Hello, everyone!

I've read through the old posts on hammocking with dogs and found them useful. However, I was curious about several things that I did not see discussed in the thread from last year.

Lump and I adopted a shelter pup around the middle of December. Her name is Jesse and she is approximately a year old. We believe that she is a beagle mix and her current weight is 38 pounds. Jess is our hiking buddy and we plan on taking her backpacking with us.

Both of us want her well trained and safe on the trail. Jess just graduated from Beginner Behavior Class and it starting the Intermediate Class in February.

When we take her hiking in our local favorite spots, she is doing quite well. She carries a backpack with five pounds of weight. Jess is young and overly enthusiastic and needs to be on a leash. We've finally found one that works quite well for us. It is a 6-10 foot ruffwear leash with elastic inside so it is expandable.

We have yet to cross a small river with Jess. We have also not taken her over anything that involves significant climbing like over rocks that meet the river and form the trail near Laurel Fork Falls on the AT or the log bridges at John Rock. Does anyone have any advice or tips to offer about dealing with those hazards?

We've tried camping in the backyard on one unseasonably warm evening. We placed sturdy harness on her, gave her a blanket, and a ground pad. For the first part of the night, she slept nicely on her pad beside my hammack. Sometime after I quit the paranoid checking every ten minutes, I fell asleep. When I woke, she was gone. After a short but heartstopping search, I found her safe and sound three houses down. Needless to say, that could have gone very poorly if we had been in the woods.

Our dog is a tube and they do not make a harness that will hold her. Jess can wiggle out of anything and is curious about everything. We've come to the conclusion that she needs to sleep in the hammock with me. We have had one successful nap that was approximately two hours in length. Jess and I were pretty comfortable. We plan on having more "training sessions" before ever taking her overnight on the trail. Does anyone whose dogs sleep in their hammock with them have any specific advice?

I would appreciate any insight. I already dote on Jess and do not wish her to come to harm or to be an irritant to other hikers.

Sincerely,
Sluggie