4-6 Bottles of Water A Day Makes An Obedient Dog: Backpack review

No, I'm not talking about drinking the water; I mean putting the bottles in a backpack having Cody carry the and backpack during our runs. Here are some benefits:

• Helps burn off his energy faster (half an hour with the pack is like one hour without)
  
• Slows him down so it takes more effort for him to run fast (well, theoretically this would be the case. I've actually let him off leash to play with other dogs while he still had his pack on and it didn't seem to make a difference with his speed)
• Makes it slightly more harder for him to jump on people when he's greeting them (gives me just enough time to pull on his leash as he's starting to jump)
• Heels better. I think this is due to the fact that he thinks he's "working". When dogs are working, they focus and are more obedient.

Why did I decide to go with a backpack? Well, I've thought about it for a long time since I saw an episode of the Dog Whisperer where Cesar Millan recommended it. I also met an owner at the dog park that used a backpack and said it helped.

I bought a backpack from PetEdge a month ago (about $7), but it ended up being too small for Cody. I really like the one that we have now that I got at the local pet store (about $25), but it's a little too big. The problem is that he's tall, but too thin. The size of the pack fits, but the straps are too large for him. I have to think about adding some padding, but right now, with the bottles of water weighing down each side, Cody's been able to balance the pack pretty well.

Here are some things I like about the "Outward Hound" backpack:

• Quick release straps (3 - one around the neck, and two around the chest)
• Padding underneath the quick release buckle to provide added comfort
• Velcro'ed pack can easily separate from the harness (usually I take the "pack" part of the backpack off and leave the harness when Cody wants to play and run a little more freely)
• Two large pockets on each side, as well as smaller separated compartments for just about anything. Also has a nice little place for a bottle of water for easy access (for drinking)
• Two sides and a top part helps make it easy to balance. The previous backpack was supposed to balance on Cody's back. Since his back is not flat, it was hard to keep that backpack in place. This Outward Hound one works much better.

Some things I don't like:

• You have to carefully balance the two sides of the pack. It can look a little lopsided if one side is carrying slightly more weight than the other side
• The velcro pack is easy to take off the harness part, but putting it back on is harder. Since the pack needs to be secure, there are three long velcro sections and you have to match it up carefully to make sure that the weight gets balances properly.
• The sizing is good for most dogs, but not great for tall, skinny dogs.
  

Here are some pictures of Cody with the backpack standing, sitting, and lying down.