A dog walking bag can be one of two things, either a backpack to pop your dog in or a a rucksack packed with all the right goodies ready for you and your dog to head out of the door. I have often found myself walking my dog and missing some of the most essential items I need. If I were more proactive the night before, a ready to go dog walking bag would help ensure I always have what I need for any adventure, but what should you put in a dog walking bag?

When walking your dog you will need some essentials packed away and ready to go. These include dog poop bags, a dog bottle or bowl, a collar and lead, a tick pick, and a pet ID tag. However, what you need can change quite quickly depending on the type of outdoor stroll you are heading for so find your walk below to find out what you need!

Lets take a look at what you need in in your bag for the different walks you and your canine companion may venture out on.

What Should I Put in a Dog Walking Bag on a Cold Day?

When it is a cold day and you are heading out with your dog, you can quickly tell if they are cold by feeling the tips of their ears. If they feel very cool or ice cold, then chances are that the rest of them are cold. This does depend though, for example a short-haired dog will get colder far quicker than something like a Labrador that has an undercoat which makes a big difference.

Once the temperature drops below zero degrees Celsius, I would strongly consider wrapping up any short-haired or older dogs to keep them warm. Items that make them feel snug, materials that are thick will all help to ensure your dog does not end up a shivering wreck on cold, blustery days outdoors. This brings us on to what items we should put in a dog walking bag on such a cold day.

A Dog Walking Bag for a Cold Day

• Winter Dog Jumper - The long jumper is great as a cat jumper too.
• Hiking Wrist warmers (for you!)
• A 2 in 1 winter dog coat
• Tweed collar and pet ID tag
• Tweed lead
• Poop bags with handles
• Dog Bottle

The winter dog jumper is great for wrapping them up warm and even better when you pop an adjustable harness over the top to ensure they are warm, safe, and secure.

The hiking wrist warmers will ensure you can walk your dog without your hands and wrists suffering from the cold, this is especially good for people who get wrist pains in the cold.

There is nothing better than some tweed in the cold weather and such fashionable timeless materials are not just for you and me, our dogs can wear it too!

Poop bags with handles, the key bit here is “with handles”. When your fingers are freezing cold, you need as much help as you can get to tie up the poop bags ready for the bin.

What Should I Put in a Dog Walking Bag on a Warm Day?

Warmer days can make us dog walkers quite a bit more nervous than the cooler days. Many dogs simply cannot handle the heat and many owners do not know the signs of dehydration. Heat for a dog is often a killer and we must do what we can to protect them from getting too warm.

We should always monitor for any signs of a dog overheating, and these can include hyperventilation, excessive panting, changes in skin tone colour and the gums, weakness, and vomiting. Any signs such as these should be attended to by a vet. If your only concern on a warm day is your dogs allergies which can be a huge problem on there own, then take a look at our article about dogs and Piriton. 

A Dog Walking Bag for a Warm Day

Lets take a look at what items you should put in your dog walking bag for a sunny day.

• Travel pack pet poop bags
• Dog bottle
• Sunscreen wipes for dogs or a sunscreen stick
• Tick pick
• Tickless Dog flea and tick repellent - See our tick blog for more info
• Boost life jacket
• A cooling mat and dog cooling vest
• Flexi lead and a collar
• Pet ID tag

The pet water bottle doubles up as a bowl, so not only can you use the lick n’ flow technology for them to sip the water, but you can also pop the lid off and use it as a bowl too. Alternatively, you could take a collapsible bowl if your dog is a big drinker.

The tickles device is great to keep the dangerous pests away, it also does not harm the wildlife or release any bad chemicals. It simply emits a sound that keeps them away.

The boost life jacket is great if it is so warm that you are going to go for a paddle together, you can even go a bit deeper than normal with them in this floating aid.  

The cooling mat and cooling vest will be a life saver if you want a break and there is no shade. A flexi will give them some breathing space from you, let them roam a little.

What Should I Put in a Dog Walking Bag on a Rainy Day?

Is it “rain rain, go away” or do we just embrace it and head out anyway? I say embrace it just don’t be seen dragging your dog out like a drowned rat. Help them out a little with some items to help brave the rain.

A Dog Walking Bag for a Rainy Day

• Compostable pet wipe mitts
• A Dog raincoat
• Ruff and Tumble drying coat
• 2 in 1 waterproof dog coat
• Ruff and tumble dog drying mitts
• A dog poop bag holder
• BioThane Collar and BioThane Lead

The pet wipe mitts will help after rain and dirt creates our favourite substance on dogs…’mud’. These wipes slip on to your hands and allows you to get cleaning them and they are compostable! Not bad huh.

A dog raincoat would prove useful and you have many choices. Need a dog raincoat with legs or a lightweight rain jacket?

The Ruff and Tumble coat is a winner after they have been soaked, they soon melt into the coat and fall asleep safe and sound out of the rain. It is so snug; you might be tempted to burrow in it with them.

The waterproof dog coat is not only convenient in the rain, but it also has a harness hole meaning the harness can go underneath, protected from the rain and the hole allows easy harness access to your leash.

If you don’t want to go down the harness route but need something that is fully waterproof in the rain, then the BioThane lead, and collar will be excellent. Mud, water, stinks, and anything you can throw at the BioThane will not phase it. It simply wipes clean with one wipe after your walk too. You could probably use the compostable mitts to clean them!

What Should I Put in a Dog Walking Bag for Hiking?

This question will change things up a little. Rather than your traditional backpack waiting for you by the door with the aforementioned items in, I am going to recommend an upgrade because you have opted to upgrade the walk to a hike!  

The K9 sport sack Air Plus 2 or the K9 Rover backpacks would allow you to carry your canine pal back from the hike if you pushed it just a little too far. You will both be very comfortable wearing one of these and it allows you get a little more adventurous. The great thing about the Air plus 2, is that it has an additional, detachable pouch attached to the main bag, meaning you have extra storage for all your other accessories for them. Check out the K9 Knavigate too for the middle man. 

A Dog Walking Bag for Hiking

• K9 Sport sack air plus 2 or the Rover 
• Dog water bottle
• Collapsible food bowl
• Dog jumper
• First aid kit
• Poop bag holder
• Dog treat pouch waist bag
• Energy bars for dogs
• Pet GPS Tracker with Activity monitor

The air plus 2 will be a game changer, allowing you to go on a long hike with the ability to bring your dog back whilst they sleep on your shoulders.

The first aid kit will ensure you have medical supplies should any cuts or bruises occur. It is nice and compact to fit in your bag easily.

Just because you are on a long hike and there may be no bins, it does not excuse leaving your dog’s poo. If you take a poop holder, you will have storage for poo bags and you can transport the poo back from the hike to find a bin to dispose of it properly.

The energy bars may just surprise you. We used one on our Frenchie and he was full of beans. Even after a long hike, he had a further couple of hours play in the garden. These are excellent especially when you consider they are all-natural ingredients.

The GPS tracker is one of them items that you thank god for if your dog runs away. When you have it, you do not think about it. When you don’t have it and your dog chases a rabbit and is long gone you suddenly wish you had it. Something to consider…

What Should I Put in a Dog Walking Bag for a Night Walk?

If night walks are your thing, then you need something to lighten the mood and ensure you both can be seen easily. We would recommend taking any of the kits you have seen above depending on the weather, however there are a few additional helpful items it would be good for you to have. Lets take a look.

A Dog Walking Bag for a Night Walk

• Flexi NEON lead
• Dog Safety lights 
• Reflective bandana

Conclusion

To conclude, a dog walking bag can easily be tailored for any kind of walk and can be left packed up ready to go. The only tricky bit is knowing what to put in there for your walk. I hope this has provided some ideas on what to pack for different walks.

Happy Travfurling!