A working dog?

A birthday gift arrived in the mail yesterday from my two sons. It included some Dermatone products to slather on my face to avoid frostbite when the SKOAC Renegades hit the 58k relay race (or 'event' as the less competitive relay team members refer to it) at the Mora Vasaloppet on Sunday, as well as some pricey high flurocarbon glide ski wax to make me fly like the wind. What I could really have used were some human growth hormones, steroids, and blood doping paraphenalia but they were conspicuously absent. The other item in the birthday package was a dog pack.

It was a Jandd Mountaineering Kelev dog pack to be exact, "Simply the Finest since 1983" the tag proclaims. This is an idea whose time has come! My skijoring episodes with the Rook, analyzed in a previous post, had very mixed results. The poor boy is definitely not a member of Doggie Mensa and focus seemed to be a very large issue. This thing has great promise however. On day hikes I find myself carrying some extra water, dog food, and often a 'dog manure' container. I swore I would never be one of those guys trotting around the block with a sack of dog crap in my hand but that vow is sadly outdated. This dog pack has real potential. Not only can the Rook carry his own food, water, and malodorous by products, he can also carry some of the adult beverages necessary for a nice fall picnic in the woods. The first test will be at the Vasaloppet this weekend. I'm mentally preparing my list as I sit and write this post. The instructions say it is not recommended to carry more than 10% of the dogs weight unless approved by the dogs vet. This gives the Rook roughly 8 pounds to work with. Liquid generally weighs 8 pounds per gallon. You can do the math.