First Look: Ruff Wear Palisades and Approach packs

The Palisades Pack

Remember this?

Sneak Peak picture

It belongs to a Ruff Wear Palisades Pack! I found one at Cabelas (in AZ) for $70 which is a steal for this pack.  Normally they retail around $125, so a Palisades for half off was something I couldn't pass up.
If I had been thinking when I first saw the pack, I would have bought the two that were there. But like Conker's Approach II, I was not, and when I went back the next day one of them had already been bought.

Anyways...

Palisades pack and harness.

At first glance the Palisades appears to be very well built. Sturdy material, good stitching, some nice features like waterproof zippers, refletcive trim, etc. make this pack very attractive.
The pack is a multi-purpose, high capacity pack meant for longer backpacking trips. It comes with two water bladders that have their own pockets and can easily be accessed for ease of water delivery.
 
The Palisades, unlike the Approach and Singletrak, has a really cool feature that sets it apart from the other packs.  The bags can come off leaving a fully functional Web Master Harness still on the dog.

Web Master without pack.

The Web Master is perhaps one of, if not the best, dog harness out there. I have seen many others but this harness is the only one that really got my attention.  Ruff Wear uses the Web Master as a frame for their packs and it works out very well. In the Palisades' case, you get two items in one. Which is probably why the pack costs to much.

Pack without the harness.

The other half of the Palisades, the actual packs, is a pretty good piece of dog gear as well.  The pack is held in place with four buckles and two optional velcro straps that attach to one of the harness straps to prevent the packs from banging your dog's sides as he travels along. The detaching feature comes in handy if you need to cross a river and don't want the gear inside to get wet, or if you want to give your dog a break and don't want to take off the whole harness.


The Approach Pack

Ruff Wear logo strip

After I got the Palisades and took it on a couple short hikes, I decided I needed another pack for whichever dog didn't have one or was left at home. I scoured the net for a good deal on whatever I could find and found one at Backcountry Edge for $60 on sale.  That is a pretty good price since the Approach retails around $75.  I could not find another Palisades for less than $80.
On the site, if you joined up and became a new member you'd get an additional 12% off, so that knocked the price down to just under $53! 
It was actually a tough decision between the Approach and Singletrak which was also on sale for just $67, or $59 with 12% off. I went with the Approach this time, but still want that Singletrak.
(The sale is no longer on. It ended some time ago.)

Profile view

The Approach comes in blue and green. It is meant for day hikes or shorter backpacking trips.  It does not come with water bladders and is not detachable, but is still a very high quality pack and has the same other features as the Palisades. Reflective trim, waterproof zippers, awesomeness...

Top view

The Approach can hold somewhat less than the Palisades and is not as bulky. It is designed to be a day hike or overnight pack.  The Approach can still be used on longer hikes and trips, it just isn't as convenient.

Upside-down

The harness of the Approach is the same excellent Web Master used on the Palisades, only lacking a bit of reflective material that would otherwise be covered up by the bags. It also has loops for the straps (not velcro though) to keep the pack from banging against your dog's sides.

Why you make me wear this...

I am looking forwards to giving these two packs a nice thorough testing out in the coming months. Probably not over night trips (not until it warms up), but hikes longer than 2-4 hours will be taking place.

Both of these packs are size Small. They fits dogs with a girth of 21-30 inches which is bigger than most Shibas. The Palisades does not come in XS but the Approach does.
Keep an eye out for a future post that will explain how to turn an Approach pack (Approach II) into a Palisades if you want a Shiba sized pack that can detach from the harness.
Edit:  Instructions for modifying an Approach into a Palisades:  Version 1 and Version 2.

First visit to Cathedral Hills in the year 2012

Argh it's 10 days into 2012 and we hadn't been to Cathedral hills yet! So I packed the dogs up and drove them down there for a quick 3 1/3 mile hike. I went a bit later than I normally do and ran into school traffic (buses, school zones, etc.) on the way there. I usually hit that stuff on the way back, and around that time, a lot of people flock to the hiking trails so I thought it might have been a bit crowded.
It wasn't at first, but it sure was when we left. There was a line for my parking spot.

Blurry!

Of course the Fuji messed up every picture I took, so there are no good ones to show.  We had fun though, and for the most part the dogs all listened well enough to be off-leash for most of the hike.

Conker and Sasha expecting treats.

Juneau actually had better recall than Conker, which isn't usually the case.  She gets better with every hike but still has some spots that need working out here and there. Sasha, I don't know if I'll ever get her to fully ignore the fresh horse crap that's abundant on the trails.

Derp Dog

But when she does listen, she's very enthusiastic about it.

Ruff Wear: Gourdo

The first Ruff Wear toy I bought was this little orange thing I found while at Cabelas during last Christmas.  I cost $8.88, not the greatest deal but it was the only one I had found that was not online for a similar price.
The little orange thing is... The Gourdo.  I also found a blue Gourdo at Cabelas for $6.88 and got that one a few days after I got the first. 

Gourdo of two colors and sizes.

The Gourdo comes in two sizes, and formerly, three colors. Black, blue and orange.  The newer version only comes in orange but its swirly orange, so I guess that makes it cooler.

Conker with the small orange Gourdo in Arizona.

It's a durable, heavy toy with a rope on one end for the owner to grab and use to throw, or tug with, to avoid slobber.  It's a handy attachment but care needs to be taken with chewers: they will go right for that rope and chew it off.

Juneau with the large blue Gourdo .

Something I find cool about the Gourdo is that it bounces quite a bit.  Despite it being a somewhat heavy toy (even the smaller one has some weight to it) it can catch some good air when it hits the ground right.  This makes it more fun for the dogs since it can bounce over them and they have to try to maneuver correctly to catch it.

Despite it's size and weight, Conker can carry the large Gourdo .

The more enthusiastic smaller dogs can even play with the larger Gourdo .  Conker actually prefers it to the smaller one when Juneau is playing as well.

Juneau waits patiently for me to throw the Gourdo .

Since this toy is pretty heavy, it could potentially do some damage so I don't recommend playing with it inside. Plus since it bounces, even a short toss could result in something getting smashed. And a dog who jumps the gun and gets ahead can easily be hit with it, but so far none of mine have seemed to notice. (I don't intentionally try to hit them, it just happens.)

Tug with the Gourdo is fun.

Overall this seems to be a pretty good toy. Juneau hasn't been able to put a dent in it yet and hasn't had the opportunity to destroy the rope (I know she will if she gets the chance) and the two who will pick it up seem to really enjoy playing with it.  (Sasha will try to steal it but will drop it as soon as it's hers.)

I have seen the newer model of the Gourdo and couldn't really find much of a difference other than color, so if you can find the older models for a cheaper price, I recommend buying them.  It's on sale on Ruff Wear' site and several others across the web.

Burrs

So, I went hiking yesterday and took all the dogs with me. Somehow everyone thought it would be fun to completly ignore me and run around off the trail. Ah well, no biggie. Then I remembered the burrs.

Oh no, I HATE those...

All three dogs probably had about 800 burrs collectively attached to their fur and harnesses.  Ooooh fun.  Luckily, I have a secret weapon to combat the burrs.  A metal flea comb.

A small, very small, fraction of burrs.

Unfortunately none of the dogs would sit still long enough for me to be able to get a picture of their new decorations, and since Fuji is stupid even outside, you only get pictures of burs on harness straps.

Small amount on harness strap and in background.

It didn't take as long as I thought it would to get most of the burrs out of the dogs fur.  Maybe 20 minutes or so, because I was getting them out with a flea comb instead of my fingers.  So if you've got a dog who likes to get burrs stuck all over their dumbess, get a metal flea comb. It will cut down on de-burring time immensely. 

More Things to Come

I got a package in the mail today.  It looks like a paper bag with something oddly shaped in it. And while it has my name on it, the contents are, like usual, not actually for me.

I was shocked at the speed of at which this package came, and on a Saturday to boot!  I ordered it two days ago, got free (normal) shipping and didn't put any rush on it or nothing. So, in my book, ordering online from Altrec is a stinkin good deal since the items I bought were on sale, with free shipping, and got here in two friggin days! If only they had more things I wanted on sale... (I guess it helps that they are in Bend, or at least the stuff shipped from there.)

After opening the paper baggish thing and inspecting the contents, I tossed them across the room for Conker and Juneau. Conker played with the green one first, then the yellow, and Juneau claimed (and still has) the green one as her own.

Motion blur, courtesy of Fuji.

I thought the yellow one was going to be a bit bigger than it actual is, and I figured Conker would have a hard time holding it. Not so, he loves it! He likes to squish it (despite the lack of a squeaker) and carries it around with him wherever he goes.
Reviews on these two items will be up in a week or so.

Random Picture

Kibble mixed with Honest Kitchen Vereve, for Juneau. Looks fantastic, don't it?

The Honest Kitchen: Keen

I have been waiting a while to do this to give the food a long enough trial period.  I believe that a month and a half is sufficient time to write up a review.

Also ordered some samples and some tea.

Back in November I ordered myself a 4 pound box of The Honest Kitchen Keen and I have been testing it out since it's arrival.  Conker was getting roughly half Keen and half home-made food during the first period then exclusively Keen during the second.

Here's the nutritional info.

Ingredients:
Dehydrated cage-free turkey, organic oats, potatoes, organic flax, carrots, cabbage, organic alfalfa, organic kelp, apples, honey, garlic, rosemary, tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, potassium iodide, potassium chloride, iron amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein, 21% min
Fat, 15.5% min
Fiber, 5.0% max
Moisture, 8.64% max
Calcium, 1.50% min 1.80% max
Phosphorus, .78% min .99% max
Sodium, 0.17% min 0.24% max
Magnesium 0.15% min 0.17% max
Calories per cup 470,  Calories per kilogram 4140 

Ingredients are good, but it appears to be a bit veggie heavy and low in protien. 

Keen with additions.

I frequently added in things like meats, quinoa, egg or other random things to the food.  One regular item was a chicken heart which I use to hide salmon oil capsules in.

Keen and pork.

Even though already liked food items were present, Conker loved the Keen and licked up every last bit.
During the month of December Conker ate Keen almost exclusively.  He did have a couple other Honest Kitchen varieties and some turkey on a couple days but that was basically it.

I am very fond of how healthy and in shape Conker is on his home-made diet.  One of the things I don't like about most commercial diets is the "effects" from it; namely smell, tartar buildup and grease. While on Keen I did not notice much of a change.

Conker did not smell.
Conker did not develop grease.
Conker did however get some tartar, and that is completely expected due to the nature of this food.  His breath also had a strange funk to it if he didn't have anything to chew on for a while.
Conker continued to have good energy, predictable poop and only refused to eat once.
Conker never showed any signs of intolerances or allergies while on Keen.
However, Conker's fur became a tad brittle and dull while on Keen.

I am very pleased with this food and how it compares to Conker's normal diet. The small number of ____ are easily remedied with a few extra ingredients like fresh meat and fish oil.

Reused image of Keen, no additions.

My main motivation for buying Keen was to find a good food for hiking/camping and travel.  The Honest Kitchen is a very good travel food, especially for someone who feeds raw or home-made foods since no refrigeration is required.

My overall opinion of Keen is good. Conker loves it, he does good on it (short term, I cannot say about long term), it's affordable compared to a home-made or raw diet and is easy to prepare and take with you on trips. 

A 4 pound box of Keen costs $28, 10 pounds $55 direct from The Honest Kitchen.  They do charge shipping ($7.50 for orders of $25-$49.99, $10 for orders of $50-$100.99) but they often have coupons and deals if you sign up for their e-mail newsletter or visit them on Facebook or Twitter.


Note: Keen contains grains.  People who don't feed grains may wish to try one of The Honest Kitchen's other varieties like Force, Embark, Love or Zeal.

We went hiking on Dollar Hill today

Not the usual day to hike, but since Mom and her BF went to the coast with no warning and messed up my plans, I had to rearange things so I took the dogs hiking today instead of tomorrow.
I took all three dogs, something I don't normally do.
Anyways, it was relatively uneventful.  Juneau was being her normal excited-about-everything-and-pulling-like-crazy self, Sasha was pretty meh and Conker was... regular.  They all enjoyed it though.  My favorite part about the hike was this:

It was somewhat overcast in GP but above it was beautiful.  I was not expecting this view at all and while untangling myself from a mass of dog leashes, legs and tails, I spotted this out of the corner of my eye and turned to have a look.

Conker being stupid and going off the trail.

Conker didn't seem impressed. Not pictured on his face is the TICK I swatted off a moment later.  I thoroughly searched all dogs for ticks after the hike and thankfully didn't find any more.
(DayPack review is in the works.)

The view of GP from the top of the hill was equally awesome.  I really like the clouds that hang over it when seen from above, it reminds me of being in a plane.

The pictures of Juneau and Sasha are largely unimpressive, thanks to the Fuji's retardism.  I did however snap this shot which I later edited to look like an out-of-focus black and white film image.

Derp Dog is super cute, even when out of focus.

Update on the tooth: Extraction scheduled.

Well, we had the tooth looked at.  The pulp is exposed in 2 or 3 places and the break is, according to the vet and how Juneau has been acting lately, causing some pain.  There were two options we could do: Have the tooth extracted or do a root canal.  I am personally in favor of the root canal (friggin metal teeth cap-thing whoot whoot!) but in order to do that, we'd have to be referred to a specialist in Ashland, who is the only vet around here that does that sort of thing.  Plus the break is so extensive that the cap might fail.
So we opted for the extraction. Which is going to cost some $430-480.  That includes cleaning the rest of the teeth, anesthetic, monitoring, painkillers, antibiotics and whatever all that other crap is.
Anyways, she's going in on the 17th at 7:00AM or so. 

Everything else was great.  She's heartworm free (despite not being on preventives, we picked some up though) and if the vet hadn't been given an age, she would have guessed Juneau was only two years old!  I guess that says something about her condition.

Vet visit at 4 today

Poor Juneau gets to go to the vet!  She is one of those dogs who breaks down and shakes the whole time, so I am going to play with her a lot before hand to get her worn out so she isn't so wound up.

I will update later when I know what's going on with the tooth.


Here's another sneak peak of an upcoming review item.