Product Review: Howling Dog Alaska Trekking Belt

Howling Dog Alaska's Trekking Belt is a nice hands-free way to let your dog pull like a sled dog without sacrificing your arms or shoulders. It spreads out the force of your pulling dogs while providing nice back support. It has a pocket and bottle holder, and a nice big ring for any sort of leash attachment. Comes in one size and one color.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pulling is a lot of work, and one way to help tire out a dog with seemingly boundless energy. While loose leash walking is an essential skill to have, there's a good reason to let your dog pull in certain circumstances.

I've taught my dogs to walk nicely when they are wearing neck collars. However, I do allow them to pull when they are wearing back-clipping body harnesses. I started out teaching Brisbane to never pull on the leash at all, and this turned out to be a mistake as I'd like him to be comfortable enough with leash tension to handle being on a retractable leash.

Sisci knows she is allowed to pull when wearing a harness, so she doesn't mind the tension from the Flexi leash. However, walking her on a harness can be tiring after a while. When I wear the Trekking Belt, I can hook her up with an elastic line and she can pull her heart out for the entire walk. This helps build muscle and also wears her out without putting extra stress on her joints. A lot of people put weighted packs on their dogs to help tire them on walks, but this is lower impact and better for doggy body building.

Pros: Distributes force well. Very supportive and nice on the lower back. Goes with everything.

Cons: It tends to ride up a bit on long walks.

Bottom Line: This is an affordable, durable, comfortable mushers belt.