Look no further than the Outward Hound line, if you want to keep your dog happy and comfortable on your summertime outdoor adventures — whether you’re camping in the bush or just enjoying the wilds of your own back yard.
I couldn’t do without the Port-a-Bowl, for instance, a vinyl-lined canvas bowl that crushes easily into a back pocket or knapsack, ready for use when my dogs get thirsty or ready for food. When it gets grungy, I just throw it into the washer with my jeans.
Friends who are serious hikers introduced me to Outward Hound — they swear by the doggie saddlebags, and their Lab is plenty big enough to carry his own supplies. Dog life jackets are available for the boating enthusiast, brilliantly designed fanny packs and bags, pet carriers of various sorts, and safety vests for the roadside walker’s dog.
In these hot summer days, however, I’m looking closely at several good ideas in the temperature-control line. Shade shelters, for example, are little screened tents like portable doghouses: cute and practical. There are also products they call Hydration Systems — a little water-filled backpack (the dog carries his own water supply!) with a special bite-valve for multiple uses — or the Bowl-and-Bottle bag, if you want to carry the water yourself.
My favourite hot-dog product, and the next thing on my shopping list, is Outward Bound’s Cooling Bandana, “a stylish way to keep your pet cool.” The bandana is filled with tiny non-toxic polymer beads that absorb up to 30 times their weight in cold water, and fastens around the dog’s neck with a Velcro fastener, to keep the dog cool for hours. I should have thought of this myself — I picked up the human version for myself about three years ago!
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