Backpack brands/sizes

[subaruthie]

I'm putting together a wish list for Cooper, and I've been thinking about training him to use a backpack for hikes or for fun around the house. He also walks the half mile to the post office with me every day, and now that I've usually got the baby in a front carrier for the trip, I sometimes run out of room to put the mail. It would be awesome if he could carry it home for me in a backpack. I think he'd like the idea of doing the extra work, too. Our walking route is boring!

We live in a little town and everyone stares at us anyway. Cooper's one of the few dogs in the area who gets walked regularly, plus he has that cute little basenji prance and wears sweatshirts when it's cold. So I'm not worried about getting funny looks for that.

I searched the threads for backpacks and saw a few pics, but no specific brands mentioned that work really well.

Any recommendations on brands and sizing for a 23 pounder?

Thanks!
Ruth

[Andrew]

I used to hike frequently with mine, and considered getting them backpacks so they could haul some of their own water. However, when I did research, the recommendation was not to give them more than 10% of their weight to carry, which would be less than 2 lbs each for my girls. I decided I could carry that 3.5 pounds of water myself quite easily.
So I don't have any recommendations, but if all he is carrying is mail, I think any of them would be fine.