwear Highlands Sleeping Bag. This lightweight and compressible canine sleeping bag. It’s designed to keep your pooch warm and comfortable plus you can bolster it with the Highlands Pad (sold separately) in case your dog needs more insulation.

 

2. Dog Food: Only Natural Pet EasyRaw Dehydrated Dog Food 

There’s nothing like a warm hearty meal at camp after a full day of adventuring in nature. However, bringing food you need to cook entails having to sacrifice space and weight for a cooking kit. For those of us who like to camp light, dehydrated food has always been a viable alternative, and now your dog can enjoy their own version of this product.  

 

Your dog’s dehydrated food should be lightweight but provide enough food for its daily needs. It should also provide the right balance of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals required to keep your dog healthy and active. 

 

For this product, we recommend Only Natural Pet EasyRaw Dehydrated Dog Food. This product primarily consists of a grain-free mix of freeze-dried raw, cage-free turkey plus dehydrated vegetables and fruits. Adding water to this 2 lb bag can make up to 10 lbs of food. 

 

3. Medical Kit: Adventure Medical Kit’s Me and My Dog Adventure Medical Kit

Every adventure carries with it the innate risk of getting the occasional scrape, cut, and bruise. This innate risk of injury is ever-present for campers whether they walk on two feet or four. While you can argue that you or your dog have never once injured yourselves on a trip, it’s always a good idea to err on the side of caution and bring a medkit for you and your dog. 

 

As always, your medkit has to be lightweight while still having all the essential medical supplies for you and your four-legged companion. 

 

For this product, we recommend Adventure Medical Kit’s Me and My Dog Adventure Medical Kit. This product comes with all the essentials for treating wounds, shock, hypothermia, sprains, strains, preventing infections, and removing splinters and ticks from your pet. For more information on what the kit includes, check out Adventure Medical Kit’s site. 

 

4. Dog Collar: Nite Ize PetLit Collar Light 

Have you ever experienced that mini-heart attack when you pat your pocket where your phone or wallet is supposed to be and you don’t feel it there? That’s also how it feels when you lose your dog out on the trail at night. One moment they’re happily walking by your side then you look again and they’re gone – especially if your dog is a curious Jack Russell Terrier. 

 

This is why we suggest equipping your dog with a collar light that helps you locate your dog during the day and especially during the night. 

 

For this product, we recommend Nite Ize PetLit Collar Light. You can clip this product onto your dog’s collar using a durable D-ring. The light is weather resistant, has a 24-hour battery run time, and turns on/off with a simple twist.

 

5. Activity Monitor: FitBark Activity Monitor 

As pet parent, our dog’s health and safety is always a concern. No matter how fit and healthy our furry best friend is, we always want to keep tabs on how they’re doing, how they feel, and especially where they are.

 

We touched on the subject of your dog’s visibility in the previous entry. But if you want an additional way to find your dog wherever they go, you’re going to need a GPS tracker. 

 

If you live and adventure exclusively in the US, the FitBark GPS (2nd Generation) is the right choice. This product not only helps you find your dog via GPS technology but also gives you insights into their daily activities, sleep, changes in behavior, and more. 

 

Unfortunately, FitBark’s GPS service is available only in the US. The company offers the FitBark 2 for the international market. It functions much the same way as the FitBark GPS, except for the GPS tracking. 

 

6. Dog Harness: GoPro Fetch Harness 

Keeping to the subject of monitoring your dog’s activity, have you ever wished you could experience your outdoor adventure from your dog’s perspective? While FitBark does give us a deeper insight into our dog’s activity, it gives us this information through data on a screen. 

 

But if you want to experience the grounded feel of seeing and hearing through your dog’s point of view, you’re going to want a camera-fitted dog harness. This harness needs to not only hold your cameras securely but should also be tough enough to withstand the punishment as your dog goes out and about through bushes, mud, and dirt. 

 

When it comes to adventure cameras and harnesses, who better to go to than one of the best in the business, GoPro? GoPro’s Fetch Harness features camera mounts on the back and chest for a variety of perspectives. The fully-adjustable harness is constructed with soft padding to comfortably fit dogs from 20 to 120 lbs (9 to 54kg).

 

7. Paw Protection: Original All-Weather Muttluks 

Whether you’re trekking in the desert or climbing rugged mountains, odds are you’re wearing the right type of footwear for the job, so why not get your dog the same level of protection for their paws? Unlike your foot, your dog’s paws are made up of adipose fat and elastic fibers. While their paw pads do become calloused and tough over time, it takes quite a while for their paws to get used to new terrain.

 

If you want to save your beloved pet from burning or cuts to their paw pads, you may want to get them dog boots. 

 

For this product, we recommend The Original All-Weather Muttluks. These dog boots are made of a nylon exterior fabric and treated leather soles making them perfect for hot or cold, sand, burrs, ice, or snow. They also come with reflective straps and are machine washable.  

 

8. Insect Repellent: Wondercide Cedarwood Flea, Tick, and Mosquito Spray 

As avid outdoor enthusiasts, who hasn’t been bitten by a tick or mosquito or two? These pesky critters like to hide in the grass or bushes waiting for their next meal of blood, which can come from you or your four-legged friend.  

 

Since avoiding these pesky bugs by strictly staying indoors is not an option for us and our pets, the next best thing is to keep them away with bug repellent. 

 

For your dog, we recommend Wondercide Cedarwood Flea, Tick, and Mosquito Spray. This holistic-vet-approved plant-based spray is safe and effective at keeping away fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, flies, and hundreds more pesky bugs from your pet.

 

9. Poop Bag: AmazonBasics Dog Waste Bags with Dispenser and Leash Clip 

Finally:

 

It’s always important where you dispose of your dog’s waste. It keeps the environment clean, keeps the flies away, and turns those disapproving looks from strangers into agreeable nods.

 

We recommend AmazonBasics Dog Waste Bags with Dispenser and Leash Clip. These unscented bags are easy to use and perfectly conceal the sight and smell of their contents. 

 

MORE ADVENTURE RELATED READING:

8 Of the Best Places for Outdoor Family Adventure

10 Reasons Why AdventureHacks The Online Camping Store Is For You

12 Best State Parks for Hiking In The USA

Day Hiking Checklist – Everything You’ll Need For Most Hikes

15 Best Trail Towns In The United States

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To your next adventure!

-David & Team AdventureHacks