Nature For Kids Introduces…Skadi! A 50 lb. lug of hairy licking lovingness. We named her after a Norse snow goddess and ironically her name means “destruction”. Like any dog she has definitely destroyed many a things at our house ranging from shoes to a hot tub cover. But even though our dog has her downfalls we still love her and take her almost everywhere with us! 
Skadi is a yellow labrador retriever. She’s about two years old. She’s beginning to show signs of intelligence and control but her puppiness still shines through occasionally.
Skadi loves the outdoors. Knee deep snow, heavy brush or winding trail, she’s there. When we begin to put things in the backpack and put shoes on she’s turning in circles and heading for the door with excitement.
Our latest hike with Skadi was to Mary’s bathtub, a steep boulder-strewn incline which follows a small creek. At the end there is a tall waterfall and cave. It lies near Joe’s Reservoir, close to Huntington, Utah.
Before we even hit the trail head she was wet and muddy up to her haunches. She spent a lot of her time nosing through brush, zigging and zagging across the trail, sniffing out an earlier passerby. When she got thirsty she went pouncing into the creek lapping up the cold water. And of course she periodically would shake the water all over us. She was good about roaming and exploring and then coming back and checking in with us though. Because of the boulders we had to climb over and the steep incline, by the time we got back to the car she was exhausted. She slept all the way home.
Even though she is a dog and has natural outdoor instincts, I highly doubt she could survive very long in the wild. We try to prepare for her. We have a handy packable way to store food and water for her. We have dog bowls, designed by Outward Hound, made out of fabric, gore-tex I believe. The top bowl holds food and has a draw string cord to keep it closed tight. Another bowl attaches under that bowl with a zipper. When she’s thirsty and we’re not near water we simply unzip the bottom bowl and fill it with water from our Nalgenes. Much more convenient and appetizing than letting her try and lap up the water while we pour it from our own water bottles. We usually throw her bowls in our backpack when going on longer hikes. But usually we just leave it in the car.
It makes me smile everytime I see Skadi in her natural surroundings. She reminds me of a little kid playing in a sandbox. She truly loves it. And I’m glad we can provide that time in nature for her.
I’ll be posting some more about Skadi and the equipment we like in the future. But until then let Nature For Kids know about your dog! Leave a comment about your dog’s favorite spot or what equipment it uses. Later!
hiking, dogs, outdoors, adventure, dog backpack, equipment for dogs
Shawna
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kris says
For Christmas I bought The Steve (my 70 lb mutt) his very own backpack. (I am not his sherpa!) I looked at a few different options, but in the end went with a Ruff Wear Palisades Pack II. The bag had several features I considered necessary: detachable harness, integrated handle, and well designed bags that stay relatively upright when the load gets unbalanced. (You don’t want one side of the pack sliding under his belly when he’s trying to hike). Inside the pack we stash drinking water, a water dish, beef jerky, dry dog food, and a frisbee. (And any dog bags that get used during the journey).
admin says
Kris, thanks for the great info. The dog packs are something I’ve been wanting to learn more about. I think I’ll look into the Ruff Wear for Skadi and maybe we’ll try it out this summer!
kris says
There are a lot of dog packs out there. Like any backpack I’d suggest looking at as many as possible before buying anything. Unfortunately, most stores don’t allow you to bring in your dog to do fittings, so be sure to get good measurements from Skadi before you go shopping. I’d suggest buying locally so you don’t have to mess around with shipping if the pack doesn’t meet your requirements. (I bought The Steve’s from Kirkham’s. Surprisingly, they were cheaper than REI. If you’re near Salt Lake City you can also do pickups and returns at Backcountry.com’s warehouse in West Valley City).
This site has a lot of great tips on dog hiking. It’s mostly geared towards hunting, but most of the tips still apply:
http://www.uberpest.com/hunthike.html
admin says
Big thanks! I’m sure I’ll do a future blog on this, thanks to your help. I’ll refer back to you and your comment if you don’t mind. And I’m lovin the name “The Steve”. Pretty original.