So I will not pretend that this has a lot of DIY to it...however, it did involve some sewing.

My sewing will impress nobody.

I had tried switching my dog from life vest to backpack (& back...then repeat) at portages last year, and decided it was not worth the trouble.
Since then, I have had this idea percolating in my pea-sized brain.

Using my at-home time to tinker, I took a dog life vest, a dog backpack, and married the two into the unholy bastardization you see in these photos.

The saddlebags clip on/off so they can be removed when she is in the canoe.
Surprisingly - it works, and Cerberus seems to handle it fine.
Looking forward to using it. Some day.

I like it. Awesome idea and job. Now you got me thinking. How do the saddlebags attach at the bottom? How about some more pictures. Thanks.

I just have a strip of elastic webbing sewn from the bottom of one bag to the bottom of the other.
They do move a bit when Cerberus runs; not perfect but they're not flopping all over the place either.
Not gonna help her escape Hercules, but plenty good enough to portage from Hades to the Styx.

Very nice sns!

This year will be my first traveling with a dog. I definitely want her to have a life jacket and be able to carry some of her own weight with a pack. The idea of taking the life jacket off and on at every portage to put the pack on has really made me question if the pack would be more trouble than it's worth.

Sierra Trading had some cheap dog packs. I'm going to have to pick one up and attempt some "unholy bastardization". Thanks for the idea and the pics.

Well done, SNS! Great idea!

A couple more photos to help see that bottom strap. Probably room for improvement.

One more tidbit...weights of all kinds:
Demonic Dog weighs 43 lbs.
Loathsome Life jacket is 9.5 oz
Sinful Saddlebags are 5.5 oz
(total for Profane Pupvest = 15 oz)

Test run had 3.5 lbs in each bag, so when you include the Pestilential Pupvest and its Fiendish Fardel she's carrying ~8 lbs, which is 18% of her bodyweight.

There are a lot of different guidelines out there (a quick google search yields results from 10%, 12%, 15%, 20% and even 25% of the dog's bodyweight).

My sense is that I am at the upper limit for my Calamitous Cerberus, and may dial it down just slightly to 15% or so.

Mileage for your own Hound of Hades may vary.

sns: "One more tidbit...weights of all kinds:
Demonic Dog weighs 43 lbs.
Loathsome Life jacket is 9.5 oz
Sinful Saddlebags are 5.5 oz
(total for Profane Pupvest = 15 oz)


Test run had 3.5 lbs in each bag, so when you include the Pestilential Pupvest and its Fiendish Fardel she's carrying ~8 lbs, which is 18% of her bodyweight.


There are a lot of different guidelines out there (a quick google search yields results from 10%, 12%, 15%, 20% and even 25% of the dog's bodyweight).


My sense is that I am at the upper limit for my Calamitous Cerberus, and may dial it down just slightly to 15% or so.


Mileage for your own Hound of Hades may vary."

Awesome alliteration !!!

Just back from a trip and wanted to report on the actual field use of this item.

We moved every day, and did a lot of single-portaging and 1.5 portaging (the long ones - we did 5 between 800 & 1400 meters). Doubled some shorter ones.

Surprisingly, the saddlebags worked really really well.

Cerberus carried all her own food and a few of her other items. I was able to give her the occasional biscuit while we were paddling - while in the canoe I stowed her saddlebags behind me in the stern.

As her food weight dropped, I put things like the water filter in there for easy access.

I would say that given how much ground we covered, having her carry the saddlebags made a noticeable difference. They went on fast & were even faster to take off.