How much weight can a husky/dog carry in their pack and does it matter how long they will be carrying it?

It takes a good amount of conditioning to get to the max. I still rarely max their packs since we work so much elevation gain. When researching pack dog titles, the majority of clubs and sites seem to agree on 25% of their total body weight. That's carried for quite a distance too.

Quote :

# The Working Pack Dog Program is open to all purebred Siberian Huskies registered with the American Kennel Club. ILP dogs are eligible. A copy of the dog's registration papers submitted with the completed application form to validate they are a Siberian. Dogs are a minimum of one year old at the time of all of the hikes.

# The dog must carry a canine pack, anatomically tested for safety and protection.

# The dog must carry an initial weight equal to 25% of the dog's body weight at the start of the hike whether a single or the initial day of a continuous multiple day hike. The pack may be lightened during the course of travel due to consumption of food, water, and other supplies. Throughout the hike the dog transports a minimum of 10% of body weight. The pack itself is also included in the weight listing. The ending load cannot be less than 10% of dog's body weight.

# All pack trips must be completed on natural terrain such as cross country excursions, hiking trails, or back country hikes. "Lapping" (repeating a trail several times) to accumulate mileage is not allowed. This allows you and your pack dog to experience multiple trails and conditions.

# Elevation gain may be substituted for mileage: each 1000 feet of elevation gain may be counted as equivalent to one mile of flat terrain. Elevation gain may be calculated to the nearest 0.1 mile based on the lowest and highest elevation of each trip (1300 feet gain equals 1.3 miles). Elevation gain is defined as the difference between the overall highest elevation and the overall lowest elevation. During multiple day hikes the elevation gain can be calculated for each day's hike and not just for the complete trip, but each day's section should be indicated on the map.

Siberian Husky Club Of America

I always though that would be fun to do. Not like it would be hard for us.

If you want to get your dogs carrying decent weight by next summer, I'm sure you know you need to start now. I started with five pounds-ish and less than four miles. Then I would gradually increase the weight while varying the distance. At the beginning they only carried every other day or two. After months and months of carrying a wide variety of weight for all kinds of distances, they could carry the full 25% for at least three miles up terrain. I don't have interest in making them go any further at full capacity. We start using a fair amount of water at about three miles.

Forgot to add the basic title requirements. We've already done that a couple times over...

Quote :

Working Pack Dog (W.P.D.)

* The Siberian Husky travels a minimum of 40 total miles. At least two of the trips must cover a minimum of ten miles per day and no trip may cover less than five miles per day. Only one repeat hike of a trail is allowed.

Is there an age you should stop having your husky hike with a back pack? Dakota is used to hiking with one, but I wasn't sure when a good time to stop. He just turned 10 in December. I want to get Willow started on this so I wasn't going to go buy another pack if I should start stopping with Dakota.

Hey can always carry a pack! U just have to adjust what u put in it. Sierra will be 8 next month and she is carrying light items like food and treats. Jack carries the water

Eddys one carries the poop bags because he can't carry weight.
Its up to what u think he can handle

Good to know! Thank you Jen!