You are planning a trekking tour with your dog, but are still not sure what to take with you? Then we have just the right tips for you. In this article you will find our dog Lando’s packing list with all his gear, as we carried it with us on more than one trekking tour in Lapland.
Here you can see what we took for Lando on our last vacation
Base weight
The weight of Landos base gear is very low at just over 1200 grams. Every ultra-light hiker would be jealous of how downsized Lando starts off into trekking life. The big three for him are the backpack, a mat and a quilt. The rest of his gear is rather minor in terms of weight.
Apart from the silicone cover for the paws, we don’t have a special first aid kit for Lando. We simply use our material in case of an emergency. For my inner peace it is very important that Lando cannot run around at the camp, especially at night. Therefore we use a long peg, which is fixed to the ground through a hole in our footprint right in the vestibule.
At night Lando is on his leash which is attached to this peg 
In the evening we like to use Landos mat as a seat pad
| Gear | Weight |
|---|---|
| Pack, Ruffwear Palisades Pack | 480 g |
| Mat, self-made | 163 g |
| Quilt, self-sewn | 215 g |
| Peg, to leash Lando at the campsite | 71 g |
| Folding bowl | 79 g |
| Towel | 60 g |
| Comb | 25 g |
| Dog waste bags | 5 g |
| Pet passport | 28 g |
| Silicone sleeve | 110 g |
| Total weight | 1236 g |
Coat and sleeping mat keep Lando warm at night
Lando usually sleeps in the vestibule of our tent. But in cold nights or when the mosquitoes are bothering him, he is also welcome in our tent. A sleeping mat, which we cut to a handy size, serves him as insulation from the cold ground at night. It is quite convenient that we like to use the mat ourselves as a sitting underlay during longer breaks or in the evenings at the camp. I carry the mat on the outside of my backpack, as it is too bulky for Landos bags.
For cold nights we carry a coat for Lando. I sewed the coat from an old sleeping bag. In contrast to a simple blanket, the coat sits firmly on the dog and can not slip away at night.
Sometimes Lando is allowed in the tent 
Landos coat, sewn from an old sleeping bag
Consumables
Like I said, Lando’s pretty much hiking ultra-light…if it weren’t for his food. He has an enormous appetite on our trekking tours! Therefore dog food is of course also part of the luggage. In fact, at 450 grams per day, that’s the biggest part of the weight. On a longer trekking tour it quickly adds up to more than Lando can carry himself.
| Gear | Weight |
|---|---|
| Lark (equals 450 kcal/d) | 50 g/d |
| Dried food (equals ca. 1700 kcal/d) | 400 g/d |
| Total weight | 450 g/d |
By the way, we always pre-pack Landos dried food into daily servings. These are then sealed waterproof in a freezer bag. This way Lando can carry some of his food himself, even though his packs are not waterproof. Also, we can easily keep track of how much he eats. Since Lando really likes to eat a bit of lard during the day and it contains a lot of calories, we always take some of it with us. However, please consider that this doesn’t work for warm regions, as the fat quickly becomes rancid and soft with higher temperatures.
We always pack the food in daily servings
In a separate article we explained what you should generally keep in mind for a trekking tour with your dog beyond the packing list. There you will also find more information about Landos food, staying overnight in a tent, tips for physical fitness and much more!
