Rain gear for dog?

imported
#1

Long story short: Last year we only were able to cover the first 120 miles of our thru-hike plans, sadly. We regretfully opted to not take our dog, this year we want to take our dog.

How concerned should we be about her getting rained on? We don’t want to be in our tiny ShangriLa2 tent with a wet dog. She would dry fast enough if it was a light drizzle, but if we got in a bad storm… what do we do? I’ve seen “dog rain coats”, but they seem heavy and not very practical. Should we just plan on making camp really early every day to be in shelter before the rain hits?

Any advice? Thanks!

Nate

#2

I have seen well numerous dogs on the trail, most were good and a few were not. I hope your plans to stay near the shelter on rainy days is to keep the dog dry enough to bring into the tent with you at night.

Old Goat

#3

Dogs get hypothermia and die just like people do. In a bad storm you will have to provide shelter. Get a bigger tent with enough room, leave the dog at home, or let her in with you.

You might consider getting a second ultralight tent for the dog. Some of them are light and compact enough that the dog could carry it’s own tent in a pack.

I thrued the CT with my medium sized dog once and really enjoyed the experience. He learned to sleep in the vestibule of my Hillberg solo and it worked out ok.

bearcreek

#4

My 70-pound Lab usually dries off by bedtime. If he doesn’t, he has a Ruffwear Cloud Chaser (8 oz.) coat which he carries in his pack. It’s breathable enough that he dries out from his body heat, yet it protects my sleeping bag from wet dog. It’s also his sleeping jacket on freezing nights, since he’s an indoor dog at home. I also have a pad for him (Gossamer Gear Nightlight Torso Length). He carries the jacket in his pack. I carry the pad but he carries the equivalent weight in his pack.

Dogs can get hypothermia and do need shelter. If you don’t want your dog in with you, then please leave him at home!

I consider my dog part of my sleep system; he helps keep me warm on cold nights!

grannyhiker

#5

A sham wow is extremely light and quick to dry but can be a life saver for muddy paws or wet fur. Also helpful for drying dew/rain off a tent. I love my dog and love taking her on trips. Good idea to carry some vet tape to take care of paws if they get sore.

filly

#6

Thanks for the input. The cloud chaser and shamwow ideas sound good, I’ll look into those. Just to clarify, if it came down to it, we’d suffer in the tent with the sopping dog verse kick her outside in the cold/wet!

Nate