Therapy dog and trail dog Sophie enjoys a beautiful view from her resting spot in the Peak District National Park in the United Kingdom. When she's not making therapy visits, she frequently hikes with her owners Don & Deb Ayers. Her Saddle Bag has our "Ask to Pet Me - I'm Friendly", and "Therapy Dog" patches attached to it. Her pack looks darker than it actually is, probably due to the contrast between her beautiful white coat and the royal blue color of the pack.

Size & Color: Blue

Linda Guinness and her Scout Troop include Shayla wearing her medium green Banzai dog pack. This lucky Rottweiler gets to tote the scouts' provisions while they explore the beautiful trails of New Zealand together. The Arawa Scout Troop consists partly of Linda (Mum), Antony (12), Sarah (10), Shayla (3).

Linda has sent us some comments (see Shayla's Pack).

Size & Color: Medium, Green

Cody, owned by Karen Faddis, looks like he really enjoys his new Saddle Bag pack. Karen told us she likes the small pack size for hikes and short outings. Cody, has also worn it to the nursing home they visit, to carry small presents for patients and treats. Karen says, "The size works well for my purposes, and the dog enjoys wearing it."

Size & Color: Red

Bandit is an Assistance Dog working with Paws for People in Blaine, Minnesota. This handsome 75 pound English Shepherd is a Hearing Dog, acting as the ears for owner Vance Bartlett. After the Paws for People staff (two and four legged alike) throrougly tested this item, they are now outfitting their dogs with our Saddle Bags.

Size & Color: Blue

Marcus Hanke's two rough collies Flame (closest dog) & Dandy explore the woodlands of northern Austria known as the Waldviertel in their matching burgundy Reflector dog packs. Their packs are holding raingear, water, maps, tour guides, etc. Marcus says this about carrying valuables in his Wolf Packs dog packs:

...the dogs are carrying also our money and travel documents in the unique small pockets on the top of the dog bags - especially in crowded towns, where no pickpocket ever dares to search for it if he doesn't like some teeth in his fingers!

To see more pictures and comments from Marcus, please see Photos Of Our Dogs Equipped With Dog Packs on our testimonials page.

Size & Color: Small, Burgundy

Laura Yee's Dexter is shown on his first outing with his new forest green Banzai dog pack. Laura has some good advice for trail dogs who enjoy swimming while packing:

We've only used it for one backpacking trip so far, but it worked really well for him. He was a little startled when he jumped into the lake for a swim before we were able to take it off for him, but he quickly ran back to the shore before getting too waterlogged! Waterproofing the contents is an absolute necessity for swimmers like labs!!

Size & Color: Medium, Green

Salty accompanies her owner, Brad Gwynn on his unicycle trips. This beautiful and athletic German Shepherd wears a black Banzai dog pack in size medium. This photo was taken along side an unpaved rail trail in Marblehead, MA. it connects Salem, Marblehead and Swampscott. Salty and Brad travel this trail several times a week. Brad says:

Salty and I travel all over southern New England on its many unpaved and mostly unused rail trails, although we usually use the Marblehead one (closest to home). We average about 50 miles a week.

His unicycle is made by Coker Tire. It has a 36" wheel (tire), the largest diameter pneumatic cycle tire in the world. Brad has emailed us some comments (see New Pack).

Size & Color: Medium, Black

A group of friends with Northern-breed dogs gets together for sledding in the winter and now for packing in the summer. The image above shows Phil and Lisa Gravelle & Moira, Conrad, and Hartley Towriss-Smith all hiking with their Samoyeds in the lush Hidden Valley near Craven, Saskatchewan, Canada. They hope to encourage more of their friends to take up packing and join them on the trail.

Eight year old Conrad Smith sits with Buffy who wears a medium teal Banzai pack. Next to him is Moira Towriss-Smith with Kazan in his royal blue Trekker. Hartley Smith is next to Rick (red dog pack) who appears to be howling with delight. Moira told us that Buffy could have used a Small pack for her size, but navigates very well with the medium. The Towriss-Smiths kennel name is Anoka Samoyeds, which is located near Regina, Saskatchewan.

Size & Color: Medium, Red, Blue

Colleen and Marty Hovind hike among the wildflowers with their lovely Siberian Huskies P.J. and Mitchell. Both are using their burgundy Trekker dog packs. Colleen and Marty Hovind's kennel is Heirborn Siberians, located in Craven, Saskatchewan.


Mufasa (burgundy Trekker), Taiyna, and Tundra (black Trekker) hike with owners Phil and Lisa Gravelle. Phil, Lisa, and one year old Santana Gravelle hike among a beautiful display of spring wildflowers with their three Samoyeds. Mufasa wears a burgundy Trekker, while Taiyna and Tundra both use black Trekker dog packs, all size medium. Phil and Lisa operate Philisa Samoyeds in Lumsden, Saskatchewan.

This group organized an order for all seven dog packs together into one order, so we gave her a discount for the group. Hopefully this helped with import fees and shipping costs to Canada. You might be interested to read her comments about her dog's packs.

Size & Color: Medium, Burgundy, Red, Black

Eight year old Conrad Smith hikes with Buffy, his Samoyed, in Hidden Valley near Craven, Saskatchewan in Canada. Buffy wears a size medium teal Banzai pack, although a size small would have fit her nicely also. The weather was perfect for packing and the hills were beautiful with their cover of pink, purple, yellow, orange and blue wildflowers.

Size & Color: Medium, Teal

This is Jim Miller's 2½ year old Golden Retreiver, Amber. Jim describes her as "very intelligent, motivated, curious, helpful, playful, a quick learner, and of course pretty." She sounds like the perfect companion!

Amber is a service animal trained specifically for persons with seizure disorders. A seizure alert dog notifies someone when a seizure is pending, sometimes as far as 30 minutes in advance. That person can get to a safer place, sit down, notify a bystander, and prepare for an oncoming attack. The dog can either standby or go get help if necessary.

You might be interested in reading more of Jim's comments (see Amber's ID Cape) about Amber and her gear.

Size & Color: Medium, Orange

Julie Wood's wonderful Schipperke Bearette is a Search and Rescue Dog in training. For identification in the field, she uses a red ID Cape with a special SAR patch. Julie and her husband love this breed so much that they are considering training their new Schipperke puppy Hawk to accompany Bearette on search assignments.

You might find Julie's comments (see Bearette's ID Cape) about Bearette's gear of interest.

Size & Color: XSmall, Red

These adorable brother and sister Shiba-Inus belong to Carolyn and Larry Brick. Both dogs are certified Hearing Ear Dogs. Takao, the black male, is partnered with Larry and Tiki, the red sesame female is the partner of Carolyn. They both wear an orange ID Cape in XSmall, and have one of our "Please Don't Pet Me" patches sewn onto the top center of the cape.

You might enjoy reading Larry's letter (see Tornado Warning) about how Takao warned him about an approaching tornado.

Size & Color: XSmall, Orange

Zion, a Rottweiler owned by Shan Do, wears his medium teal Trekker pack while exploring the wilderness. They live in Canada, but enjoy visits to New England as well. This photograph was taken on the way to Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks of New York.

You might enjoy Shan's comments (see Received The Pack) about Zion's pack.

Size & Color: Medium, Teal

Thomas Bourgeois' Weimaraner Iggy accompanied him to the 1999 New Orleans Mardi Gras. Iggy wore his orange Banzai dog pack at the event. He also wore some handsome bead necklaces. "He survived and was a hit with his pack." Sure looks like they had fun!


Thomas sent us this email message:

We had over 5 million extra people here in the city and it seemed like everyone of them stopped to ask me about his pack. I was constantly giving out your web address. I'm sure you should get some business out of it. Iggy really enjoys his pack and from day one accepted it like it was the cool thing to wear. I hope all is well and thank you from me and Iggy for making such an incredible product.

Thomas Bourgeois

Size & Color: Medium, Orange

Tom Willcox enjoys hiking with his lovely German Shepherd Casey. She is wears a red Banzai pack and Limited Slip collar. Tom sent us this message about his pack:

I just thought I'd drop you a line to let you know how much I love your pack design -- my GSD Casey loves it! No chafing, rides well, and has a lot of space. Also, after more than a year of use it still looks new!


Here is Casey hiking in the winter conditions of New England. She looks like she really enjoys the outdoors!

Size & Color: Medium, Red

Yukon, a Malamute/Husky mix owned by Vickey and Matt Wong, is pictured here during a trip to Diamond Peak Ski Resort in California. His red Banzai dog pack contains his own food, water, and the potty bags. Vickey tells us that Yukon also had matching color boots in his dog pack which he decided not to wear. As a result got his feet dirty. Yukon loves to run freely (especially in snow), but hates the bath when he gets home.

Size & Color: Large, Red

Glen Millar's handsome two year old Labrador Retriever Keg goes everywhere with him. They live in New Zealand, where the 'tramping' is dynamic. This photo shows them at 1,510 meters above sea level in the Tararuas mountain range. Keg wears a size medium camouflage Trekker dog pack. Glen tells us that Keg's pack is filled with these items: a cooker & spare fuel; a fly sheet for both of them to sleep under; a small pan for frying on; Keg's food (dog biscuits and dog roll); 1 liter of water; Keg's leash.


Keg is crossing one of New Zealand's famous swing bridges. Glen says, "This photo was taken down lower at river level in the bush and you can see one of our famous swing bridges and believe me they really swing. I taught Keg from young to cross these and although it is a long way down he has no troubles walking over them. I have to take his pack off though at this point as the bridge is to narrow."


Here Keg is enjoying his first winter adventure. He especially liked to roll around in the white stuff, although biting at it proved fun too.

You might be interested in reading some of Glen's other comments (see Photos) about Keg's dog pack.

Size & Color: Medium, Camouflage

Dear Wolf Packs,

Thought you might enjoy having a picture of Bree sporting her new Trekker Wolf Pack. Bree is a Bernese Mountain Dog who loves to clown around. She weighs about 75 pounds and is almost 2½ years old.

Bree took to her pack immediately. She's been wearing it for about five months. I'm delighted that she can start carrying gear, and she's delighted to be of service. The pack does not restrict her movements in any way.

When Bree sees the pack she smiles and her tail starts wagging. She knows it's time for outdoor fun! Thanks so much for designing a dog pack that is comfortable and functional.

Kindest regards,

Nancy Ives & Bree, Canada
(Sent in via snail-mail)

Size & Color: Medium, Purple